Buffalo's grittiness gives it a SOUL that is simply missing from many booming areas of the US.
When I recall the fall leaves, street hockey in the winter with those orange "hockey balls", the long gray-sky days of winter, and my cousins saying "hey youuuse guys", my memories are fond, not bitter or regretful at all.
In my Houston office my PROUD Buffalo roots are plain as day. I have plenty of Bills and Sabres memorabilia proudly displayed, leaving no doubt where I'm from.