An Exciting Look at Living in Buffalo NY: What to Expect from the City's Culture!

‍Welcome to Buffalo, New York where growth, opportunities and development are in the near future! Buffalo offers a lot more than what meets the eye, we have amazing food, Art galleries, a thriving music scene, and of course the best sports teams and FANS in the world. In this blog article, we'll take an exciting look at what to expect when living in the City of Buffalo, New York.

SECTION 1: Introduction to Living in Buffalo NY

Buffalo is a city filled with history, culture, and excitement. The city is located on the eastern edge of Lake Erie, and the population is just over 257,000 people. About 1,000,000 if you county the entire erie county area. Many people refer to buffalo as a Big City with a Small town feel, if you're around long enough, you will start to feel like you know everybody. Inside the city limits it has a decently diverse population which allows for many cultural attractions, which makes for a great place to gain experience as a young adult or a place to retire if you can stand a little cold.

In recent years, Buffalo has seen a resurgence in its economy. With many new businesses and restaurants opening, it is becoming a great place to live, work and play! The city is also home to a number of universities and colleges, nine in total, making it a great place for higher education.

One of the most attractive aspects of the city is its incredible art scene, with galleries, museums, wall murals and so much more. Lastly, it  boasts a number of country renown parks, bike trails, and green spaces, designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead himself, making it an ideal place for outdoor activities in the summer and winter. 

SECTION 2: What to Expect from the Buffalo NY Climate

Speaking of seasons, The climate in Buffalo is typically humid continental, with hot summers from june until august/september and cold winters starting in late november. The average annual temperature is around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. I know to you southerners and Californians that sounds awful, but it's not that bad I promise. Inside the city lines about 89 inches of snow comes down annually, but the majority of the snow comes down in the south towns. Places like Orchard park, Hamburg, Armor, and East aurora, always feels the lake effect snow the worst.   If you’ve heard any stories about the beginning of 2023 and the massive amounts of snow we had, they are probably true. To make matters worse, it literally melted in about a week's time. It was the craziest thing I have ever experienced and I have lived here all my life.

Buffalo also experiences four distinct seasons, sometimes all in one week. For instance at the end of 2022 going into 2023, those same towns who received 6-7 feet of snow with freezing temperatures. A week later it was 45-55 degrees outside and half the snow had already melted, crazy to say the least. In the spring, temperatures can range from the mid-50s to the low-70s. During the summer, temperatures can reach into the mid-80s. In the fall, temperatures typically dip into the mid-40s. And in the winter, temperatures can reach into the mid-20, or a lot lower.

The city also experiences a good amount of precipitation especially during the summer, there are some summers when it seems like we've had more days of rain than sunshine. And with the rain storms, comes thunderstorms and they can be extremely annoying especially when you only have a few months of summer to enjoy.

Overall, Buffalo’s climate is mild and manageable. While the city does get a decent amount of snow, it is generally not too much to handle.

SECTION 3: SUBSECTION 2.1. Food Scene

Buffalo is home to a thriving food scene, any type of cuisine you can think of, buffalo has delicious restaurants less than 15 minutes away . From local eateries to upscale restaurants, there is something for each and everyone's taste buds.

Some of the famous meals are the chicken wings of course, pizza, haddock fish fry, and beef on weck. In addition, because our cost of living is so low, you’re not paying an arm and a leg just to go out to eat and have a few drinks. On average I spend about $50-$70 whenever we go out, now this could increase depending on if you want appetizers and name call liquor/wine.

SECTION 4: SUBSECTION 2.2. Music Scene

Buffalo is home to a thriving music scene. From live music venues to recording studios, there is creativity in every section of the city of buffalo. The city is home to a number of music festivals, including the Buffalo Music Festival and the Buffalo Jazz Festivals which are hosted annually during the summer months. Bring your own cooler, grill and lawn chair, and enjoy the summer day with good music to brighten the weekend. For those looking for a more laid-back experience, the city also has a number of music venues offering a variety of genres like jazz clubs, blues bars, and more.

SECTION 5: SUBSECTION 2.3. Art Scene

The art scene in Buffalo is home to a number of galleries and museums, as well as public art installations and murals. Personally I believe the murals are the greatest art displays in buffalo, on almost every corner side or the side of a building, artists from all over the country have come and laid their piece of creativity on the buffalo grounds. It's truly fascinating to watch these artists create a masterpiece out of a plain brick wall, as their canvas. I still have trouble drawing bubble letters, ha.

The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is one of the city’s premier art institutions. The gallery showcases works from some of the most renowned artists from around the world and it hosts a number of events and lectures, making it a great place to explore the city’s art scene.

The city also has a number of independent galleries, showcasing works from local and international artists, we like to call these pop up shops.

SECTION 6: SUBSECTION 2.4. Sports Scene

There is no better sports fan in the world, than one who loves the buffalo bills, let me tell ya. They will argue to no end about how their team went to 4 superbowls and lost each time, never made sense to me but this is the city and people I love. Right now Stefon Diggs and Josh Allen are leading candidates for mayor, no exaggeration. The city is home to a number of professional sports teams, including the Buffalo Bills, the Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bandits and the Buffalo Bisons.

For those looking for a more laid-back experience, the city has a number of recreation centers for children of all ages and all sports categories. From team sports like Basketball, football and soccer to outdoor activities like biking and hiking. For my golf lovers out there, we have two golf domes so that you never have to miss a swing even in the winter months.  

SECTION 7: Shopping in Buffalo

Shopping in buffalo is a bit normal if i'm completely honest, we do have a few malls however but like most areas the malls here have been dying slowly. The Walden Galleria is the city’s premier shopping destination for sure, but if you want an outlet experience there is one in Niagara Falls about 25-30 minutes away. These two malls combined feature a wide range of stores to choose from and restaurants to eat in once you're tired from a long day of shopping, making each one a great place to explore. One thing buffalo does miss out on are designer brands and store, We simply do not have any in the city. Taking a trip across the border to Canada or toronto is your best bet, if your into high end fashion.

What we do have are a number of specialty stores, including vintage stores, and antique stores inside the city, Elmwood Ave and Allen street is where you will find these stores.

SECTION 8: Cost of Living in Buffalo

The cost of living in Buffalo is relatively low compared to other cities, about 13% on average. The city has a median home price of around $260,000 based on the statistics from 2022, which is much lower than the national average. The median rent is also much lower than the national average, at around $1,200. With the addition of a low unemployment rate, at around 3.6%, this helps immensely when employers are looking to start a branch in the buffalo area or bring their start up to buffalo. 

SECTION 10: Employment Opportunities in Buffalo

Speaking of employers, our largest industries in 2022 were construction, Health care, Higher Education and manufacturing. Health care is massive in Buffalo, having close to 25 or more hospitals around the city,so there are always opportunities available in this field. Covid actually assisted this industry as demand increased favorably, many traveling nurses were here serving during those years between hospitals. The same goes with construction workers, most labor unions are short staffed, from electricians, welders, carpenters and homebuilders people are in dire need for people who want to work.

Lastly, with the 9 colleges we have around buffalo, higher education opportunities are always available. So if this field is something you're passionate about, buffalo may just be the place for you!

SECTION 11: Conclusion

Living in Buffalo NY has so much to offer. From its amazing food scene to its vibrant music scene to its thriving art scene, Buffalo is a city full of culture and life.

The city also has a low cost of living, making it a great place to live and work especially if homeownership was not possible to you before. There are also a number of employment opportunities, making it a great place to find work.

If you want more information and a deeper dive into buffalo as a whole Check out my Youtube channel @Buffaloliving2.0. I’ve covered this in great detail there, while providing vlog tours so you can put visuals to the context.