seriously, any help is greatly appreciated here!!!


thanks....


PLEASEEEE... lol

K.elly

Yes, one of the advantages to being in Buffalo for you would probably be the commute to Toronto..it is only about a 2 hour drive...

one other word of caution, about Buffalo neighborhoods, I have lived in most of the areas of buffalo for most of my life (elmwood ave, delaware, University heights, West side, Amherst, West Seneca, and Lancaster...)

not sure what type of environment you are looking for, or what price range you are wanting to stay within. AVOID at all costs anyhitng around Bailey ave, west side, east side, these are high crime and impoverished areas...

Elmwood ave is a cool place to live, BUT don't even think about sleeping, it is college town, frat houses on every block...there is also no place to park unless you have a driveway of your own....in the winter parking is not accessible at all, quite an inconvenience...
there is also a MAJOR amount of damage from the party goers...they break signs, sleep in your back yard, throw their garbage everywhere...they would go around every garbage night and dump everyones cans into the street, walking across our cars and setting off alarms..(causing a huge dent in my friends new grand am, and numerous scratches)

lived on Hertel ave for a bit, it wasn't too bad, but again, impoverished neighborhood, lots of crime...people getting mugged in broad daylight, stores getting broken into, lots of drug trafficking also...I cannot say I am sad to be away from there...but if you had to live in the city, I would choose this neighborhood over all, look into north buffalo or parkside area for this...it is a very italian american community....

Allentown, yes, very artsy, but, again, you have to be careful, very high crime rate, tons of homeless & panhandlers, and the area closes down when the sun sets, you will only find restaurants open...high drug traffic area also, same with the west and east side..

east side/bailey ave, University heights...WORST neighborhood around...drive by shootings, drugs, prostitution, crime galore....avoid it at all possible costs...although there may be a nice house here and there, it is not worth it, lived there, hated it...we heard about people from school getting jumped/raped/killed/shot at/stabbed or their houses being broken into constantly...

My suggestion...you can move to the suburbs (snuburbs as my 11 yr old calls them) and drive into the city for your social/work scene... if you are going to invest in a home, you should be happy there....

cheektowaga has VERY reasonable real estate, and it is NICE...you want to avoid the pine ridge nieghborhood though, again, bordering on the east side...

if you are fortunate to find a good deal as we did here in Amherst (we are in Williamsville) that is the BEST neighborhood I think...email me for my real estate agents #, he also works out of rochester so he can direct you well....

all of the suburbs are a quick drive into the city of buffalo(then onto canada) by the kensington expressway and our thruway system....Amherst is very close to Canada...and I drive to Rochester in less than an hour, syracuse about 3 hrs...

I do not know about Ithaca, never lived there, only visited, yes, it is nice...I can only say what I know about Buffalo and it's surrounding areas...
every community has its own art scene, and depending on how much peace of mind you want...if it were just for the arts, I would move into Allentown...but again, it is a short drive into all the communities...you are better off spending your money on your peace of mind & safety and just commute like I do...

I have lived in Buffalo for most of my life. I used to live right next to the city border in West Seneca (A neat town) off of Seneca Street. I now live in North Tonawanda (In Niagara County) about 45 minutes to an hour away from Buffalo via the bus.

I think you would really benefit from choosing the Buffalo area. There is more to do here than in Ithaca. (Just because there are more people here.) What you do really depends on your personality. I can tell you though that you're better off living in a town right outside of Buffalo then in the city itself.

In a border town you get most of the benefits of living in the city but you don't have the high cost. Taxes are lower, better services, less insurance, etc. You also get better schools for your kids (if you have any.) YOu also are a stone's throw away from events both in the suburbs and in the city. How can you go wrong?