xxx, my, you are defensive. Anyway, I never said Clarence was the only place I have been, nor was it the only place I was talking about. And as for my "poor husband", he is not all that upset about leaving the area and can't stand going back there.

eman, We love Bledsoe!! He's a perfect fit for our city and we'll take very good care of him.

JD<BR><BR>If you're looking for diverse restaurants get off of Niagara Falls Blvd. Buffalo has some of the best, most diverse restaurants you can find in a city of it's size. It seems that most people travelling to Buffalo don't really know where to go.

How many places can boast about beautiful summers with plenty of beaches and boating, wonderful theatre, fabulous restaurants, plenty of snow skiing and no traffic to deal with???!!!! Now that's my kind of town!!

Ilisa and her husband,<BR><BR>Stay away, we don't need you. You may find this hard to believe, but many native Buffaloians move to other parts of the country and then move back to Buffalo because it's such a great place to live.

We left Niagra Falls & travelled thru Buffalo, only thing I remember about Buffalo is the river. But....near Buffalo is a beautiful, quaint, darling, little town named Orchard Park (it is where the Buff.Bills practice I believe)that is well worth visiting. We accidently found this town and happened upon a bagel shop for breakfast that had the most wonderful bagels I have ever tasted

Buffalo - you love it or you hate it and there's nothing in-between. The weather - it's very good or very bad and there's nothing in-between. I've lived here my entire life and will defend it to anyone. It's a tough, old city. It is tired, gray, and the 6th poorest city in the nation. There is no money to develop the waterfront, fix up the parks, fill in the pot holes. There are a lot of overweight people. You're talking about people who come from European backgrounds such as Italian, German, Polish who spend long months indoors eating their favorite ethnic foods. With the exception of the Albright Knox Art Gallery, the museums are not worth the entrance fees. The city is too poor to help them. Public transportation is poor. <BR>I could go on, but you get the picture.<BR><BR>However, what a lot of people don't realize, is that despite all of its' problems, a visit here does not have to equal a week in hell! Traffic is not heavy, the architecture is amazing, the restaurants are wonderful. We have all types of theater and entertainment and the largest outdoor art festival in the nation, ethnic street fairs, free concerts, and the waterfront in the summer is great. There are some great neighborhoods like Allentown. History abounds. These are all things that locals know about, but visitors don't. <BR>That's just my two cents.<BR><BR>P.S. Ilisa, I don't know anyone from Buffalo who tries to pass it off as the "big city." And my street in the city doesn't have any "freaking" lawn ornaments (probably because they'd get stolen). Maybe it's a suburban thing.<BR><BR>

Darryl - you've had quite a response to your question about Buffalo. You've lived there for 25 years, what do you think of it?

Darryl??????????????

I guess it's not very posh or hip these days to live some place where people actually know and care about their neighbors, take pride in their community and fight for things that are important like keeping Children's Hospital in Buffalo, enjoy simple things like a tailgate party before a Bill's game on a beautiful fall afternoon, or taking a picnic basket under the stars to a summer's evening production of Shakespeare in the Park. Buffalo's got heart, character, history and is not known as the city of good neighbors for nothing. It may not be as "sexy" as other cities, and there is a matter of that rumor that we have about snow. But I'll take three months of snow over floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires any day. Just try it, you might like it.

Chris, I live here in Buffalo and you could not have said it any better!!!!

To Wondering: Darryl answered a Niagara Falls posting on the Canadian board. Here is what he had to say:<BR><BR>"I am born and raised in Buffalo, do your self a favor, dont stop here. There is not too much going on. There is a Six Flags Darien Lake (not nearly as nice as the Great Adventure, which is not near Buffalo) Stay in Toronto."<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>< BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>

Nobody's mentioned Shea's Theater, The Broadway Market, Kleinhen's, our hockey team, our football team, our Philharmonic Orchestra, boating on Lake Erie, and fine institutions like Roswell Park, Children's Hospital, University of Buffalo, and great summer time events like the Taste of Buffalo and Allentown Arts Festival, one of the largest in the country. Can't find anything to do in Buffalo? Take a day trip to Toronto, Niagara on the Lake, Niagara Falls, or Chautauqua Institution. Come and visit. Don't let a few lawn ornaments chase you away.

My husband is from Buffalo. He moved south about 8 years ago for various reasons, one being that he was so tired of the cold and snow. I've visited a few times, mostly in the winter (including last winter right after Christmas with the deep snow). Being from Atlanta, it was interesting to see all the snow, but I don't think I could live there. The people were very nice, maybe because I've mostly only been around my in-laws when there. To be honest, though, it does seem a little depressing with the weather and being an older city.<BR><BR>

It could be worse. You could live in San Jose. Unless you have the white sock/pocket protector concession and become a millionaire.

My husband and I visited Buffalo for the first time last August. We had it recommended to us by a friend who had stayed there unexpectedly while on a weekend drive to New York City and was just too tired to drive further. She had recommended a bed and breakfast there. She is an urban planner and noticed the architecture and the many intact older neighborhoods in the city. Since my husband is interested in architecture we went.<BR>At first I found it very depressing, then the city really grew on me. We went to the Albert Knox gallery, walked around the Allentown neighborhood and ate at some outdoor cafes in this surprisingly eclectic and lively neighborhood. Of course we went to Niagra Falls, by local bus (no need to worry about driving or parking). The bed and breakfast was wonderful. We went to an outdoor concert at the downtown waterfront park, had some delicious fish and chips at a small restaurant there, saw some Frank Loyd Wright houses, met some very friendly and nice people. Actually, both Buffalo and Niagra reminded me a bit of some seaside cities I've visited in England. there is so much water everywhere and yes it is cloudy. It was a real relief to get into the 80 degree weather and away from the hot humid midwestern weather. <BR><BR>Guess what? we plan to go back this year. An indy film just out last year called "Jump Tomorrow" was filmed there and gives some excellent scenes of Buffalo and Niagra, New York.

To answer my own question, I think Buffalo used to be a great town. I think the biggest problem for Buffalo and all of New York State is the incredibly high tax rates. It drives out all the businesses and makes the cost of living high for all the people. New York State has been subsidizing New York City for years.

What do you think of the six flags, darien lake? I've been to Great Adventure in NJ numerous times, but I'll be in the Niagara Falls area this summer & was thinking of taking my kids (ages 4, 7 & 10) to Darien Lake.

Darryl, you don't know what you are talking about. The cost of living in Buffalo is not high, it is actually quite low. While our taxes are on the high side, my home that I could sell in a nice suburb of Buffalo for about $280,000 would sell for probably $600,000 in other parts of the country. Entertainment, restaurants, etc. are also affordable. It doesn't cost much to live in Buffalo and we have a nice quality of life. <BR><BR>Regarding Darien Lake, I don't go to amusement parks much so I don't have much to compare it to but Darien Lake has some great roller coasters and a nice water park.

When I saw the header I thought this was that Lisa person traveling to Hawaii with her toddler!