Good Things about Buffalo and Western New York

Compiled by

Bill Rapaport

• 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).
     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.

     • ...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", Busniness Week (14 October).

  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."

     • And Niagara Falls is great, too:
       Margolis, Seth (2004), "Misty about Niagara Falls" (New York Times, Travel Section, 22 August 2004, pp.1,8,10.

  5. The snow isn't nearly as bad as some folks would have you think.
     • 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...
     • Bill Rapaport's Buffalo Restaurant Guide

  8. ...and so is the water...
     • "Dear Yahoo!: What city has the cleanest drinking water?"

  9. ...the art is, too!
     • 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).