With 352 Facebook shares and 11 Tweets, comprised of some haters and some lovers, The Street (digital financial media company) sent Buffalo some props last week, stating that although this city's population may not be rebounding (yet), there are plenty of reasons for residents to be happy. It was of special interest to me that the short article focused partially on quality of life for young Buffalonians, because over the weekend I ran into a bunch of enterprising youth in the Fargo Estates neighborhood who were in the midst of planting a garden next to yet another newly restored residence.
The motivated group of Westsiders clued me in to all of the neighborhood happenings, including which houses were being rehabbed, who was buying on the street, what was going on at the moment, and what was in store. Their combined energy and enthusiasm coincided with much of what The Street writer Jason Notte liked about Buffalo including, "Thriving art scene with more than 50 art museums and galleries and two festivals -- the Allentown Art Festival and the Elmwood Festival For The Arts -- a system of 20 parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, a smattering of music venues and a ton of bars and clubs on West Chippewa Street and in Allentown that are open until 4 a.m. It's so deceptively cool that Forbes put it at No. 18 on its list of the Top 40 towns for singles, ahead of Las Vegas and Miami, but even cooler is that its 7.6% unemployment rate is well below the national and allows more of its residents to see what the other cities are missing."
Also check out Frits Abel's (Buffalo Expat Network) comment at the end of the article, which reads, "I have been away from Buffalo for 20 years, and have lived in first-rate cities. I absolutely love what is happening in Buffalo, which, admittedly, started on a long descent 50+ years ago, but is finally on an undeniable ascent. Young, creative and eager folks see this city, and others like it (Pitts, Cleveland, Detroit, etc.) as a canvas on which to re-invent city living: green, diverse, new industry, mobility, affordability, etc. Are there challenges? Absolutely. Leadership has been terrible, and there has been too little opportunity for the "masses". However, there is hope and reinvention in the air...which goes a long way. And, in Buffalo's case we have some key assets: proximity to Toronto, fresh water, tough winters but gorgeous spring-fall, a generous and kind populace, etc."
With people like the Fargo Estate residents and Frits investing time and money into neighborhoods along the West Side, I'm guessing that In five years the title of another article might read, "5 Cool Cities You're Moving Back To."
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The motivated group of Westsiders clued me in to all of the neighborhood happenings, including which houses were being rehabbed, who was buying on the street, what was going on at the moment, and what was in store. Their combined energy and enthusiasm coincided with much of what The Street writer Jason Notte liked about Buffalo including, "Thriving art scene with more than 50 art museums and galleries and two festivals -- the Allentown Art Festival and the Elmwood Festival For The Arts -- a system of 20 parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, a smattering of music venues and a ton of bars and clubs on West Chippewa Street and in Allentown that are open until 4 a.m. It's so deceptively cool that Forbes put it at No. 18 on its list of the Top 40 towns for singles, ahead of Las Vegas and Miami, but even cooler is that its 7.6% unemployment rate is well below the national and allows more of its residents to see what the other cities are missing."
Also check out Frits Abel's (Buffalo Expat Network) comment at the end of the article, which reads, "I have been away from Buffalo for 20 years, and have lived in first-rate cities. I absolutely love what is happening in Buffalo, which, admittedly, started on a long descent 50+ years ago, but is finally on an undeniable ascent. Young, creative and eager folks see this city, and others like it (Pitts, Cleveland, Detroit, etc.) as a canvas on which to re-invent city living: green, diverse, new industry, mobility, affordability, etc. Are there challenges? Absolutely. Leadership has been terrible, and there has been too little opportunity for the "masses". However, there is hope and reinvention in the air...which goes a long way. And, in Buffalo's case we have some key assets: proximity to Toronto, fresh water, tough winters but gorgeous spring-fall, a generous and kind populace, etc."
With people like the Fargo Estate residents and Frits investing time and money into neighborhoods along the West Side, I'm guessing that In five years the title of another article might read, "5 Cool Cities You're Moving Back To."
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This is why some of us were disappointed with the Buffalo For Real campaign, Buffalo does have a ton to offer but we don't market ourselves very well.