(Buffalo skyline to right of Charlotte skyline.)
Are you a newcomer from Buffalo? You are not alone, according to radio reporter Scott Graf. Have a new friend here from Buffalo? Again, not alone.
Graf, of WFAE FM (90.7), will explore the so-called "Buffalo/Charlotte Connection" in a three-part series of stories airing Wednesday through Friday during Morning Edititon (6:35 a.m. and 8:35 a.m.) He will also be hosting an online Watercooler discussion 10 a.m. Wedensday. Go to WFAE.org for that. Stories will be archived on the Web as well.
So what are these stories about? Graf, who spent two days interviewing in Buffalo, described in an e-mail what will air each day.
On Wednesday: "Thousands of Buffalo natives have moved to Charlotte over the last several decades. Many feel like the rough Buffalo economy gave them no coice but to leave. Things like lower taxes and weather make Charlotte very appealing. But many say they're here simply for better professional opportunities than their hometown could offer."
On Thursday: "If you ask a Buffalo native why they came to Charlotte, many are bound to say it had something to do with a job. Buffalo struggles with new ecoomic development, but charlotte produces thousands of new jobs every year. Our second story looks at why there's such a discrepancy between the two cities when it comes to work opportunities."
On Friday: "When Buffalo natives move to Charlotte, they find a very different city than the one they left. Some love it and say they're here forever. Others have been here and moved back. Others are on the fence about Charlotte. Our third story examines the good and bad of a new life in Charlotte and why some have decided to go back home."
Any readers from Buffalo out there? What's your Charlotte experience?
38 comments:
I am a native Buffalonian, and yes, I miss it. Whenever I go home however, I remember why I left. The city is dirty, the weather is cold (ok, so normally I only go back for Christmas- what do I expect) and the driving can be treacherous. As soon as I check in for my flight back to Charlotte I know why I got homesick, my friends and family, the food, the first snow of the season, having snow for Christmas morning, and the neighborly atmosphere. Not once does anyone say "Bless your heart" there. Everyone understands my obsession with Hockey. The schools are better and the bugs are smaller. I love being from Buffalo. I just am glad I don't live there anymore, though I wouldn't mind it if Mighty Taco and Ted's joined up with Nino's Pizza and built a store right down the road. ;-)
I am not from Buffalo, nor Charlotte but I've spent a lot of time in both cities. Buffalo is so cold and to add insult to injury the wind will cut you into two.but they have great food. Charlotte Like its moderate climate but that is about it. couldn't live in either city
I have to go to Buffalo often for work and it is a he!! hole. Never before have I seen such a run down, dirty town. The majority of people are miserable and always look tired and worn out. The only city as bad in NY is Syracuse. I know I will get some nasty comments...but you all know it's true, that's why you moved to Charlotte!!
The only good things about Buffalo are that it's close to Toronto and Duff's Wings. Charlotte is yawnsville but its sunny most of the time.
Hey Anonymous (5:24):
Ever been to New Orleans (pre-Katrina)? Ever been to Pittsburgh? Cleveland (pre-R&R HoF)? Detroit?
Buffalo is a dump (but I can say so because I grew up there, not just a visitor, like you), but it has more sense of community than this area ever will. If I could, I would raise my son there because it is a great place to raise kids. It is more family-centered (without being so hypocritical or sanctimonious). And, then there is the food! What do we have here that was created here? BBQ and banana pudding (Great, but that's pretty much it!). The Ralph is so much better for football that BoA. The Bisons draw more than the Knights. The Sabres are more fun to watch than the Boobcats. And oh yhea, 20 minutes from one of the 7 wonders of the world (Niagara Falls) and 2 hours from a world-class city (Toronto).
I moved here for work and better weather, and it is a trade-off. I could never live back up there again because it is a dying city, but I still have some fond memories of it and I'll stick up for it to anyone who cuts her down that isn't part of the family!
I'll stick up for it to anyone who cuts her down that isn't part of the family!
Buffaco sucks. Anyone with any ambition got out long ago.
I moved from Buffalo, NY exactly 10 years ago and I have nothing negative to say due to the fact that I would not have so many fond memories of my child hood and my friends with out it. I love Charlotte and welcome the new chapter in my life.
No doubt folks from Buffalo are some of the most arrogant, insensitive, liberal people you would ever want to meet. Nothing good has come from the influx on Yankees and you can put Buffalo and New Jersy in the same group.
Even Canada does not want Buffalo.
Buffalo is an incredible town. it's not pretty. It's not bankers sipping Martinis. It's blue-collar, roll-up-your-shirtsleeves, work-for-everything-you-have kind of people.
There's great ethnic diversity. The people are so nice.
There's a pride there that isn't evident in a lot of cities I've lived.
It's easy to pick on, and even easier to move away from... but it's a great place to raise a family.
The taxes are the worst though. Buffalo gets nothing out of state tax dollars. If you work in Buffalo, chances are you're tax dollars are supporting someone from NYC or Long Island who's unemployment is more than your salary.
If NYC and LI could be lopped off into its own state, Buffalo would be an incredible place to live.
I grew up in Buffalo, lived in Charlotte for 13 years and then moved back to Buffalo two years ago. Let me start by saying that I love both cities and appreciate the differences between them. Yes, Charlotte has many more job opportunites than Buffalo but WNY's bad reputation is greatly exaggerated. What makes Buffalo great is: incredibly clean air, light traffic, some of the best architecture in the country (see Nov. 14th New York Time's article),a friendly, diverse population, incredibly affordable home prices, a world class cancer hospital, Olmstead parks system, Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo City Honor's school being recognized as one of the best in the nation, Lake Erie for swimming and boating, ski resorts a short drive to the south with night skiing, Canada and Niagara Falls, Great sports teams, superb bar food, and great weather. Really! No drought here! The city of Buffalo gets relatively little snow - it falls in Ski Country like it should. Syracuse gets more snow, and it's colder in the upper midwest. But when the snow does hit, nothing stops the people of WNY from continuing with their daily lives. Streets are cleared quickly and people are skilled drivers in adverse conditions.
Summers are mild due to the breezes off Lake Erie. I see more people out walking, riding bikes, & roller blading than I ever saw in Charlotte.
And finally, recently a national business magzine chose Buffalo as as one of the best places in the country to ride out the current recession because we know how to live within our means due to the challenges the area has faced over the last 30 years. The softening of the dollar has actually boosted our area retail sales because the Canadians love to shop here.
So I'm glad to be back in the "other" Queen city.
Hey Barb! You talk about Buffalo like everyone should talk about their hometown. Well said. You've made this southerner want to visit someday.
Congrats on getting to move back home.
So I'm glad to be back in the "other" Queen city.
Cincy? www.gobacktoohio.com
I moved to Charlotte 5 years ago from Buffalo. Since I moved here, my parents, best friend and several other friends have also moved here. Honestly, I do not know any of us who miss even one minute of being in Buffalo. I do miss Leonardi's Pizza and Mighty Taco, but honestly other than family don't care if I ever went back. Charlotte is a MUCH nicer place to live. Buffalo is a sad dying place to be.
Barb:
Thanks for the great comments and for letting everyone know it's possible to like both your hometown AND Charlotte. Is it so mind-boggling that two different cities can both be good places to live?
One thing I find frustrating about newcomer articles in the Observer is that the writers constantly see a need to get negative comments from the newcomers about their former cities. We don't have to drag another place down to make Charlotte look good. Let's get over our inferiority complex.
And one last comment about weather. Because of global warming, Buffalo's winter weather might look pretty inviting in the future.
About 25 years ago, Buffalo made the mistake that a lot of mid-sized cities did. They took their main street (actually called "Main Street") through downtown and closed it off to traffic and ran a street car through it. As people in Charlotte are well aware, nothing makes a city look more deserted than a lack of cars downtown.
There's just nothing more picturesque than looking at mounds of grey snow piled high in every parking lot from October to May.
On the other hand, they have Wegman's, which makes Harris Teeter look like Food Lion in comparison. They have the Anchor Bar, and they're only a 20 minute drive from a Molson Brador and the 'Canadian Ballet'.
The New York State Thruway beats I-77 and I-85 hands down, but no one here is ready to pay tolls.
I'd give them the Bobcats in a heartbeat (and they can become the Buffalo Braves) in an even swap for the Sabres.
But FOUR Super Bowl losses?
Face it Charlotte is about to loose all their banks and BOFA also in a few years, then what ? civil war again? We missed out on 12 japanese auto plants while the Treasurer was doling out money to long shots like General Motors; Alabama has 4 auto plants and Missisippi has the worlds larges NISSAN plant , Georgia just got a Toyota plant and the list goes on and on. Whats N.C. doing investing in the TITANIC major voyage General Motors.
Here goes te Fate of N.C. BUB , BLUB , BLUB , Blub ......... down we go.
We don't have to drag another place down to make Charlotte look good.
Buffalo is terrible, dying place on its own merits. We aren't dragging it down to make Charlotte look good.
You think that Charlotte has an inferiority complex? The Buffalo board of tourism is still upset because the nickname "Mistake on the Lake" was already taken by Cleveland. LOL!
I too am a native Buffalonian and have now lived in Charlotte for 10yrs. My entire family is still located there, so I go back often to visit. Each time I visit I think about moving back, and then I come back to my home in Charlotte and remember why I left in the first place... limited job opportunities and long cold winters.
Personally, I love living in Charlotte, it is now my home. I have great friends, a good job, a beautiful home and a terrific climate. The perfect scenario for me would be to call both cities home, spending mid June through Mid October in Buffalo and the remaining time in Charlotte.
With that said, for those who have never truly visited Buffalo, or only been there for work, you are missing what Buffalo has to offer: Some of the most incredible architecture you well ever find, GREAT food (generations old family restaurants), affordable housing (except the taxes), awesome summers, diverse culture, some of the best schools in the country... and I could go on.
Yes Buffalo appears to be dirty, and the people may appear to be tired and run down looking... but that is because it is a city that has preserved its rich history by reusing vacant buildings and converting them into loft condos, apartments and office space rather than bulldozing everything to make way for modern, lifeless, sterile looking high-rises. People look tired and run down because they actually bust their butts working in factories, mills and other jobs that require them to get their hands dirty instead of being herded into cubes like cattle, punching keys on a computer, eating at the endless number of chain restaurants and drinking latté’s from one the hundreds of Starbuck's located on just about every corner.
Charlotte, once a sleepy town with various types of mills and a simple southern lifestyle, now strives to be a world class city where the only place you will find true history is in museums, preserved in vaults beneath 40 story buildings, most of which date back all the way to the 1990’s!
Buffalo was once a true world class city, rich with culture, home to many (truly) wealthy families and factory workers with dreams of never ending prosperity and opportunity, sound familiar?
Let’s face it, Charlotte is not even close to where Buffalo was a hundred years ago, and it too will experience its hay day.
Before you cast judgment on a city that has more history in one city block than one who’s history is preserved only in museums I suggest you look around and really try to figure out where Charlottes culture, historical buildings, mom & pop shops and family owned restaurants (owned for generations) are… good luck, they don’t exist anymore.
Anon @ 11:33,
Did you really need to type over 450 words to say "Buffalo sucks"?
Regardless of the number of words typed, I think the true question is why someone who thinks Buffalo sucks would bother reading what is posted here.
"If you ask a Buffalo native why they came to Charlotte, many are bound to say it had something to do with a job."
Carpetbaggers.
Hey Barb! ...
Congrats on getting to move back home.
Please take a few yankees with you!
I am simply appalled at the level of animosity and bitterness so many of these posts contain. Please, if you hate this column that much, don’t read it.
What if you are “New Around Town” in Charlotte after having lived in Asheville or Wilmington all your life? Still native North Carolinians, do you treat them with the same disrespect?
There is room here for all of us and if all you can do is spout of hurtful, negative things then you don’t remember one of the most basic rules drummed into my head by my momma and my grandmas and that is… “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”
What if you are “New Around Town” in Charlotte after having lived in Asheville or Wilmington all your life? Still native North Carolinians, do you treat them with the same disrespect?
No. As a matter of fact I welcome all native Southerners as newcomers to Charlotte.
Regardless of the number of words typed, I think the true question is why someone who thinks Buffalo sucks would bother reading what is posted here.
You ask the question of the person who wrote the 450+ word novel on "why Buffalo sucks".
You native North Carolinians are such inbread hicks. You spend your whole day talking smack on this blog. It's no wonder we're all down here from NY taking your jobs.
Wow... I sense some anger here! I sincerely doubt those who claim to be "natives" are truly Native Americans! They were here long before most of our ancestors, so get over it already! I can pretty much guarantee almost everyone in Charlotte is a descendent of immigrants who came to this country from somewhere else and just happened to settle in different parts of this country!
^What's you point? it sounds like you bought into this "We're all Americans" crap.
I am a Charlottean, western North Carolinian, North Carolinian, Southerner and, finally, an American... in THAT order. You yankees just don't seem to get it.
Wow! So much anger being expressed - why does one place have to WIN? Like I said before, they're both great towns with lots of pluses and minuses - I just wanted to tell the person who mentioned Buffalo's Main Street being closed to traffic, that they finally came to their senses & are bringing traffic back to lower Main. Should be done by next summer. Also, when you come back to visit be sure to get down to the waterfront and see what they've done...they've restored the old Erie Canal terminus at the river...great place for concerts. Saw Robert Cray & Keb 'Mo there this past summer...amazing place! Then a walk over to the baseball park for a Bison game. There are a couple of Navy ships docked there too. And there's a beach (no swimming though) at the Erie Basin Marina..and there will be an ice rink there this winter. So it's coming along. Oh, and the skyway may be coming down and even if it doesn't, there is a new parkway being built along the waterway with a bike path that will eventually connect with the Niagara River bike path. So next time you come back, check out the changes.
Charlotte has nothing in common with that dying hole of a city on the Canadian border.
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