Forked Thread: Why did you leave? Why don't you come back?

[Ebenezer]

Forked from: This brings up an interesting question (http://www.billszone.com/fanzone/showpost.php?postid=2321305)


Forked from: How could you still support the NFL if the Bills are moved? (http://www.billszone.com/fanzone/showpost.php?postid=2320840)




This got me thinking.....how many of y'all are originally from the Buffalo area, regardless of where you live now?

i'm from Orchard Park.

and this got me thinking...

It's great having a lot of folks who post here being from other areas and still rooting for the Bills but how about the city? Why did folks leave Buffalo in the first place? Why don't they come back?

[Spiderweb]

********* Economics *********

[Night Train]

I came back but economics are indeed making it tough to survive. I keep turning on the local news and seeing all these plans for the waterfront and a downtown comeback but it's not getting done.

I take the wife downtown on a Saturday for a play and it's basically empty, outside of some homeless people following you for a handout. Without industry and a strong city, the suburbs suffer. High taxes and utilities plague this area, which is still stuck in thinking from 40 years ago.

We have so much potential but the city,county,state & fed. gov't is such a mess. Most locals are willing to do their share but our leaders are basically quitters who got their $$ and benefits and get too comfortable in their own selfish world. Too many healthy people, mostly trash, getting free handouts. A damn shame.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

I wish I could move back to Buffalo. But, in 1987, I developed a very rare, chronic, debilitating medical condition (not AIDS) that was not properly diagnosed or treated for more than three years. During that time, I came very close to dying on more than a couple of occasions. When my condition was finally diagnosed, I was told that most people with this illness do not survive more than 6 months without treatment.

While massive amounts of medications (I take more than 30 pills a day now) keep my illness from being life-threatening most of the time, there are times when the medications are unable to control it and, at those times--which can never be predicted, it can be fatal. Even when it isn't life-threatening, my condition can flare up at any time--sometimes only for a couple of hours--and be totally debilitating. As a result, I am unemployed and unemployable.

My illness--and the other medical problems caused by the medications used to control it and by the debilitating effects of it--needs to be closely monitored. One of the few MDs in the US, outside of the National Institute of Health, who specializes in treating people with this illness has her practice in NYC. While it is possible that I might be able to find a physician at Roswell Park or UB Medical School who would know enough about my particular medical condition to be able to monitor it, one of the reasons that I do not feel that it would be possible for me to move back to Buffalo is that my doctor in NYC is one of the best in the world in treating this illness and is totally familiar with how it expresses itself in my body (it effects different people who have it differently). A doctor with less familiarity with my illness and how it impacts me, may not be as able to some up with the proper treatment when my condition does become life-threatening.

Weather and environmental factors can also influence my illness. Even more than the climate, there are environmental factors (certain allergens common thorughout the area) in WNY that can and, when I visit, sometimes do cause my illness to flare up beyond levels that can be controlled by the medications. My ability to function and keep my illness from being life-threatening is already somewhat limited, were I to move back to the Buffalo area both would be even more limited.

Additionally, because of my illness, I have lost a lot of what I had worked for prior to its onset. Even though I was the youngest person ever certified to work in my profession (at the time I was certified), thanks to my illness and its additional effects, since its onset I have been unable to work in my profession and will never be able to work in it again. The cost of treatment, medications and medical insurance has severely restricted what my wife and I are able to do financially--to the point where, to keep us from going under financially in the future, my wife has pretty much nno choice but to remain at her present job until she reaches retirement age.

As much as we both like the Buffalo area and the people (including family members) there and wish that we could move there, for my wife and I moving back to WNY would be so physically and financially difficult that it is not something that we feel it would be prudent to do. Indeed, given the nature of my illness, for me, doing so could very well prove to be suicidal. And, that's not something that I am willing to take a chance with.

If I hadn't developed this illness, though, there's a pretty good chance that I would already be living in the Buffalo area because my wife and I had seriously talked about moving up to Buffalo just before I was hit by its onset.

I think WNY is a great place that has a lot to offer, especially now that the lake has been cleaned up a lot and a lot of the air pollution is gone.

[Jan Reimers]

I moved away after graduating from UB because my best job offer came from a company in - of all places - Erie, PA. I then subsequently moved several times to further my career.

I would love to move back to the Buffalo area, even from the beautiful Outer Banks, but my wife hates the snow and cold.

And one reason I would come back is that I believe Buffalo is on the cusp of a major revival. I know it's not there yet, things are still tough, and progress is slow, but the city is turning around. It may seem like glacial speed, but things are happening - with the canal and waterfront, Main Street, the Buffalo Niagara Medical Corridor, the expansion of UB, the creation of downtown lofts, apartments, condos, etc., and a number of other projects large and small.

I guess I'm less negative than many current and former Buffalonians, because I haven't lived through the years of decline. I really believe that things are about to get better for our city, however, if people will just give it a chance.

[Mitchy moo]

I wish I could move back to Buffalo. But, in 1987, I developed a very rare, chronic, debilitating medical condition (not AIDS) that was not properly diagnosed or treated for more than three years. During that time, I came very close to dying on more than a couple of occasions. When my condition was finally diagnosed, I was told that most people with this illness do not survive more than 6 months without treatment.

While massive amounts of medications (I take more than 30 pills a day now) keep my illness from being life-threatening most of the time, there are times when the medications are unable to control it and, at those times--which can never be predicted, it can be fatal. Even when it isn't life-threatening, my condition can flare up at any time--sometimes only for a couple of hours--and be totally debilitating. As a result, I am unemployed and unemployable.

My illness--and the other medical problems caused by the medications used to control it and by the debilitating effects of it--needs to be closely monitored. One of the few MDs in the US, outside of the National Institute of Health, who specializes in treating people with this illness has her practice in NYC. While it is possible that I might be able to find a physician at Roswell Park or UB Medical School who would know enough about my particular medical condition to be able to monitor it, one of the reasons that I do not feel that it would be possible for me to move back to Buffalo is that my doctor in NYC is one of the best in the world in treating this illness and is totally familiar with how it expresses itself in my body (it effects different people who have it differently). A doctor with less familiarity with my illness and how it impacts me, may not be as able to some up with the proper treatment when my condition does become life-threatening.

Weather and environmental factors can also influence my illness. Even more than the climate, there are environmental factors (certain allergens common thorughout the area) in WNY that can and, when I visit, sometimes do cause my illness to flare up beyond levels that can be controlled by the medications. My ability to function and keep my illness from being life-threatening is already somewhat limited, were I to move back to the Buffalo area both would be even more limited.

Additionally, because of my illness, I have lost a lot of what I had worked for prior to its onset. Even though I was the youngest person ever certified to work in my profession (at the time I was certified), thanks to my illness and its additional effects, since its onset I have been unable to work in my profession and will never be able to work in it again. The cost of treatment, medications and medical insurance has severely restricted what my wife and I are able to do financially--to the point where, to keep us from going under financially in the future, my wife has pretty much nno choice but to remain at her present job until she reaches retirement age.

As much as we both like the Buffalo area and the people (including family members) there and wish that we could move there, for my wife and I moving back to WNY would be so physically and financially difficult that it is not something that we feel it would be prudent to do. Indeed, given the nature of my illness, for me, doing so could very well prove to be suicidal. And, that's not something that I am willing to take a chance with.

If I hadn't developed this illness, though, there's a pretty good chance that I would already be living in the Buffalo area because my wife and I had seriously talked about moving up to Buffalo just before I was hit by its onset.

I think WNY is a great place that has a lot to offer, especially now that the lake has been cleaned up a lot and a lot of the air pollution is gone.


Ok, you get a pass. :respect:

[shelby]

i toyed with the idea of moving up there about 5 years ago. But all my family is here, and i hate the cold. So i stayed.

[kinigirly]

i considered moving back south for a while cause i couldn't get used to the cold. then i almost died of hypothermia and ever since then it doesn't bother me. i haven't worn a winter coat in 2 years. personally i think the wny winters have been getting tamer each year

[SquishDaFish]

I would love to move there but the wife wont move away from her family.

[BlackMetalNinja]

A handful of reasons led to the move. Personally, NY drives me up a wall with all it's regulations. I planned on becoming a teacher but they were making it increasingly difficult to do so in NY, so I chose to leave to go somewhere that would give me a better opportunity to do so. My wife is a massage therapist and business was not so great in WNY for her either... not a lot of demand and not enough people with excess money for such a thing. Down here, she does incredibly well with it.

Weather was another factor, I was sick of WNY winters and was happy to get away from them, though that alone would never be enough for me to leave. Additionally, the wife and I were just getting married and kind of wanted a fresh start, so we figured it was the best time to do so.

I'd like to come back to WNY, but I just don't see any way to make the same money we make down here, back home. So for the forseeable future, we stay here.

[Dude]

I left because my family moved to Albany and I was in school in Ohio. I had to move here permanently to get resident staus so I could get in-state tuition. My girlfriend (now wife) graduated before me and was already living in Cincinnati, so I moved here as well when I finished school.

There are several factors that keep me from moving back: maintaining my current income level, my wife's family is from here, and my parents are moving here this summer. While I would love to go back (and actually miss the WNY winters), there's no way it's going to happen.

[Buffatexas]

I left and lived in the Tampa area for 14 years. Why? Well, I felt I had to get away. Bad relationships and I was heading down a road that I really did not want to go down. Long story short, I lost my grandfather in 2006 and inherited his home in WNY and decided to give it another shot. So instead of selling it, we moved back. I can honestly say that I am doing much better for myself and my family now that I am back in WNY.

I go back to my old stomping grounds in South Buffalo and I almost cry when I see that it looks like a warzone in certain spots. Certainly wasnt that way growing up.

[don137]

I left western New York for a couple reasons....I enjoy the cold but not for 6 months out of the year. I enjoy doing outdoor activites (I have a tee time tomorrow). Plus, the economy is bad and I was sick of going to companies that constantly had layoffs (Bausch & Lomb, Xerox and Global Crossing). I never got aid off from those companies but got sick of worrying about it and realizing it is pretty mainstream across western NY so I took a voluntary buy out from Global Crossing and moved south.

[gr8slayer]

A handful of reasons led to the move. Personally, NY drives me up a wall with all it's regulations. I planned on becoming a teacher but they were making it increasingly difficult to do so in NY, so I chose to leave to go somewhere that would give me a better opportunity to do so. My wife is a massage therapist and business was not so great in WNY for her either... not a lot of demand and not enough people with excess money for such a thing. Down here, she does incredibly well with it.

Weather was another factor, I was sick of WNY winters and was happy to get away from them, though that alone would never be enough for me to leave. Additionally, the wife and I were just getting married and kind of wanted a fresh start, so we figured it was the best time to do so.

I'd like to come back to WNY, but I just don't see any way to make the same money we make down here, back home. So for the forseeable future, we stay here.
:ill: lucky guy...

There's a common theme here, people are making more money outside of Buffalo than they would be in Buffalo. Maybe Ralph is right :idunno:

I was going to move to Buffalo three years ago but during my visit there was told by the locals that I'll NEVER make the kind of money in Buffalo that I can in Dallas.

[Stewie]

Cause the economy sucks balls. I'd put up with the crappy weather and debilitating taxes if it didn't.

With the job I have now I could move back to WNY tomorrow and not skip a beat. But I'd be worried about finding another one if it didn't work out.

[RedEyE]

I moved away after graduating from UB because my best job offer came from a company in - of all places - Erie, PA. I then subsequently moved several times to further my career.

I would love to move back to the Buffalo area, even from the beautiful Outer Banks, but my wife hates the snow and cold.

And one reason I would come back is that I believe Buffalo is on the cusp of a major revival. I know it's not there yet, things are still tough, and progress is slow, but the city is turning around. It may seem like glacial speed, but things are happening - with the canal and waterfront, Main Street, the Buffalo Niagara Medical Corridor, the expansion of UB, the creation of downtown lofts, apartments, condos, etc., and a number of other projects large and small.

I guess I'm less negative than many current and former Buffalonians, because I haven't lived through the years of decline. I really believe that things are about to get better for our city, however, if people will just give it a chance.

You live in Corolla? We vacation there every other year.

[RedEyE]

The main reason that I haven't returned to Buffalo is my house hasn't sold yet in Atlanta. We had it on the market as the housing market quickly plummeted and the prices of homes for sale in our area has dropped 40K.

Its hard to just let something go for less than what you've invested.

The wife and I have focused and discussed in great lengths as to what we should do. We've come to an agreement that if we can sell the house even at a small loss we would make great gains in the end (education for our kids etc.).

I contacted 2 selling agents yesterday. The house is going back up on the market.

We may have to stay with family or rent a while in Georgia until one of us scores a decent job in the WNY area, but it looks like WE ARE MOVING BACK.

[Jan Reimers]

You live in Corolla? We vacation there every other year.
We live on Whalehead Drive, about 2 miles north of the Food Lion. Give me a call or PM me next time you're up our way.

Bills fans are always welcome.

[THATHURMANATOR]

I left and lived in the Tampa area for 14 years. Why? Well, I felt I had to get away. Bad relationships and I was heading down a road that I really did not want to go down. Long story short, I lost my grandfather in 2006 and inherited his home in WNY and decided to give it another shot. So instead of selling it, we moved back. I can honestly say that I am doing much better for myself and my family now that I am back in WNY.

I go back to my old stomping grounds in South Buffalo and I almost cry when I see that it looks like a warzone in certain spots. Certainly wasnt that way growing up.
I live on Mckinley pkwy!!

[DraftBoy]

My Dad received a work transfer to Atlanta, after we lost my little brother at a year and a half. We had to get away from it all, and start fresh. Its been nearly 20 years now, and we have made more money in Atlanta then we could of ever dreamed in Buffalo. Id love to go back home and get involved in politics on the city and county level, but from what I hear its a lost cause plus Id be making little to no money. Im happy in the south, I like it here and its my home. Buffalo isn't my home anymore.

[gr8slayer]

My Dad received a work transfer to Atlanta, after we lost my little brother at a year and a half. We had to get away from it all, and start fresh. Its been nearly 20 years now, and we have made more money in Atlanta then we could of ever dreamed in Buffalo. Id love to go back home and get involved in politics on the city and county level, but from what I hear its a lost cause plus Id be making little to no money. Im happy in the south, I like it here and its my home. Buffalo isn't my home anymore.
That means you'll have to take the NY Bar :ill:

[DraftBoy]

That means you'll have to take the NY Bar :ill:

AL has the most difficult bar statistically speaking, but like I said I dont have a reason to go back. And the Bills are not a good enough reason.

[gr8slayer]

AL has the most difficult bar statistically speaking, but like I said I dont have a reason to go back. And the Bills are not a good enough reason.
I hear you. I was always told that NY had the worst and AZ had the easiest.

[RedEyE]

We live on Whalehead Drive, about 2 miles north of the Food Lion. Give me a call or PM me next time you're up our way.

Bills fans are always welcome.

Will do. You're in an extremely nice area. The last time we stayed up on the 4 wheel drive beach. Minus the flys, we love it up there more than further down.

I know precisely where Whalehead is.

We are consdiering a trip this year..probably Thanksgiving. I'll let you know.

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

A few years ago my wife and I were seriously considering moving down to Raleigh, NC where my brother-in-law said that he could get me a job with his company. We thought long and hard about it and were very very close. In the end we decided to stay around here because of family, the area, and the Bills/Sabres. We were going to move to try to better ourselves in our careers. Now we are stuck because she has a good job and I can't find one. There is talk of us moving from here again and it is because there just are no jobs or if there are I can't find them. I know that I could have a job waiting for me in North Carolina with my brother-in-law.
I don't want to leave, but circumstances are starting to force me to look outside the area.

[Bill Brasky]

when i graduated from college, i applied to every news and video production facility in buffalo, rochester, and syracuse. got absolutely nowhere... and if i did the salary wasn't even enough to buy groceries on. got a job in nyc no problem. it took 2.5 years but once i got a job offer in wny i moved back. jobs in my field are virtually impossible to find up here... not exactly a media mecca.

[gr8slayer]

when i graduated from college, i applied to every news and video production facility in buffalo, rochester, and syracuse. got absolutely nowhere... and if i did the salary wasn't even enough to buy groceries on. got a job in nyc no problem. it took 2.5 years but once i got a job offer in wny i moved back. jobs in my field are virtually impossible to find up here... not exactly a media mecca.
Move to Dallas :up:

[RedEyE]

when i graduated from college, i applied to every news and video production facility in buffalo, rochester, and syracuse. got absolutely nowhere. got a job in nyc no problem. it took 2.5 years but once i got a job in roc i moved back. jobs in my field are virtually impossible to find in WNY... not exactly a media mecca up here.

I'm in the same boat.

Currently I'm working as a Video Engineer (MPEG compression etc.) for a major satellite bandwidth provider. I have extensive experience in RF/video satellite maintenance, installations and operations.

I've sent my resume to every TV station in the area 10 times over without even so much as a "Thank you, but no".

I'm now expanding to the Rochester area as well as Loral/Skynet just past the border in Canada.

[Bill Brasky]

I've sent my resume to every TV station in the area 10 times over without even so much as a "Thank you, but no".
yeah i found that to be downright hilarious. the companies in this area constantly ***** about not having enough "skilled workers"... there a ton here if you'd simply reply to a resume. even when i applied in other cities, i'd at least get the "thanks but no thanks" response... not here.

roch is your best bet for what you do. i think harris has a huge facility here.

[RedEyE]

yeah i found that to be downright hilarious. the companies in this area constantly ***** about not having enough "skilled workers"... there a ton here if you'd simply reply to a resume. even when i applied in other cities, i'd at least get the "thanks but no thanks" response... not here.

roch is your best bet for what you do. i think harris has a huge facility here.

I've applied with Harris several times over. They've contacted me about jobs in Thule, and Deigo Garcia. I told them (in a very nice way) "You're high".

[Bill Brasky]

well, good luck man. we need more techies up here!

[THATHURMANATOR]

The main reason that I haven't returned to Buffalo is my house hasn't sold yet in Atlanta. We had it on the market as the housing market quickly plummeted and the prices of homes for sale in our area has dropped 40K.

Its hard to just let something go for less than what you've invested.

The wife and I have focused and discussed in great lengths as to what we should do. We've come to an agreement that if we can sell the house even at a small loss we would make great gains in the end (education for our kids etc.).

I contacted 2 selling agents yesterday. The house is going back up on the market.

We may have to stay with family or rent a while in Georgia until one of us scores a decent job in the WNY area, but it looks like WE ARE MOVING BACK.
GO GO BUFFALO GO GO BUFFALO

[BlackMetalNinja]

A few years ago my wife and I were seriously considering moving down to Raleigh, NC where my brother-in-law said that he could get me a job with his company. We thought long and hard about it and were very very close. In the end we decided to stay around here because of family, the area, and the Bills/Sabres. We were going to move to try to better ourselves in our careers. Now we are stuck because she has a good job and I can't find one. There is talk of us moving from here again and it is because there just are no jobs or if there are I can't find them. I know that I could have a job waiting for me in North Carolina with my brother-in-law.
I don't want to leave, but circumstances are starting to force me to look outside the area.

I'd tell you my opinion, but I'm afraid Thurm would chew me out for trying to get people to move from the Buffalo area...

[THATHURMANATOR]

I'd tell you my opinion, but I'm afraid Thurm would chew me out for trying to get people to move from the Buffalo area...
I would. You make more and pay more for everything so what is the difference. If I was fired from my current job I would have a new job within a week. Not saying it would be in the field I want it to be but I would be making money.

[hydro]

I would. You make more and pay more for everything so what is the difference. If I was fired from my current job I would have a new job within a week. Not saying it would be in the field I want it to be but I would be making money.

The company that I work for is always looking for help. Anyone that comes in and passes a preliminary test gets a job. The problem is the people either can't handle the job or give up too easy.

[Bill Brasky]

what do you do hydro?

[hydro]

Service Desk Associate level 1 (IT) at a branch company of Sallie Mae.

[TigerJ]

I've always been a Western New Yorker, but never a Buffalonian. Right now, I go to the church where I'm appointed. When I retire, I plan to leave WNY for the following reasons:

Climate - I'm tired of long winters and lots of snow.

Too high taxes and too little to show for it.

Since the state is dominated politically by NYC, I feel like my vote doesn't count for much.

[Bruce is Loose]

My Dad lost his job at Kodak while I was in high school and got a better job in MA, so we moved as a family to NH and he commuted. In-state tuition kept me there through college and now I have a job and fiance that I love. I try to go back once a year to see the Bills but dont think I will ever move back since now both of our familys are local and we would be moving away from family and jobs....
I wasnt a fan of Buffalo winters although this year in NH hasnt been that great either!

[BlackMetalNinja]

I would. You make more and pay more for everything so what is the difference. If I was fired from my current job I would have a new job within a week. Not saying it would be in the field I want it to be but I would be making money.

I do not at all pay more for everything down here. I'd imagine it's quite comparable to Buffalo in terms of most stuff... except taxes aren't nearly as bad down here.

And by all means, find me a location up there where my wife can have anywhere near as much business in her profession as she gets down here.

[gr8slayer]

I do not at all pay more for everything down here. I'd imagine it's quite comparable to Buffalo in terms of most stuff... except taxes aren't nearly as bad down here.

And by all means, find me a location up there where my wife can have anywhere near as much business in her profession as she gets down here.
Yeah, I don't think it's as expensive outside of Buffalo as you think Thurm.