Food in Western New York--Boy do I miss it!

[Habermill]

WNY has some of the best food in the entire USA. Great pizza, wings, beef 'n weck, and fish fries. The ethnic food in the area is outstanding especially the Polish, German, Italian and Soul! Prices in WNY at area restaurants are reasonable as compared to other areas. I really miss the chicken wings from Brennan's, Duff's and Elmoes.

[Downstate Buffaloian]

WNY has some of the best food in the entire USA. Great pizza, wings, beef 'n weck, and fish fries. The ethnic food in the area is outstanding especially the Polish, German, Italian and Soul! Prices in WNY at area restaurants are reasonable as compared to other areas. I really miss the chicken wings from Brennan's, Duff's and Elmoes.

Why don't you come back? Being in California I'm sure you've made a fortune on your house. I'm planning to come back in 2008. I can afford to accept a lower salary in Buffalo because I will have no mortgage and several hundred thousand dollars left over after selling my house in Long Island.

Come back, you could enjoy that good Buffalo food everyday!

[ceglia]

greasy wings, with translucent goo they call blue cheese?
over-salted beef on crappy doughy bread?
the pizza? yeah...check out the white pizza in Rome...

you guys need to get out a little more - and I am soooo tired of this buffalo wings thing - enough already....the rest of the country already franchised the idea and made a bundle - you couldn't even monetize the only thing this poor town was ever famous for - Buffalo clearly cannot get out of its own way...

you want good pizza? John's on Bleeker- clearly no contest with bocce - sorry but it's true...

[ceglia]

woops didn't see you from Sacramento - yeah those wings must be a welcome change from all that cali food....coming back to Taxuffalo eh? On a decent house the property taxes will be around 10k so those wings will cost ya - let's see - about 6 bucks a wing! And don't forget our sales tax, or the gas tax to drive to get those wings - or the cost of the gas - some of the highest in the state - welcome home park your wallet here...hope you like high heating prices too - we got that as well...utilities here are a killer...

[Habermill]

woops didn't see you from Sacramento - yeah those wings must be a welcome change from all that cali food....coming back to Taxuffalo eh? On a decent house the property taxes will be around 10k so those wings will cost ya - let's see - about 6 bucks a wing! And don't forget our sales tax, or the gas tax to drive to get those wings - or the cost of the gas - some of the highest in the state - welcome home park your wallet here...hope you like high heating prices too - we got that as well...utilities here are a killer...

Sir, I live in California that has more environmental laws than any state in the USA. You don't know what high utility costs are as compared to California. My electric bill last month was over $500.00. Our gasoline has always been higher than New York State at the pump. Yesterday, I paid Taxes of $10K on a home in Buffalo would also be a welcome change. My taxes on my home in California are $38K per year! Food prices in California are astronomical.

[Downstate Buffaloian]

Sir, I live in California that has more environmental laws than any state in the USA. You don't know what high utility costs are as compared to California. My electric bill last month was over $500.00. Our gasoline has always been higher than New York State at the pump. Yesterday, I paid Taxes of $10K on a home in Buffalo would also be a welcome change. My taxes on my home in California are $38K per year! Food prices in California are astronomical.

Wow! That is even more expensive than Long Island! $500 electric bills and 38K taxes per year! I'm speechless. I hope you are making $300 K plus a year!

My electric bill was $275 and my taxes $8000. I guess I shouldn't complain!

[Habermill]

[QUOTE=Downstate Buffaloian]Wow! That is even more expensive than Long Island! $500 electric bills and 38K taxes per year! I'm speechless. I hope you are making $300 K plus a year!

My electric bill was $275 and my taxes $8000. I guess I shouldn't complain!
[/QUOTE I have a good friend that lives in Long Island and his taxes are $27K per year. He lives in Smithtown, NY and is a physician. Do you know where Smithtown is?

The average cost of a house in the neighborhood that I live in is now well over $900K. Median California Home Price $567,360.00. I doubt you have that anywhere in Western New York. Maybe on a few streets in Clarence?

To survive in the State of California in my area, you have to earn a minimum of $400K per year and that is just making ends meet.

Buffalo's real estate is very affordable as compared to other areas of the country.

[Downstate Buffaloian]

[QUOTE=Downstate Buffaloian]Wow! That is even more expensive than Long Island! $500 electric bills and 38K taxes per year! I'm speechless. I hope you are making $300 K plus a year!

My electric bill was $275 and my taxes $8000. I guess I shouldn't complain!
[/QUOTE I have a good friend that lives in Long Island and his taxes are $27K per year. He lives in Smithtown, NY and is a physician. Do you know where Smithtown is?

The average cost of a house in the neighborhood that I live in is now well over $900K. Median California Home Price $567,360.00. I doubt you have that anywhere in Western New York. Maybe on a few streets in Clarence?

To survive in the State of California in my area, you have to earn a minimum of $400K per year and that is just making ends meet.

Buffalo's real estate is very affordable as compared to other areas of the country.

My house is very small (about 1100 sqaure feet) so that is why I only pay $8000. We are only making about $60,000 per year (just me working plus investment income) but I have just a small home equity loan on the house so that's why we can stay here (it was my wife's parents house, she inherited it after they died). Even so we are really struggling, but we will hold out until my mother retires in 2008. She will watch our son for free so both of us will be free to work again in Buffalo.

Smithtown is nice but is only an upper-middle class community. There are other areas on the Island where houses go for up to $25 Million with taxes approaching 100K!

So what is keeping you in California? I guess if you are making $400K you can afford to stay. Places along the east and west coast are becoming places for the rich and ones who serve them. Middle class people like myself don't fit in there anymore. That's why many from New York and California are moving to the midwest and south.

[Stevenco]

I lived in New Hampshire for awhile. Now I'm not a huge chicken wing fan, but I ordered up some "Buffalo Wings" in Newington at a Restaurant/Bar and they were boiled. They were all one piece (tips included) and they had barbeque sauce on them.
Summertime on the coast is very nice though.

[therising]

The topic was food.

Mr Sacramento - you do need to get out more. Despite the provincal belief, food here is nothing to brag about. There's more to life than wings, and the pizza sucks.

Regarding the taxes - your friend must have a $2 Million home. Expensive, even for Long Island.

[Downstate Buffaloian]

The topic was food.

Mr Sacramento - you do need to get out more. Despite the provincal belief, food here is nothing to brag about. There's more to life than wings, and the pizza sucks.

Regarding the taxes - your friend must have a $2 Million home. Expensive, even for Long Island.

Rising:

Yes, I agree that overall Downstate has much better food than Buffalo (especially Italian food) however Buffalo has unique comfort food not found in other places. That is what I think he misses. Plus Sacramento isn't SF or LA so maybe the food is better in Buffalo.

$2 million is a starter home (3,000 sq feet) in the elite areas of Long Island like Sand's Point, Brookville, Muttontown. Your neighbors will have 5,000-10,000 square foot homes worth upwards of $20 million.

However there are middle-class capes, split levels and ranches in the middle of the Island in places like Levittown, Hicksville, Commack or Nesconset that sell in the $350,000 to $550,000 range. If you want to live in a ghetto or WT environment in places like Hempstead, Brentwood or Mastic Beach house go for $175,000-$400,000

I live in a middle class area directly adjacent to a super-rich area.

[ceglia]

oh please - do NOT compare Buffalo to california - we are not on the COAST - Sacramento is the pitts I agree...I used to live in LOS ANGELES...I would not compare Buffalo to LA - apples and oranges, but compare it to places like Charlotte NC and BUFFALO is more expensive when you factor in taxes and NYS income taxes, and sales taxes -I maintain that ERIE COUNTY has SOME OF the highest COMBINED taxes in the country! Buffalo DOES NOT have the economy to maintain these house prices - FOLKS the salaries in BUFFALO cannot support these prices - the quality of life suffers when most of your paycheck goes to pay for the gas in your car, and your mortgage....it's time ot put the nails on this coffin of a city and look for greener pasteurs where there are decent jobs and a chance at a better life. Buffalo has a very bleak future.

[ceglia]

My electric bill was $275 and my taxes $8000. I guess I shouldn't complain!
[/QUOTE I have a good friend that lives in Long Island and his taxes are $27K per year. He lives in Smithtown, NY and is a physician. Do you know where Smithtown is?



your property taxes would be about 1400 bucks a year in a midsize city in the middle south, and your house would cost less - utes would be cheaper, and you would not have to fight subzero temps for months out of the year.

you are NOT GETTING ahead here in Buffalo....you are subsidizing a bloated government that does NOT exist in other smarter places...:)

[Downstate Buffaloian]

My electric bill was $275 and my taxes $8000. I guess I shouldn't complain!
[/QUOTE I have a good friend that lives in Long Island and his taxes are $27K per year. He lives in Smithtown, NY and is a physician. Do you know where Smithtown is?



your property taxes would be about 1400 bucks a year in a midsize city in the middle south, and your house would cost less - utes would be cheaper, and you would not have to fight subzero temps for months out of the year.

you are NOT GETTING ahead here in Buffalo....you are subsidizing a bloated government that does NOT exist in other smarter places...:)

Why the heck would I want to live down South! So my taxes would be $1400 a year but I would probably have to live in gated community because the crime is so bad (check the stats if you don't believe me) and pay a homeowners association fee and tuition for private school because the public schools suck!

Plus I would have to put up with people calling me a damn yankee all the time. I have had friends that have moved to the south and they can't wait to go back home. Plus as a Catholic I would be constantly be told that I follow a false religion and they would try to convert me to the hokey fundamentalism they practice down there (again I have had friends who live there that confirm this stereotype).

Look I've got enough money to pay the Taxes in WNY. Per square foot I can get alot more house for the same amount of taxes in WNY compared to where I live now. I'll have alot of money left over after selling my current house. As long as my wife and I can get jobs each in the $30,000-$40,000 range we will do ok because we will have no mortgage.

I want a safe, quiet and sane place for my son to grow up in. I like cold weather and I want my son to be able to ski, sled and have snowball fights every winter.

I also like being close to Canada, so I can go to a different country anytime I need to.

Most importantly my family is in WNY. I can't a price on that.

Palm trees are nice but I only want to see them on vacation.

[formerbuffalonian]

woops didn't see you from Sacramento - yeah those wings must be a welcome change from all that cali food....coming back to Taxuffalo eh? On a decent house the property taxes will be around 10k so those wings will cost ya - let's see - about 6 bucks a wing! And don't forget our sales tax, or the gas tax to drive to get those wings - or the cost of the gas - some of the highest in the state - welcome home park your wallet here...hope you like high heating prices too - we got that as well...utilities here are a killer...


Wow, have you ever moved out of the Buffalo area?If you dislike it so much,there's the door!!!
AS someone who has moved and lives in "TAX" achusetts now! Believe me, Buffalo isn't bad!! Everything is high priced in this state........The grocery stores SUCK (*they are the smallest grocery stores I have ever seen!)and the pizza is awful here--they use cheddar cheese instead of mozzarella!! the houses start at 350 and up if you want a decent one...........................dont know what you have until it's gone!

[formerbuffalonian]

Why don't you come back? Being in California I'm sure you've made a fortune on your house. I'm planning to come back in 2008. I can afford to accept a lower salary in Buffalo because I will have no mortgage and several hundred thousand dollars left over after selling my house in Long Island.

Come back, you could enjoy that good Buffalo food everyday!

OMG, you sound like me LOL but I cannot move back right now. It is my hometown and lived outside of Buffalo in the burbs most of my life--and I miss it! but my husband has a career here and here I sit!LOL>....but I think in 10 years or so we may move back!!!!! or get him to move!LOL........
The people suck here and are colder than Buffalo winters........most days!!! Everyone is so snitty and snotty and think their sht doesn't stink..Sad to say!! I miss Wegmans so much! The grocery stores are terribly small here !I cannot stand the R's they put on their words either! (i.e idea-idea"er")..........baaaaaaahston,etc..................
Good homes start at 350k and up around here and taxes aren't the greatest...........but I can sell this one and get a mansion back in Williamsville/clarence and be happy!! Yes, taxes will be 7k-10k a year but I won;t have a mortgage either-when the time comes, I wanna get out of dodge here and go back home...........................
Oh yea, the bakeries sck here too!!!!! Nothing like Wolter's,Pumpernick N'Pastry for a good baked item!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[1964]

WNY does have some exceptional selections when it comes to retail food centers (ie: Wegmans, Tops), Restaurants and Fast Food. I don't have any Thai or Pakistani/Indian Restaurants near me (20 miles away) and Dude and Dudettes, do I love Thai!

[Downstate Buffaloian]

OMG, you sound like me LOL but I cannot move back right now. It is my hometown and lived outside of Buffalo in the burbs most of my life--and I miss it! but my husband has a career here and here I sit!LOL>....but I think in 10 years or so we may move back!!!!! or get him to move!LOL........
The people suck here and are colder than Buffalo winters........most days!!! Everyone is so snitty and snotty and think their sht doesn't stink..Sad to say!! I miss Wegmans so much! The grocery stores are terribly small here !I cannot stand the R's they put on their words either! (i.e idea-idea"er")..........baaaaaaahston,etc..................
Good homes start at 350k and up around here and taxes aren't the greatest...........but I can sell this one and get a mansion back in Williamsville/clarence and be happy!! Yes, taxes will be 7k-10k a year but I won;t have a mortgage either-when the time comes, I wanna get out of dodge here and go back home...........................
Oh yea, the bakeries sck here too!!!!! Nothing like Wolter's,Pumpernick N'Pastry for a good baked item!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I miss Wegmans too, the grocery stores chains here suck! The people here are so snotty. In my sons play group the parents kind of look down on my wife and I because we went to a state university rather than a private Ivy league school like them. :mad:

When I told them about Wegmans, One of them replied "Oh yeah I went to one of those once, It's like a Target, sophistication for the masses":rolleyes:

That's the kind of S--T I have to put up with on a daily basis here.

Keep working on your husband, maybe he'll change his mind. I've bugged my wife for years and now that our son has come along she's finally on board with the idea, as long as at least one of us finds a job there first.

[Downstate Buffaloian]

the pizza is awful here--they use cheddar cheese instead of mozzarella!! !

God that really sucks! At least Long Island has good Pizza.

[formerbuffalonian]

I miss Wegmans too, the grocery stores chains here suck! The people here are so snotty. In my sons play group the parents kind of look down on my wife and I because we went to a state university rather than a private Ivy league school like them. :mad:

When I told them about Wegmans, One of them replied "Oh yeah I went to one of those once, It's like a Target, sophistication for the masses":rolleyes:

That's the kind of S--T I have to put up with on a daily basis here.

Keep working on your husband, maybe he'll change his mind. I've bugged my wife for years and now that our son has come along she's finally on board with the idea, as long as at least one of us finds a job there first.

I hear you about snotty----I think the M azzholes as I commonly refer to them as LOL--are about the rudest people I have ever met.......most, not all,but seriously, people are so cold and abrasive here.......We may have cold Buffalo winters but at least the people are "warmer" than here........I have never seen or met so many snotty,conceited people.......in my life!

I lived in NY most of my life and have met many Long Islanders but never went to LI lol! I remember some idiot I had a date with back in college-and he said, THIS is where you live? in a cottage? WOW, nice!!!now go back to LI LOL>>>>>>I felt like telling this schmuck!!


and OMG! Wegman's compared to Target ???LOL! Wow, people are out there!! they built a Wegman's in Manalapan,NJ and I have relatives that live near there-- it is one wealthy town!!! and they rich flock to the Wegman's there!! Lots of money around that town.........

[Downstate Buffaloian]

I

and OMG! Wegman's compared to Target ???LOL! Wow, people are out there!! they built a Wegman's in Manalapan,NJ and I have relatives that live near there-- it is one wealthy town!!! and they rich flock to the Wegman's there!! Lots of money around that town.........

Jersey is the "Country" to people around here, so the fact that there is a Wegmans in Manalapan is irrelevent to them. Everyone west of the Hudson has no teeth and lives in a trailer in their line of thinking (like the movie Deliverance they always say).:mad:

We should have a Snob Bowl: Long Island vs Boston. The Long Islanders would say they have more money than you. The Bostonian would say they are smarter than you.

I have to say one thing about east coast snobbery at least its honest and in your face. LA snobbery is very passive aggressive, I found that same thing with D.C. snobbery.

It would be nice to not have to live with snobbery at all!

[Run, Bucky, Run]

Hey, Downstate Buffalonian-
I like that part about the nicest part of hell;
can relate to that since I'm living in what I call "...remarkably, unremarkable Queens..."
You're dead on about the cost of living here;
the taxes in NYC are a real bargain compared to Nassau/Suffolk or Westchester;
remember- and I'm sure that you do- there is a heavy cost on your time; for me to go to the closest Home Depot- figure in about a half a day; no 35 minute trip out and back;
we're going back within the year;
as I have come to see NYC- it has two majors going for it; one, if you want to "get lost" and never be found- you can do it here; two, if there's anything that you want to buy- from anywhere in the world- you can find it here;
Smithtown; you're kind of out there; be careful of those home invasions!

[Downstate Buffaloian]

Hey, Downstate Buffalonian-
I like that part about the nicest part of hell;
can relate to that since I'm living in what I call "...remarkably, unremarkable Queens..."
You're dead on about the cost of living here;
the taxes in NYC are a real bargain compared to Nassau/Suffolk or Westchester;
remember- and I'm sure that you do- there is a heavy cost on your time; for me to go to the closest Home Depot- figure in about a half a day; no 35 minute trip out and back;
we're going back within the year;
as I have come to see NYC- it has two majors going for it; one, if you want to "get lost" and never be found- you can do it here; two, if there's anything that you want to buy- from anywhere in the world- you can find it here;
Smithtown; you're kind of out there; be careful of those home invasions!

Glad to see someone who agrees. I'm in Port Washington not Smithtown. It would take too long to get off the Island if I lived all the way out there.

Where in Queens? Bayside, Astoria, Middle Village?

[therising]

Hey, Downstate Buffalonian-
I like that part about the nicest part of hell;
can relate to that since I'm living in what I call "...remarkably, unremarkable Queens..."


Queens is basically the Kenmore of NYC. Still, the people who live there would get a kick out of the person from Buffalo calling it unremarkable.

What do you live in?

[Downstate Buffaloian]

Queens is basically the Kenmore of NYC. Still, the people who live there would get a kick out of the person from Buffalo calling it unremarkable.

What do you live in?

Lynbrook in Nassau County is exactly the same as Kenmore. If you were in either one you wouldn't know which is which.

[Run, Bucky, Run]

Well-
for whoever said it- Queens is not the Kenmore of NYC. Kenmore can be quaint- comparatively- plus, Kenmore has trees- a lot of Queens is paved, hot, treeless and, well, pathetic.
Downstate Buffalonian- I'm in Bayside.
Hey, don't get me wrong- Queens does serve a purpose; it is what I consider a service boro; look, if you grew up here and this is all you know, well, I suppose- that's fine; but, again, I suppose it is what you are used to;

[therising]

Well-
for whoever said it- Queens is not the Kenmore of NYC. Kenmore can be quaint- comparatively- plus, Kenmore has trees- a lot of Queens is paved, hot, treeless and, well, pathetic.
Downstate Buffalonian- I'm in Bayside.
Hey, don't get me wrong- Queens does serve a purpose; it is what I consider a service boro; look, if you grew up here and this is all you know, well, I suppose- that's fine; but, again, I suppose it is what you are used to;

First of all, Bayside has a lot of trees.
Second of all, it has White Castle, which, single-handedly makes it better than Kenmore.

[Downstate Buffaloian]

Well-
for whoever said it- Queens is not the Kenmore of NYC. Kenmore can be quaint- comparatively- plus, Kenmore has trees- a lot of Queens is paved, hot, treeless and, well, pathetic.
Downstate Buffalonian- I'm in Bayside.
Hey, don't get me wrong- Queens does serve a purpose; it is what I consider a service boro; look, if you grew up here and this is all you know, well, I suppose- that's fine; but, again, I suppose it is what you are used to;

....and Bayside is one of the nicer neighborhoods in Queens. If I lived in the five Boroughs it would be Brooklyn probably Bay Ridge. I get a kick out of the old school Brooklyn types there. Bay Ridge is affordable by NYC standards for what you get. Safe too.

The problem with Queens is that it isn't solidly urban like Brooklyn and not suburban like Long Island. You end up getting the worst of both living situations, crowding but with inadequate public tranportation.

[Downstate Buffaloian]

First of all, Bayside has a lot of trees.
Second of all, it has White Castle, which, single-handedly makes it better than Kenmore.

There are certainly worse places in Queens than Bayside to live.

I think what he doesn't like is the pace of life, attitude of the people and the lack of value for the money. This is something that just permeates every aspect of the NYC Metro area. It becomes tiring if you havn't grown up with it.

[Run, Bucky, Run]

Hey- "The Rising-
Where are you and where are you from?

[ceglia]

Why the heck would I want to live down South! So my taxes would be $1400 a year but I would probably have to live in gated community because the crime is so bad (check the stats if you don't believe me) and pay a homeowners association fee and tuition for private school because the public schools suck!

Plus I would have to put up with people calling me a damn yankee all the time. I have had friends that have moved to the south and they can't wait to go back home. Plus as a Catholic I would be constantly be told that I follow a false religion and they would try to convert me to the hokey fundamentalism they practice down there (again I have had friends who live there that confirm this stereotype).

Look I've got enough money to pay the Taxes in WNY. Per square foot I can get alot more house for the same amount of taxes in WNY compared to where I live now. I'll have alot of money left over after selling my current house. As long as my wife and I can get jobs each in the $30,000-$40,000 range we will do ok because we will have no mortgage.

I want a safe, quiet and sane place for my son to grow up in. I like cold weather and I want my son to be able to ski, sled and have snowball fights every winter.

I also like being close to Canada, so I can go to a different country anytime I need to.

Most importantly my family is in WNY. I can't a price on that.

Palm trees are nice but I only want to see them on vacation.


you have so many msconceptions about the south, about Buffalo, about the high cost of living in NYS I woulnd't know where to begin...so I'll just say, move back to Buffalo as soon as possible.bwahahaha.

[Habermill]

Latino landscapers make in excess of $70K and up in the Sacramento area which is a 365 day a year business here. These are legitmate businesses and are not to confused with the Mexicans standing on corners in San Diego looking for work. These businesses are 3rd and 4th generation with state of the art equipment, uniforms etc. Getting back to the food issue, our pizza stinks as compared to the Buffalo area.:mad:

[ceglia]

Latino landscapers make in excess of $70K and up in the Sacramento area which is a 365 day a year business here. These are legitmate businesses and are not to confused with the Mexicans standing on corners in San Diego looking for work. These businesses are 3rd and 4th generation with state of the art equipment, uniforms etc. Getting back to the food issue, our pizza stinks as compared to the Buffalo area.:mad:
wow sacramento, buffalo,.....you sure know how to pick the best armpit cities to live in.....where ya movin next? detroit?

if you hate the pizza so much, why not learn to make your own - it's not that hard, and I am sure there is room on your patio to build yourself a wood-fired oven - outdoor kitchens are pretty ubiquitous in California - and the fresh vegetables there are the best in the country - I used to get the best ****ake mushrooms at the farmers market in Santa Monica! And the japanese farmers were absolutely the best! They grew the most wonderful organic vegetables!
You don't know how lucky you are to get fresh produce all year long - how can you compare a greasy old chicken wing that's been sitting in a vat of old fried oil to that? And if you want good food, head up to Berkeley and go to Chez Panisse - and treat yourself to one of the best restaurants in the world - Buffalo? good food? bwahahahahaha.They can't even do good blue collar food here anymore - Heck even head to Baltimore if you want good southern Italian cooking if you can't make it to Brooklyn. But I still say the best pizza is Johns on Bleeker! Ra!

[SundayNiagara]

No doubt the WNY area has great food. However, it's just too bleeping cold in the Winter. Btw, the weather is just gorgeous now in South Florida.
Mark

[Stevenco]

I used to get the best ****ake mushrooms at the farmers !

Now that's funny. That's why language filters are stupid. They are easily bypassed and they filter out innocent words.

[ceglia]

ha..that is funny - I should have said portobello!!

[ceglia]

No doubt the WNY area has great food. However, it's just too bleeping cold in the Winter. Btw, the weather is just gorgeous now in South Florida.
Mark


72 and sunny here as well....I feel sorry for the Buffalonians who have to get those Sunday calls from families all over the country asking how the weather is in Buffalo, who then announce how WARM and SUNNY and BEAUTIFUL it is where they are, as the cell phone falls from their frostbitten fingers. When I lived in Buffalo, I used to get the weather reports regularly from my relatives in San Diego - used to drive me nuts!

[ceglia]

I miss Wegmans too, the grocery stores chains here suck! The people here are so snotty. In my sons play group the parents kind of look down on my wife and I because we went to a state university rather than a private Ivy league school like them. :mad:

When I told them about Wegmans, One of them replied "Oh yeah I went to one of those once, It's like a Target, sophistication for the masses":rolleyes:

That's the kind of S--T I have to put up with on a daily basis here.

Keep working on your husband, maybe he'll change his mind. I've bugged my wife for years and now that our son has come along she's finally on board with the idea, as long as at least one of us finds a job there first.


Uhm, California does not have an edge over Buffalo - ever talk to some of those knuckleheads from the Buffalo Country Club? I used to live in a rather upscale neighborhood in Amherst - the same stuff went on there - lots of new money trying to outdo each other with bigger pools, and newer cars, and fancier landscaping (water features ya know)...it made me pretty sick and I finally got out vowing never to live in a fishbowl subdivision ever again.
Buffalo is just as bad as anyplace else when it comes to that attitude.

[ceglia]

any decent ones for a birthday party? I heard there is an English tea salon (St Catherines??? Queenston? ) that has great pies and cakes....anybody know anything???

[MikeNC]

Why the heck would I want to live down South! So my taxes would be $1400 a year but I would probably have to live in gated community because the crime is so bad (check the stats if you don't believe me) and pay a homeowners association fee and tuition for private school because the public schools suck!

Plus I would have to put up with people calling me a damn yankee all the time. I have had friends that have moved to the south and they can't wait to go back home. Plus as a Catholic I would be constantly be told that I follow a false religion and they would try to convert me to the hokey fundamentalism they practice down there (again I have had friends who live there that confirm this stereotype).

Look I've got enough money to pay the Taxes in WNY. Per square foot I can get alot more house for the same amount of taxes in WNY compared to where I live now. I'll have alot of money left over after selling my current house. As long as my wife and I can get jobs each in the $30,000-$40,000 range we will do ok because we will have no mortgage.

I want a safe, quiet and sane place for my son to grow up in. I like cold weather and I want my son to be able to ski, sled and have snowball fights every winter.

I also like being close to Canada, so I can go to a different country anytime I need to.

Most importantly my family is in WNY. I can't a price on that.

Palm trees are nice but I only want to see them on vacation.

Kind of a rought attack on the south....I moved to CLT 10 years ago, and it has been nothing short of pleasant....I dont live in a gated community, HOA dues are not that bad...in fact they serve a purpose, it's kinda nice pulling into a subdivision with manicured entrances, irrigation keeping the grounds green during the summer...the whole yankee thing is kind of childish, maybe it's good your friends are moving back north, us yankees wont look like wimps then....I lived in BUF 45 years, and you'll never hear an ill word from me about home, so please dont talk bad about my new home unless you have been here yourself!!! You are right about family, there is no price on that, thank goodness it is only a 90 min flight to see them.....peace out***Mike

[Linda_D]

Jersey is the "Country" to people around here, so the fact that there is a Wegmans in Manalapan is irrelevent to them. Everyone west of the Hudson has no teeth and lives in a trailer in their line of thinking (like the movie Deliverance they always say).:mad:

We should have a Snob Bowl: Long Island vs Boston. The Long Islanders would say they have more money than you. The Bostonian would say they are smarter than you.

I have to say one thing about east coast snobbery at least its honest and in your face. LA snobbery is very passive aggressive, I found that same thing with D.C. snobbery.

It would be nice to not have to live with snobbery at all!

I never lived Downstate, but being a Buff State alumna, I had the misfortune of sharing a campus with the innumerable "Lon Guylanders" who infest upstate colleges. They give the NYC metro and its residents a bad name throughout upstate.

On the other hand, when I worked in Albany, I traveled frequently down to NYC and worked closely with numerous folks who had lived in the City all their lives. Definitely a higher class of NYC Metro resident.

I also have a number of friends and acquaintances who are NYC expats. Most came upstate for vacations, and then decided to "take the plunge" for what they saw as a better life-style. None of them pine for the "Big City". :)

[Habermill]

I had some of the best Potato Skins ever in Buffalo back in the 1980's. In addition, during my last two visits to WNY, I had an outstanding steak at the Buffalo Chop House! I would have to say it was better than Morton's in Chicago or Peter Lugars in New York City. Whoever owns the Buffalo Chop house knows what they are doing!

[Downstate Buffaloian]

I never lived Downstate, but being a Buff State alumna, I had the misfortune of sharing a campus with the innumerable "Lon Guylanders" who infest upstate colleges. They give the NYC metro and its residents a bad name throughout upstate.

On the other hand, when I worked in Albany, I traveled frequently down to NYC and worked closely with numerous folks who had lived in the City all their lives. Definitely a higher class of NYC Metro resident.

I also have a number of friends and acquaintances who are NYC expats. Most came upstate for vacations, and then decided to "take the plunge" for what they saw as a better life-style. None of them pine for the "Big City". :)

Don't get me wrong, there are alot of great things about downstate. If you have the money to insulate yourself from its negative aspects there is no better place to live. If you can afford a private school for kids and live in Manhattan or an estate in Connecticut (or the North Shore of Long Island) life is getting even better for you. Illegal immigrants are making labor ever cheaper, so you can employ them to watch your kids, do your gardening, clean your house, etc. You are fully insulated from the negative effects of this invasion. The NYC Metro area is a rich man's paradise!

However it is extemely difficult for the traditional middle class to make it here. The housing prices and taxes are stratosphereic. Middle class neighborhoods are being invaded by new immigrants and the resources needed to educate students that don't speak English is slowly degrading the quality of the Schools (lowering test scores and causing middle-class white flight). The workers at fast food restaurants barely speak English and make you feel like you are the one who is the foriegner. The increased traffic and the stuffing of day laborers into illegal apartments have crowded neighborhoods and degraded the quality of life.

The native-born people who plan to stay in the area are incresingly wealthy. The future here will consist of rich White and Asian people being served by Hispanics. The middle class will for all intents and purposes dissappear. Unfortunately Long Island is not alone in this, it is happening all over the country. That's what Laissez-faire economics and bleeding heart immigration policy has brought on this country. You neo-cons have gotten your wish!:mad: Too bad the Democrats are no different in this regard. They are just Republicans that support Gay Marriage and abortion (diversionary issues from the real problems in this country). We need someone that will recognize that immigration needs to be slowed down and restore the post-WW2 ideal of a broad middle-class. If they don't this country is headed for doom.

[MAX]

-I maintain that ERIE COUNTY has SOME OF the highest COMBINED taxes in the country! Buffalo DOES NOT have the economy to maintain these house prices - FOLKS the salaries in BUFFALO cannot support these prices - the quality of life suffers when most of your paycheck goes to pay for the gas in your car, and your mortgage....it's time ot put the nails on this coffin of a city and look for greener pasteurs where there are decent jobs and a chance at a better life. Buffalo has a very bleak future.

To claim that Erie Co has highest taxes, or tax cost (combined or otherwise) is just plain silly.

We are *seriously* looking at accepting a position up there and relocating to EC from a part of the US that a dwarfs the taxes paid up there. (Cost of living is 64% less, and that includes salaries taxes etc)

The bonus is (for me) the increase in salary, and working for a very cool little start up company, where I am not paying thousands of dollars to prop up the state and local thieves, er I mean government.

Getting the high end professional positions into EC helps the economy across the board.

Your other points are valid however.


(I have been reading this msg board for weeks and just de-cloaked to make this my first post)

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

To claim that Erie Co has highest taxes, or tax cost (combined or otherwise) is just plain silly.

We are *seriously* looking at accepting a position up there and relocating to EC from a part of the US that a dwarfs the taxes paid up there. (Cost of living is 64% less, and that includes salaries taxes etc)

The bonus is (for me) the increase in salary, and working for a very cool little start up company, where I am not paying thousands of dollars to prop up the state and local thieves, er I mean government.

Getting the high end professional positions into EC helps the economy across the board.

Your other points are valid however.


(I have been reading this msg board for weeks and just de-cloaked to make this my first post)


What area do you live in now so we can pull the numbers? Very interested in an area that has higher taxation then WNY.

By the way welcome to the board.

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

What area do you live in now so we can pull the numbers? Very interested in an area that has higher taxation then WNY.

By the way welcome to the board.

After reading your other posts, I doubt you will provide where you live now.

[MAX]

After reading your other posts, I doubt you will provide where you live now.

visit http://osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/research/propertytaxes.pdf (page six and eight)

it has a map showing that Erie County has one of the LOWEST tax Burdens in the state of NY,

and NY comes in #4 (from the bottom) in Per Capita Tax Rates

LOCAL PROPERTY TAXES (Per capita/year*)
5 BEST STATES
Arkansas $191
Alabama $285
Kentucky $376
New Mexico $380
Oklahoma $425

5 WORST STATES
New Jersey $1,871
Connecticut $1,733
Maine $1,439
New York $1,402
Rhode Island $1,368


U.S. average $935


*Based on 2002 census data, the latest currently available.
Source: Tax Foundation


Now of course if the Income doesn't match the tax burdon, then you have a point. but the median income is about 40k, (about 1/2 that per capita) by contrast, Hartford County CT is at 50k/
26k, so it equates pretty much to say it does suck but basicly,

Erie Is

AVERAGE


If you read on you will see even with the 19% adjustment (tax hike) last year the increase is STILL below the CPI (inflation) rate by 2 or 3 %.
Research is your friend.

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

visit http://osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/research/propertytaxes.pdf (page six and eight)

it has a map showing that Erie County has one of the LOWEST tax Burdens in the state of NY,

and NY comes in #4 (from the bottom) in Per Capita Tax Rates

LOCAL PROPERTY TAXES (Per capita/year*)
5 BEST STATES
Arkansas $191
Alabama $285
Kentucky $376
New Mexico $380
Oklahoma $425

5 WORST STATES
New Jersey $1,871
Connecticut $1,733
Maine $1,439
New York $1,402
Rhode Island $1,368


U.S. average $935


*Based on 2002 census data, the latest currently available.
Source: Tax Foundation


Now of course if the Income doesn't match the tax burdon, then you have a point. but the median income is about 40k, (about 1/2 that per capita) by contrast, Hartford County CT is at 50k/
26k, so it equates pretty much to say it does suck but basicly,

Erie Is

AVERAGE


If you read on you will see even with the 19% adjustment (tax hike) last year the increase is STILL below the CPI (inflation) rate by 2 or 3 %.
Research is your friend.

Ah "“Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive” - Sir Walter Scott

Your post read "To claim that Erie Co has highest taxes, or tax cost (combined or otherwise) is just plain silly." This was in response to a comment from ceglia that read "I maintain that ERIE COUNTY has SOME OF the highest COMBINED taxes in the country!

This is what made me curious about the comment. Your reply only references NYS property tax. Just an FYI cost of living and income burden comes from more then just property tax. Things like SALES TAX, STATE INCOME TAX are part of the COMBINED tax burden that you and ceglia spoke of.

Also never mentioned what area you live in that has a lower COMBINED taxes in comparison to Erie county.

Comprehension of words is my buddy...

[MAX]

Sorry for providing too much information fo you so I type real slow for you. here are some random listing of total cost.
I picked a salary of 50k, as it is a round number all from CNN Money.com

Salary in Buffalo NY: $50,000
Comparable salary in Glens Falls NY: $52,662.75

If you move from Buffalo NY to Glens Falls NY...

Groceries will cost: 1.858% more
Housing will cost: 2.735% more
Utilities will cost: 2.224% less
Transportation will cost: 4.141% more
Healthcare will cost: 2.388% less


Salary in Buffalo NY: $50,000
Comparable salary in Nassau County NY: $74,339.37

If you move from Buffalo NY to Nassau County NY...

Groceries will cost: 25.873% more
Housing will cost: 124.366% more
Utilities will cost: 7.2% more
Transportation will cost: 13.595% more
Healthcare will cost: 25.013% more


Salary in Buffalo NY: $50,000
Comparable salary in Middlesex - Monmouth NJ: $64,923.56

If you move from Buffalo NY to Middlesex - Monmouth NJ...

Groceries will cost: 11.623% more
Housing will cost: 82.506% more
Utilities will cost: 9.57% less
Transportation will cost: 0.232% less
Healthcare will cost: 13.47% more

Salary in Buffalo NY: $50,000
Comparable salary in Framingham-Natick MA: $71,418.45

If you move from Buffalo NY to Framingham-Natick MA...

Groceries will cost: 10.194% more
Housing will cost: 120.913% more
Utilities will cost: 1.345% more
Transportation will cost: 7.499% more
Healthcare will cost: 22.887% more

EVEN CLEVELAND is more expensive

Salary in Buffalo NY: $50,000
Comparable salary in Cleveland OH: $51,933.79

If you move from Buffalo NY to Cleveland OH...

Groceries will cost: 8.919% more
Housing will cost: 9.85% more
Utilities will cost: 10.716% less
Transportation will cost: 2.409% less
Healthcare will cost: 5.803% more


So like I siad EC is basically average,( NY has a pretty crappy tax system ) but it is not high in any case...

the quetion is are you getting a return from the govenment on your investment. ?

[Habermill]

Is LaNova Pizza in Buffalo still owned by the mafia?

http://www.americanmafia.com/Cities/Buffalo.html

[Downstate Buffaloian]

Salary in Buffalo NY: $50,000
Comparable salary in Nassau County NY: $74,339.37

If you move from Buffalo NY to Nassau County NY...

Groceries will cost: 25.873% more
Housing will cost: 124.366% more
Utilities will cost: 7.2% more
Transportation will cost: 13.595% more
Healthcare will cost: 25.013% more




I now live in Nassau County and used to live in Grand Island and Hamburg. My experience with the above costs are as follows:

Groceries about 33% higher in Nassau County
Housing is about 200% more
Utilities about 35% more
Transportation is about 15% more
Healthcare about 25% more
Taxes for the same amount of square footage is 100% more
Wages in Nassau are about 30% more but it sure doesn't make up for the increased costs.
My 1100 square foot house house is worth 400% more than in Erie County (the only good thing about living here)

[ams]

oh please - do NOT compare Buffalo to california - we are not on the COAST - Sacramento is the pitts I agree...I used to live in LOS ANGELES...I would not compare Buffalo to LA - apples and oranges, but compare it to places like Charlotte NC and BUFFALO is more expensive when you factor in taxes and NYS income taxes, and sales taxes -I maintain that ERIE COUNTY has SOME OF the highest COMBINED taxes in the country! Buffalo DOES NOT have the economy to maintain these house prices - FOLKS the salaries in BUFFALO cannot support these prices - the quality of life suffers when most of your paycheck goes to pay for the gas in your car, and your mortgage....it's time ot put the nails on this coffin of a city and look for greener pasteurs where there are decent jobs and a chance at a better life. Buffalo has a very bleak future.

This makes me laugh. My niece is a police officer down in Raleigh. She is waiting for her lease to run out so she can quit and come back to WNY. Why? Too expensive to live down there. She currently needs to work two jobs to afford her rent, car payment and food. She knows she will never own a home living down there - far too expensive.

Remember, the grass is not always greener... federal taxes are the same rate over the entire country, and what is a tax here is a fee somewhere else. At least property and state taxes are deductible on your federal tax form, fees are not.



What area do you live in now so we can pull the numbers? Very interested in an area that has higher taxation then WNY.


You should check out NJ. When we were looking last year, no one could give us an accurate property tax. It was going to be “around $25,000 - $30,000” but we’d find out after we bought. The realtor’s sheets were nearly impossible to understand (information provided by the municipalities), so we didn’t blame her (much). This was in the $500 - $750K range in Essex County. We switched out search to Middlesex county where taxes, while not necessarily more reasonable, were discernable prior to purchase.

Checking out the other side of the state is interesting. We also looked in Westchester but the up and down streets made me puky so we exited that area quickly. A friend has a house in Scarsdale where they pay well over $20K in taxes per year. They pay “for the schools” which no one sends their kids to anyway. Interesting place.

[colossus27]

I now live in Nassau County and used to live in Grand Island and Hamburg.

What time of day is the sun setting there right now?

[colossus27]

visit it has a map showing that Erie County has one of the LOWEST tax Burdens in the state of NY, and NY comes in #4 (from the bottom) in Per Capita Tax Rates

LOCAL PROPERTY TAXES (Per capita/year*)
New York $1,402

Erie Is

AVERAGE


If you read on you will see even with the 19% adjustment (tax hike) last year the increase is STILL below the CPI (inflation) rate by 2 or 3 %.Research is your friend.

Comprehensive research is yours. This conclusion is delusional. I pay more than $1402 in school taxes alone, which, last time I checked, was indeed a property tax. In addition, my village/town/county taxes, combined, also exceed $1402. My home is valued at about 15% over average for Lancaster.

[colossus27]

This makes me laugh. My niece is a police officer down in Raleigh. She is waiting for her lease to run out so she can quit and come back to WNY. Why? Too expensive to live down there. She currently needs to work two jobs to afford her rent, car payment and food. She knows she will never own a home living down there - far too expensive.

My apartment in Annapolis was more expensive, per month, than my house payment here, taxes included. I was also paying ~$150/month in winter to heat a 925 sqft apartment. I'm paying about $18 more per month to heat my house here. And both were heated with natgas.