I am thrilled to be young (22) and living in Buffalo. Not only just me but all of my friends absolutely love Buffalo, its new developments and exciting future that our generation is going to fulfill. Almost daily I read about how developers are aiming their projects to people like me but no one writes about us empty nesting 20 somethings and how we feel about it all. Now I canit speak for everyone but I believe Buffalo is going to be a grand city in 10 years and my friends and I have plans set the example for others to follow.
I was born and raised for the most part in Cheektowaga, then Tonawanda, Buffalo and finally Amherst. My senior year my family and I moved down to Beaufort, SC and I graduated there. Then I joined the Marine Corps served a four year tour and I deployed to support Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. My experience in the Marines has made me marketable in the Network Administration and Engineering fields. I had many job offers in Virginia and the DC area. I turned them all down to go back to Buffalo and attend UB. When I moved to Buffalo from Virginia I ended up on Whitney place and I loved downtown living.
I just finished my first year at UB and am currently at a summer job in the DC area. While attending UB I talk often about the wonders of downtown -living and entertainment – and its bright future. Students at UB in general do not go downtown unless they are 21 and go to Chippewa. When I tell students that I live downtown they cringe and ask if I have gotten robbed lately. They are afraid to come downtown or think that there is nothing to do and it is a waste of time – they think that they have everything they need in Amherst. I would say that most students consider UB and Buffalo as a bus stop. They are merely waiting while they plan for the next place to go to start a career/family.
Since there are many NYC people attending UB they do not get to experience the amazing Buffalo summer of the art festivals, Taste of Buffalo, Italian Fest, Shakespeare in the Park, Thursday at the Square and the list goes on. They think of Buffalo as a dreary cold and snowy place that they visit to get a degree. The way I see it is that I could be living in the DC area with a good job but I know I would hate it. There is no culture here, in the Northern Virginia area there are only chain restaurants and all the housing is cookie cutter to feed the housing boom. My apartment was the same as hundreds of thousands in the area with no taste, character or attention to detail. Buffalo has the exact opposite and there is no other place that I have seen that comes close. I have lived in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and California and nothing beats Buffalo, not even close.
Sometimes I think about taking another major in Environmental Design so I too can help Buffalo as much as I possibly can. I love Buffalo with all my heart and will try my absolute hardest to make it my home. Living in an affordable upscale loft downtown – that is MY dream and the dream of many of my close friends that are originally from Buffalo.
I am ready to do anything that I can to make Buffalois future as brilliant as I imagine it will be.