Good Things about Buffalo and Western New York

Compiled by

Bill Rapaport

Last Update: 29 August 2012

Note: or material is highlighted

My Two Favorite (Only Semi-Humorous) Reasons:
1. It's safe.
  - "No Place Is Safe [except Buffalo]: Natural Disaster Danger Zones", The New York Times (30 January 1994).
    - "Where to Live to Avoid a Natural Disaster", The New York Times (30 April 2011).
  1. And Amherst is safe, too.
    - "City Crime Rankings Once Again Names Amherst, New York, America's Safest City"
    - Edmonds, Rose, "Best Safe Towns in America (& Their Hidden Charms): 2. Amherst, New York" (Travel Channel)
2. It's worse elsewhere.
  - Tom Toles cartoon about living in Buffalo, The Buffalo News (5 June 1997).

But seriously, folks…
1. It's Beautiful.
  - Andrew Sprung, "Buffalo Dreamin’", Andrew Sullivan's The Daily Dish, The Atlantic (14 December 2009).
  - Amy Stewart, "Garden Walks a World Apart: Buffalo, N.Y.", SFGate, San Francisco Chronicle (15 August 2007).
2. Life is easy.
  - Donn Esmonde, "From Rat Race to Buffalo and Loving It", The Buffalo News (15 December 2003).
3. It's a great place to live…
  - According to the American Planning Association, the Elmwood Village is one of the nation's 10 great neighborhoods.
  - …In fact, it's underrated:
    - Notte, Jason (2011), "America's Five Most Underrated Cities", Yahoo! Real Estate (12 July).
      - In case you're curious, the other 4 underrated cities are Chicago, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, and Milwaukee; pretty good company, if you ask me!
  - …and according to—of all places—New York magazine, it might even be a better place to live than New York City! Read:
    - Sternbergh, Adam (2008), "Where the Urban Dream Life Is Going Cheap", New York (August 24).
  - …especially in a recession (ranking 14/20 top places to live in a recession :-)
    - Gopal, Prashant (2008), "Some Cities Will Be Safer in a Recession", Business Week (14 October).
  - …and a great place to raise a family!
    - Levy, Francesca (2010), "America's Best Places To Raise A Family 2010: These 10 cities are safe, affordable and offer good educational prospects", Forbes.com
    - "America's Best Places to Raise a Family" (slide show), Forbes.com
  - …especially if you're a working mother:
    - Casserly, Meghan (2011), "The Best Cities for Working Mothers 2011", Forbes (11 October)
      - We're number one!
4. …and a great place to visit.
  - Slayter, Mary Ellen (2003), "Shuffle No More", Washington Post (9 July): C02.
  - Dominick A. Miserandino, "Buffalo: More than just Buffalo Chicken Wings" ( TheCelebrityCafe.com)
  - There are lots of things to do outdoors.
  - Ireland, Barbara (2004), "36 Hours: Buffalo", New York Times "Escapes" section (August 13, 2004).
  - Karastamatis, John (2008), "Wingin' It in Buffalo", Toronto Star (10 January).
    - "After decades of decline, the rust-belt city—with its forgotten landmarks, funky restaurants and bohemian boutiques—has now become a hip destination for those in the know."
  - Jermanok, Steve (2012), "Surprising Buffalo", Active Travels (5 July).
  - Levine, Shira (2012), "Top US Revival Cities Worth Visiting", FoxNews.com (30 July).
  - And Niagara Falls is great, too:
5. The snow isn't nearly as bad as some folks would have you think.
  - Kiladze, Tim (2010), "America's Worst Winter Weather Cities", Forbes.com
    - Buffalo doesn't even make the list!
  - Chris Cappella, "10 Snowiest ‘Cities’ Aren't All in New York", US Today (2 October 2003).
  1. And, anyway, there are lots of good things to do during winter!
    (courtesy of Jan Chomicki)
    - "Winter Activities in Western New York"
6. Buffalo is the "city with a heart".
  - Cathy Lynn Grossman, "Lots and Lots of Heart in Buffalo", US Today (12 February 2001).
7. The food is wonderful…
  - Even if I do say so myself:
    Bill Rapaport's Buffalo Restaurant Guide
  - But I'm not alone:
    Miserandino, Dominick A. (2003), "Buffalo: More than just Buffalo Chicken Wings"
8. …and so is the water…
  - "Dear Yahoo!: What city has the cleanest drinking water?"
  - Syracuse Post-Standard Editorial Board (2012), "On the Waterfront: What Syracuse Can Learn from Buffalo's Resurgence", Syracuse.com (27 July).
9. …the art is, too!
  - Kino, Carol (2012), "Renaissance in an Industrial Shadow", New York Times (6 May): AR18.
  - Buffalo is American Style magazine's No. 4 arts destination, behind New York City, Chicago, and Washington, DC.
10. …and it's got great festivals!
  - The Allentown Art Festival ranks No. 21 out of American Style magazine's top 25 fairs and festivals.
11. …and great architecture!
  - Ouroussoff, Nicolai (2008), "Saving Buffalo's Untold Beauty", Arts & Leisure, New York Times (November 16): AR1, AR30-AR31.
12. It's not stressful.
  - "America's Most and Least Stressful Cities"
  - Some statistics
13. In fact, it's HOT.
  - Gertner, Jon (2004), "What Makes a Place Hot", Money (June): 87-92.
14. It's even a great place to write a dissertation!
  - Schoepflin, Todd (2004), "Place and Space", Chronicle of Higher Education (July 30): C1, C4.
15. Housing is inexpensive!
  - Doyle, Rodger (2002), "Affording a Home: What Does It Take to Buy a Reasonably Priced House?", Scientific American (September): 32.
  - "Buffalo most affordable metro area, L.A. least affordable", AllBusiness.com (2005)
  - Cox, Jeff (2007), "Most Affordable Towns", Money on CNNMoney.com (16 July).
16. And it's clean (the 3rd cleanest, in fact)!
  - "The 50 Cleanest (and Dirtiest) Cities in America", Reader's Digest
17. It's easy to get around!
  - Woolsey, Matt (2008), "Best And Worst Cities For Commuters", Forbes.com (25 April).
18. It's even one of the best 100 things about America! (well, sort of :-)
  - "100 Great Things About America", Fortune
    - Scroll down to #12, and be sure to link to #11 :-)
19. And it's "back in business":
  - "Back in Business: Buffalo and Rochester—Hope Grows in Two Cities More Accustomed to Disappointment", The Economist (30 June 2012): 34.