buffalobillsfootball Posted March 21, 2007 Posted March 21, 2007 My Turn: Moving Back East; Heading Back Home When I left my hometown, I swore I'd never come back. Seeing the world changed my mind. By Brian Castner Newsweek http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17662270/site/newsweek/ March 26, 2007 issue - The human-resources recruiter at the hospital in western New York was confused. "You live in Las Vegas now?" she asked. "Yes, that's right," my wife said. "And you're moving here?" It was not the first time my wife, an emergency-room nurse trying to set up interviews for a new job in a new city, has had to explain herself. Perhaps the time of year explains the recruiter's confusion—she was probably buried under a late-winter blizzard, dreaming of our sunny weather. Thousands of people move to Las Vegas each month. No one moves from the sun belt to the snow belt. No one, that is, except us. I'm also surprised about our coming move. Born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., I spent my first 18 years trying to leave. My hometown was too small, too predictable and too boring, filled with similarly small, predictable, boring people. Each summer vacation, when we visited my father's family in Oregon, I dreamed of permanently moving out west. I was drawn to the sense of optimism and the broad Western landscapes. Back east I felt doomed to the opposite; gray, snowy winters that seemed to never end. My mother's family had lived in Buffalo for nearly 150 years, and no one ever escaped. When college came, I grabbed my chance, went to school in Milwaukee (far, but not too far), got married (to a girl from Michigan, not Buffalo), joined the Air Force and didn't look back. The few friends from high school I kept in touch with all moved away: to New York City, Boston, California. In the military I met many others from my hometown. All told the same story of the desire to escape. We joked that Buffalo was a better place to be from than to actually be. In the past eight years, I have lived in South Dakota, New Mexico and Nevada, and seen the world—Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kyrgyzstan. The strain of constant deployments has taken its toll on my family, and my Air Force career is now drawing to a close, which means we can decide for ourselves where to move. My wife and I made a list of priorities. After years of brown landscapes, we longed for trees, grass and water. We wanted to move east, and north; someplace with four seasons. We liked the idea of a university town, where we could get our Ph.D.'s and maybe teaching jobs later. Our new hometown needed to have affordable housing—the boom of Las Vegas had left us barely able to afford a too-small house there. Also on the list were good schools for our three sons, and easy access to their grandparents. Plus rolling hills for cross-country skiing for me; a body of water for kayaking and sailing for my wife. After eight years of following my job, we wanted to follow our life. As we brainstormed our list of towns to move to—Burlington, Washington, Albany, Minneapolis—nothing seemed quite right. Finally one day my wife said, "Stop being so stubborn. You know Buffalo has everything that we're looking for." But I worried I would be judged a failure for moving back. Did it mean I couldn't hack it on the "outside"? But the idea of making my old hometown my new address began growing on me. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that moving back will hold benefits far eclipsing our meager list. My sons will get the chance to grow up with not only their grandparents, but great-grandmother, great-great aunts and first, second and third cousins. They'll get to hear family stories about their grandfather, a firefighter, who put out a blaze in the church his grandfather built. My sons will go to my old high school. These ideas suddenly held meaning. Marriage, fatherhood and deployments to the worst areas of the world have given me a perspective I was too self-absorbed to see before. I took for granted a large supporting family and sense of community history most people don't have. I appreciate it only now. But I understand that I am not settling for an easier road, but rather making an active choice to believe in the place my immigrant ancestors poured their lives into. I am learning to be less defensive when admitting I am moving back home. I tell people we thought objectively, and Buffalo just happened to have all the things we were looking for. When I tell my high-school friends I am moving back, they say "good for you," as in "you're braver than I." When I tell my military friends from Buffalo, they say they have seen too much of the world to move back to that small, predictable, boring town. I tell them I have seen too much in this world not to move home. Castner lives in Las Vegas, Nev.
beerme1 Posted March 21, 2007 Posted March 21, 2007 Awesome read, thanks for posting it. I knew how life was like in WNY when I moved here from Georgia in 1994. When I got to the Ryder truck rental the guy was blown away and said the reason I got such a cheap rate on the truck was that nobody drives there equipment here. It always just leaves on a one way WNY is a unique and fantastic place to live. Get over it to the people who cant understand why.
Rubes Posted March 21, 2007 Posted March 21, 2007 Wow, aside from the military part, it sounds like a story I could have written. Except that I have no plans on moving just yet...
Dr. Trooth Posted March 22, 2007 Posted March 22, 2007 Our new hometown needed to have affordable housing???????????????????????? WTF is talking about? Wait til he sees his property tax bill on his 2 car garage, 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, $175K home near Buffalo.
DC Tom Posted March 22, 2007 Posted March 22, 2007 Ex-patriot Buffalonians are the only people I've ever known - including myself - who, no matter where they go, still refer to where they were born as "home". The loyalty the city engenders in people is actually kind-of odd when you think about it.
nemhoff Posted March 22, 2007 Posted March 22, 2007 ???????????????????????? WTF is talking about? Wait til he sees his property tax bill on his 2 car garage, 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, $175K home near Buffalo. You got it light my friend, try living on the west coast
Sanners Posted March 22, 2007 Posted March 22, 2007 Ex-patriot Buffalonians are the only people I've ever known - including myself - who, no matter where they go, still refer to where they were born as "home". The loyalty the city engenders in people is actually kind-of odd when you think about it. Totally agree. I've been everywhere, and Buffalo is unique in that respect.
The Dean Posted March 22, 2007 Posted March 22, 2007 ???????????????????????? WTF is talking about? Wait til he sees his property tax bill on his 2 car garage, 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, $175K home near Buffalo. Perhaps there are negative taxes on your home in Jupiter. Otherwise, I'm sure he could live just fine in the Bufftown despite what you may consider to be obscene taxes. Someone, please, get this person a calculator!
Cynical Posted March 22, 2007 Posted March 22, 2007 ???????????????????????? WTF is talking about? Wait til he sees his property tax bill on his 2 car garage, 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, $175K home near Buffalo. Property taxes are not the only determining factor of affordable housing. A $175K house in the Buffalo area is about double the areas median house price of $88,000. http://www.nhc.org/pdf/chp_paycheck_housing2007.pdf Where I live, you're not buying a 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, w/ 2 car garage for $175K. If you did, either the lot sucks, or there is something wrong with the house. Here's another link about housing affordablility: http://www.demographia.com/dhi-ix2005q3.pdf That study lists Buffalo as tied for fourth for most affordable housing.
ROCCEO Posted March 22, 2007 Posted March 22, 2007 Ex-patriot Buffalonians are the only people I've ever known - including myself - who, no matter where they go, still refer to where they were born as "home". The loyalty the city engenders in people is actually kind-of odd when you think about it. Oh, its extremely odd. I have thought deep and hard about this very subject. Last year when I was getting set to graduate from UB i was thinking, "Im ready to go somewhere, ANYWHERE, warmer than this." As time drew on the same problem as always came up. I have a love/hate relationship with this city. I love the bills and I like it very much int eh summer but I only have lived here sept-late may. So I only see the best things for a little while. While some of us may love the city its debateable whether the city loves any of us back. Lo and behold, within a month of graduation day I was already preparing my application for canisius grad school. So here I sit for at least another 18 months, no clue if or when Im ever gonna leave.
Rubes Posted March 22, 2007 Posted March 22, 2007 Ex-patriot Buffalonians are the only people I've ever known - including myself - who, no matter where they go, still refer to where they were born as "home". The loyalty the city engenders in people is actually kind-of odd when you think about it. That is exactly true.
Ray Posted March 22, 2007 Posted March 22, 2007 It's amazing the gravitational pull of this place! But on days like today when I'm walking the dog in the morning and it's sunny and almost 60 it seems great. The people, the sense of community, the pride do make this city unique. In regards to the weather--it definitely gets you down Jan through March! But live in the midwest, northeast/New England or Pacific NW and you'll get the same thing.
The Dean Posted March 22, 2007 Posted March 22, 2007 It's amazing the gravitational pull of this place! But on days like today when I'm walking the dog in the morning and it's sunny and almost 60 it seems great. The people, the sense of community, the pride do make this city unique. In regards to the weather--it definitely gets you down Jan through March! But live in the midwest, northeast/New England or Pacific NW and you'll get the same thing. I LOVE and miss WNY. I think you make an excellent observation about most of the area. But, what about Niagara Falls. That is one sad story, right there. I've been of the belief for some time that someone (or some corporation) needed to step in and. pretty much, buy the city and START OVER. The pettiness of the local politics and the small time "what's in it for me" attitude of most of the local politicians and residents is abhorrent and there seems to be no end in sight. Pretty much the only things getting done are due to the Senecas, who got the land for almost nothing and pay little in taxes. They DO however share some of the revenues from the casino...and then the politicians argue for years about who should get the $ and how it should be spent. Now, I'm starting to think the state should just give the whole damn city to the Senecas and let them make it into a...well...whatever the hell they want to make it into. It could be a cross between Gatlinburg and Atlantic City, for all I care. Sorry for the ramble, I lost my point in there somewhere. What I was trying to get to was this: What about Niagara Falls?
GG Posted March 22, 2007 Posted March 22, 2007 Now, I'm starting to think the state should just give the whole damn city to the Senecas and let them make it into a...well...whatever the hell they want to make it into. It could be a cross between Gatlinburg and Atlantic City, for all I care. Is this a subtle admission that private enterprise could do a better job in reviving the region, especially if unshackled from Albany?
Bob in STL Posted March 22, 2007 Posted March 22, 2007 ???????????????????????? WTF is talking about? Wait til he sees his property tax bill on his 2 car garage, 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, $175K home near Buffalo. Your forgetting that the same 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage home in most cities would cost three times the $175K that you quote. $175k does not get much in most parts of the country. Even here the midwest, real estate is still affordable but the house you desrcibe is $250-400K depending on the town, the school system, etc. If I had a legitimate chance to return to WNY I would have done so. The family aspect alone is something that you cannot put a price on.
The Dean Posted March 22, 2007 Posted March 22, 2007 Is this a subtle admission that private enterprise could do a better job in reviving the region, especially if unshackled from Albany? Certainly, in this case...but I don't think Albany's the real issue here. It's LOCAL politics doing the most damage, IMO. Unlike in many other areas of the region (and the country) where urban revitalization involved a healthy mix of public and private cooperation, the Falls has been screwed by total lack of that cooperation. But, the local politics are not the only ones deserving of the blame. Many private businesses have seen the Falls as an easy mark and have tried to take the city with bad deals and bad businesses practices. The Falls is, most certainly, the rube to many business's high stakes con game. Because of the cheating, lying and outright stealing that has gone on by the public and private sector, I think one very rich person, company or consortium of companies (or the Senecas) would have to take the lead and be the difference maker. If the local economy could support it, then I'd say the public sector would be a viable alternative...but it can't. There just isn't any $$ in the Falls, anymore.
Just Jack Posted March 22, 2007 Posted March 22, 2007 Your forgetting that the same 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage home in most cities would cost three times the $175K that you quote. $175k does not get much in most parts of the country. Even here the midwest, real estate is still affordable but the house you desrcibe is $250-400K depending on the town, the school system, etc. If I had a legitimate chance to return to WNY I would have done so. The family aspect alone is something that you cannot put a price on. Just for giggles, here's what comes up on Realtor.com when doing a search for a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage single family home, priced between $100K and $200K.... 42 results Now for Las Vegas... 1 result
Gordio Posted March 22, 2007 Posted March 22, 2007 That house in vegas looks like a place you find on the east side of buffalo. What a dump.
PromoTheRobot Posted March 22, 2007 Posted March 22, 2007 I have daydreams about selling my modest home in NH for about $350K (the going price) and moving back to the old hometown. If you know your neighborhgoods, there are real gems to be found. Nice homes in reletively safe, but unglamourous neighborhoods, for around $50K. (Sloan comes to mind) I'd bank the rest if I could find a way around capital gains taxes. Maybe if I wait until I'm 55? You are spot on about politics holding WNY back. That's what you get when half the people hold government jobs. I mean do we need seperate city, county, and village police, fire, EMTs, etc? Turning Erie County into a single metro government would save tens of millions of tax dollars but the little dictators that hold sway would never give up the privilages of power or easy paychecks. Who cares how the rest of us are doing. PTR
BB27 Posted March 22, 2007 Posted March 22, 2007 I would, in an instant move back to Buffalo if given the chance. Not a week goes by that I don't look at the available transfers and see if Buffalo is on the list. It is a beautiful city, and I wouldn't think twice.
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