When you start out as the first city in the world with street lights and one of the top 5 most populated...and you end up among the poorest cities in the nation, a rustbelt city that is down-and-out...you're an underdog...and everybody loves an underdog!
Buffalo may have a huge percentage of abandoned houses...
...but that makes it a house-flipper's dream city.
It may have sports teams that have never won the cup or the superbowl...
...but they give us something to hope for and to unite over.
It may be one of the coldest cities in the US...
...but it knows how to plow itself out of 4 feet of snow and go about
the day like a true city of the North (because it is) and people
are proud of this (especially once they see how incapable
most other cities are of this feat).
It may be a small city...
...but it's second in NYS only to NYC (and who can compete with that?)
It may be a rough winter...
...but it's a perfect summer.
The list goes on, but you don't have to take my word for it. I think in all places and in all things, there is beauty. (See this statement from the most unlikely of people here.) Choosing to bash or to argue about someone's ideas, clothes, or hometown, though a great exercise for your brain is not so much a great exercise for your heart or energy...so why not find something to love and appreciate?!
...That's just what Buffalo is doing. The "city of good neighbors" (and they are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet) is picking itself up by the bootstraps. A blue collar city wrought with an industrial past is grabbing that past and hauling it into contemporary times. You can see more about this, the culture, and some local "go-tos" of Buffalo in a great post by a Central New Yorker who, having her doubts, actually found the city to be more spectacular than she remembered...and that's because it actually IS!
Design ideas are coming out of the woodwork, literally and figuratively, becoming a destination for young families, entrepreneurs, visitors (there is more to the area than just Niagara Falls) and the like. Businesses are bustling, the real estate market is on the rise (and more than in most other U.S. cities), and there are major developments in the works (the Buffalo Waterfront, for example is a hotspot for urban designers, active citizens, and tourists)! Not all is lost in the once-booming city...even the brilliant minds are becoming more involved in its restoration and brainstorming for a better future.
So, really. We should all go (back) to Buffalo! To study, to live, to work, to visit...there's something for everyone, and if there isn't yet, there's room for you to make it happen, which also means there are tons of economic opportunities on the rise (and who doesn't like a great financial opp?)!
In case you're still unsure after doing more research...check out the history and then see the current events...and if you're still not convinced, a helpful reminder:
"when in doubt, root for the underdog"
...who you may find, very shortly...is going to come out on top!
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