No offense to your relative, but who the F wants to live in a gated and guarded, homogenous burbclave? Especially one as cookie cutter and regulated as Summerlin. I reckon some people crave that illusion of safety and control. Me, I like knowing I'll be able to drink a glass of tap water beyond next year, and sleep better with the thought of maybe painting my house purple if I so choose.
Overpaying to live in those cities is no longer true...people buying now in Phx or LV can buy gorgeous gated homes for $125-200 per sq ft. A relative just bought a home in LV in a guard gated neighborhood in Summerlin 4,000sf with pool on the golf course for $$600k...thats what u pay for a home on Oakland near Childrens Hospital
Sunbelt cities are taped together and stuccoed over. No amount of "year-round golf" is worth the soul draining experience.
WNY should be selling our weather, plain and simple. Want to buy an affordable house and not have to worry about it being blown, burned, flooded, or covered by a landslided then come to WNY:) As for the winters here I love them and all the outdoor activities options available as well. Now only if someone can start selling our weather instead of complaining about it all the time we might be able to change peoples perspectives on WNY.
Winter is a factor becuase most of the speculation was done in the sun belt where baby boomers were retiring and there was a lot of population growth.........two things that Buffalo doesn't have.
Most of the snow belt cities did not see the speculative and aggressive buying.
orlanmon you took the words from my mouth, your house won't be destroyed by a blizzard. I'll take the beautiful winters over your hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, forest fires, etc...
This is all very true and is has made real estate a viable career and investment in Buffalo becuase of its stability.
Someone should tell Forbes that there are positive developments here. How is Buffalo the 12th fasted growing real estate market in the country and among the "Top 10 Fasted Dying?"
Forbes magazine lists Buffalo among top 10 'Fastest-Dying Cities'
Buffalo has the less-than-flattering distinction of being named to Forbes magazine's list of America's Top 10 "Fastest-Dying Cities."
Forbes created its list of metropolitan areas facing rapid declines through analysis of census, unemployment and annualized gross domestic product (GDP) data. Buffalo's unflattering statistics included a population loss of nearly 42,000 since 2000, an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent (compared to national average of 4.3 percent) and a GDP of 1.9 percent.
"Buffalo has long been synonymous with city-in-decline. In the early 1900s, Buffalo was one of America's 10 largest cities, a burgeoning industrial center. It's been on decline ever since, despite a location that takes advantage of trade with Canada," the magazine explained.
It did note, however, Buffalo's bright economic assets include M&T Bank and Delaware North Companies. Mayor Byron W. Brown today insisted the Forbes list does not measure what's happening in the city today, claiming Buffalo is enjoying "record investment."
"There is no way Buffalo is a dying city," the mayor said.
He added that he plans to write to Forbes to provide data about the dozens of economic development projects that are under way, not to mention Buffalo's numerous credit-rating upgrades by Wall Street rating firms.
The Forbes list, Brown said, focuses on population decline. The exodus of people from Buffalo over the past 50 years can't be denied, but Brown said the trend is "slowing a bit."
"We see that as a very good sign," he said.
Other cities making the fast-dying list include: Cleveland, Dayton, Canton and Youngstown, Ohio; Flint and Detroit, Mich., Springfield, Mass.; Charleston, W.Va.; and Scranton, Pa.
I love winter!!! One of the primary reasons I moved here was reliable snowfall.
yeah Im not sure where the winter is the reason..and why is winter always portrayed as the work of the devil? I mean warm and sunny is nice but four seasons adds something to look forward to...some change. Also, just a thought but I find it interesting that the area is not losing jobs yet because manufacturing is a smaller portion of the economy. Im not an economist but wouldn't it seem that if we are gaining jobs in a national economic slowdown, when the national economy booms again we may go along for the ride at least partly?
Where is that bottom photo taken by the way?
I think many people just woke up to the fact that they were overpaying to live in "prestigious" and "hot' markets like Phoenix, Las Vegas and other cities where people migrate to because it doesn't snow.
I would take slow steady growth over the boom bust bubbles that happen elsewhere. We should be proud that we are stable in both economy and climate. If you have a good job, odds are you are going to be able to keep it as long a you want without fear that your are going to get priced out of your house or neighborhood. Or fear that you are going to come home from work and find your home gone from a forest fire or hurricane. It all seems trivial to a lot of people but I like the pace of life that you can live here. You don't need to work 5 jobs to pay for 500 sqft apt and that gives people time to actually enjoy life a little more. Sure our bank accounts don't rise and grow as fast as other places but I do think that we have the time and resources to actually spend more money in ways that make us happy compared to many places.
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