Am seething after reading this bum article from Forbes.com that takes a cheap shot at Buffalo

[ColoradoBills]

As someone who visits Buffalo regularly I have to say the last 5-10 years have been amazing to watch.

Things are looking better for the city and Erie county.

Keep moving forward.

[C.Biscuit97]

1 hour ago, Lurker said:

 

Your skin is way too thin.   The reference to Buffalo is because Brown wants to go to a larger, more cosmopolitan market than Pittsburgh.   Sending him to smaller Buffalo instead would be the ultimate F.U. to a bad teammate...

I took it as it’s a complete downgrade as a football team from Pittsburgh. I agree, this is a lot about nothing. I could be wrong but it may have been Forbes hyping up Buffalo’s renaissance.

Just now, ColoradoBills said:

As someone who visits Buffalo regularly I have to say the last 5-10 years have been amazing to watch.

Things are looking better for the city and Erie county.

Keep moving forward.

Yeah, it’s awesome to see. Kinda of embarrassing it took so long but at least it’s happenkng now.  Only downside is Buffalo used to the cheapest place on the planet to visit.

[ColoradoBills]

3 minutes ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

I took it as it’s a complete downgrade as a football team from Pittsburgh. I agree, this is a lot about nothing. I could be wrong but it may have been Forbes hyping up Buffalo’s renaissance.

Yeah, it’s awesome to see. Kinda of embarrassing it took so long but at least it’s happenkng now.  Only downside is Buffalo used to the cheapest place on the planet to visit.

 

I hear you......it's still cheap but not like it was.

I'm in semi-retirement mode right now and about 8 years ago when the downtown started to come back I came real close on buying

a loft condo for $85,000 which now has over doubled in value.   I was going to rent it out until retirement and live both in Colorado Springs and Buffalo.

I SHOULD OF DONE IT. 

[C.Biscuit97]

1 minute ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

I hear you......it's still cheap but not like it was.

I'm in semi-retirement mode right now and about 8 years ago when the downtown started to come back I came real close on buying

a loft condo for $85,000 which now has over doubled in value.   I was going to rent it out until retirement and live both in Colorado Springs and Buffalo.

I SHOULD OF DONE IT. 

My brother and I wanted to buy a couple of houses 5 years ago.  The same houses that were around 150 are basically double now.  We missed out big time. ?

[Steve Billieve]

3 hours ago, machine gun kelly said:

Brown could do so much for this team, and if process was so important, why did we keep McCoy?  He doesn't meet this model, but we keep him until the end of his contract.  If we picked up Hunt as RB after week 6 and Brown, and possibly two guards in free agency, we immediately change the offense.

 

I'm not sure that McCoy doesn't meet the model.  I think he does, and that's why were willing to pay him more than he might be worth next season.

[Steve Billieve]

I think he's one of the rare superstars that does fit in with what McD wants to do.  

[Tcali]

I havent lived in Buffalo since 1983..But I visit often. It is a great town.To say the quality of life in Buffalo is lower than in Pittsburgh or Cleveland is a joke.

And since when do people want a city to grow??? all that does is create more traffic/more headaches.

 

The only thing Pitt has over Buffalo is its football franchise.And guess what?? Football franchises dont give a damn about you.You shouldnt invest more than a tiny bit of yourself in following these stupid teams.Its a diversion...a stress reliever supposedly(well in Buffalo it has the opposite effect).

 

I would move back to Buffalo in a heartbeat--as long as i could get away from jan1-march31st. I am officially a california weather wimp.

[LSHMEAB]

I think the writer was clearly taking a dig at the city, or he wouldn't have said "all the way up" to Buffalo. 

 

Either way, meh. Definitely nothing to get worked up over.

[Punching Bag]

6 hours ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

What’s the name for ‘Yuppies 2020’?  You know,  the ones that will be buying seat licenses in the new downtown domed stadium, and renting $3000 a month converted lofts.  ?

 

Maybe the new stadium should have lofts for rent.

[C.Biscuit97]

6 minutes ago, Tcali said:

I havent lived in Buffalo since 1983..But I visit often. It is a great town.To say the quality of life in Buffalo is lower than in Pittsburgh or Cleveland is a joke.

And since when do people want a city to grow??? all that does is create more traffic/more headaches.

 

The only thing Pitt has over Buffalo is its football franchise.And guess what?? Football franchises dont give a damn about you.You shouldnt invest more than a tiny bit of yourself in following these stupid teams.Its a diversion...a stress reliever supposedly(well in Buffalo it has the opposite effect).

 

I would move back to Buffalo in a heartbeat--as long as i could get away from jan1-march31st. I am officially a california weather wimp.

Buffalo, California is my dream.  

[Tcali]

1 minute ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

Buffalo, California is my dream.  

CB-- I am assuming you are young. Get your foot in the door in CA with some real estate whatever it takes. The market will go up and down.But you have time on your side.And that strategy will pay off...and make that dream come true as well.

[Buffalo716]

4 hours ago, Idandria said:

Maybe the Bills of old led by Ralph Wilson was a horrible place to be sent to. Bad team, cheap owner, bad coaching,  no respect. 

 

Im probably biased but things are different now. The Pegulas and Beane have a plan. The best is yet to come! 

That Ralph was cheap is a BS narrative... he gave OJ million +, the 90s Bills were known as the million dollar Bills.. million dollar contracts everywhere.. was he cheap then?

 

he also gave ludicrous contracts to Derrick Dockery in the 2000s.. 7 year 49 million.. one of the largest guard contracts ever at the time .. cheap?

 

He gave out $$$ to the wrong people... on bad teams

 

he had no problem giving Mario 100 million or giving Fitz a 65 million dollar extension lol

 

of course he wasn’t going to spend to the cap  when we had a crappy team, that doesn’t make him cheap . I don’t talk crap about the man who created and kept the Bills in Buffalo for 50 years 

Edited January 12, 2019 by Buffalo716

[Big Turk]

9 hours ago, IgotBILLStopay said:

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/billwilliamson/2019/01/07/teams-that-make-sense-to-trade-for-antonio-brown/#1518a7c25e12

 

 

Where the hell did that come from? What makes Pittsburgh so much more desirable than Buffalo? Why is that comment only for Buffalo and not for, say, Detroit? 

 

Per Forbes.com's own website (this is place for doing business ranking and not a livability ranking - but still are the two cities really that different (#94 vs. #101 - Detroit is #178)?

 

Buffalo, NY

Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area

At a Glance

·         Population: 1,136,100

·         Major Industries: Financial services, Technology, Education

·         Gross Metro Product: $84.7 B

·         Median Household Income: $54,124

·         Median Home Price: $149,000

·         Unemployment: 5.1%

·         Job Growth (2017): 0.8%

·         Cost of Living: 11% below nat'l avg

·         College Attainment: 32.5%

·         Net Migration (2017): -120

Forbes Lists:

#101 Best Places for Business and Careers

·         #19 in Cost of Doing Business

·         #169 in Job Growth

·         #84 in Education

 

Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area

At a Glance

·         Population: 2,334,800

·         Major Industries: Health care, Technology, Bio-science

·         Gross Metro Product: $158 B

·         Median Household Income: $59,130

·         Median Home Price: $147,000

·         Unemployment: 4.4%

·         Job Growth (2017): 1.1%

·         Cost of Living: 7% below nat'l avg

·         College Attainment: 35.1%

·         Net Migration (2017): 750

Forbes Lists:

#94 Best Places for Business and Careers

·         #134 in Cost of Doing Business

·         #184 in Job Growth

·         #66 in Education

 

Obviously they must never have had to drive in Pittsburgh on snowy/icy days...I have no idea how there aren't 20 car pileups on every street...one block you go up 200 feet and then the next block you go down 200 feet...its ridiculous.

[C.Biscuit97]

12 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

That Ralph was cheap is a BS narrative... he gave OJ million +, the 90s Bills were known as the million dollar Bills.. million dollar contracts everywhere.. was he cheap then?

 

he also gave ludicrous contracts to Derrick Dockery in the 2000s.. 7 year 49 million.. one of the largest guard contracts ever at the time .. cheap?

 

He gave out $$$ to the wrong people... on bad teams

 

he had no problem giving Mario 100 million or giving Fitz a 65 million dollar extension lol

 

of course he wasn’t going to spend to the cap  when we had a crappy team, that doesn’t make him cheap . I don’t talk crap about the man who created and kept the Bills in Buffalo for 50 years 

Excellent post. Ralph spent a ton of money and keep the Bills in Buffalo when he could made a ton more money elsewhere.  He is a saint.

19 minutes ago, Tcali said:

CB-- I am assuming you are young. Get your foot in the door in CA with some real estate whatever it takes. The market will go up and down.But you have time on your side.And that strategy will pay off...and make that dream come true as well.

What part of California are you in?

[Nick the Greek]

21 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

That Ralph was cheap is a BS narrative... he gave OJ million +, the 90s Bills were known as the million dollar Bills.. million dollar contracts everywhere.. was he cheap then?

 

he also gave ludicrous contracts to Derrick Dockery in the 2000s.. 7 year 49 million.. one of the largest guard contracts ever at the time .. cheap?

 

He gave out $$$ to the wrong people... on bad teams

 

he had no problem giving Mario 100 million or giving Fitz a 65 million dollar extension lol

 

of course he wasn’t going to spend to the cap  when we had a crappy team, that doesn’t make him cheap . I don’t talk crap about the man who created and kept the Bills in Buffalo for 50 years 

Yea the 90s were great and I’m forever grateful the team is in Buffalo.. but come on. The team was on a 15 plus year playoff drought when he passed before new ownership got us back. 

 

Thats the mentality around here I always hated. Our standards are so pathetically low we will take a team being in Buffalo. Who cares if they are any good as long as we have a team.

 

15 years and no playoffs?   Not something to advertise. 

Edited January 12, 2019 by Idandria

[Success]

I always crack up when people refer to Buffalo as some kind of undesirable location.

 

At this point in my life, I’ve lived in over a dozen places around the country, and visited many more.  Few have been as beautiful as Western NY, and nowhere have the people been as down to earth and just cool to be around.

 

I’m sure there is some hometown bias there and I get that it’s no Laguna Beach, but it’s an awesome place.  Just look at how much it won over guys like Jim Kelly after they spent time here.

[ComradeKayAdams]

20 minutes ago, Idandria said:

Yea the 90s were great and I’m forever grateful the team is in Buffalo.. but come on. The team was on a 15 plus year playoff drought when he passed before new ownership got us back. 

 

Thats the mentality around here I always hated. Our standards are so pathetically low we will take a team being in Buffalo. Who cares if they are any good as long as we have a team.

 

15 years and no playoffs?   Not something to advertise. 

 

Also, a lot of people around here forget their Buffalo Bills history. There was a franchise before the 90's. And throughout that 30-year period, Ralph was notoriously cheap with players and coaches alike.

 

To me, the Antonio Brown comments could easily be referring to the football franchises in comparison, and not the cities. In that case, can anyone argue with a Steelers vs. Bills comparison? The silver lining is that just a few quality seasons could radically alter this football perception. Remember that the Steelers were an absolute joke of a sports franchise for its first four decades of existence.

Edited January 12, 2019 by MichaelAbdallah

[Buffalo_Gal]

3 hours ago, Mango said:

I really liked the “Major Industries” for Buffalo. Financial Services, Technology, Education.

 

...basically collections, Ingram (which is half call center), and UB. 

 

Looking great. 

 

I think that, in addition to M&T (as previously mentioned) they may also be referring to all the back end offices for a number of major banks as part of financial services too.

 

I forget the exact number of 'em, but there is more than just UB for college in the area too. I'd assume UB is the biggest and brightest, but definitely not the only.

[row_33]

59 minutes ago, Idandria said:

Yea the 90s were great and I’m forever grateful the team is in Buffalo.. but come on. The team was on a 15 plus year playoff drought when he passed before new ownership got us back. 

 

Thats the mentality around here I always hated. Our standards are so pathetically low we will take a team being in Buffalo. Who cares if they are any good as long as we have a team.

 

15 years and no playoffs?   Not something to advertise. 

 

all 3 non-Brady teams in the division have been a total joke for almost all the last 17 or so seasons.

[LSHMEAB]

My perception of Buffalo is a bit skewed. Growing up in Maryland, we'd take summer vacations to Pop's(Detroit) and Mom's(Buffalo, specifically Armor.) I grew up loving the area mostly because I was a freaking kid and it was just cool. Wasn't a fan of downtown, but this was the early 90's. Popped back in a few times over the 90's and 2000's and had a great time only because I was attending a Bills game.

 

Last time I was there was the Raiders game in 2017. Crazy day because the temperature went from 70 to 30 on Sunday. Must say that the city was vastly improved since my time there in the 90's. It's funny that people from places like Pittsburgh or Philly trash Buffalo. I live in Las Vegas because I'm also a weather p word, but Buffalo is definitely improving and no worse than other cities in the region.

 

I would advise the OP to not let such trivialities affect your mood. 

Edited January 12, 2019 by LSHMEAB

[Boatdrinks]

All the way up to Buffalo lol.... you mean that grueling 3.5 hour trek up the interstate ? What a choad 

[row_33]

4 minutes ago, LSHMEAB said:

My perception of Buffalo is a bit skewered. Growing up in Maryland, we'd take summer vacations to Pop's(Detroit) and Mom's(Buffalo, specifically Armor.) I grew up loving the area mostly because I was a freaking kid and it was just cool. Wasn't a fan of downtown, but this was the early 90's. Popped back in a few times over the 90's and 2000's and had a great time only because I was attending a Bills game.

 

 

Normally I don’t do this, but you meant skewed and not skewered, right.

 

then again....

 

[wppete]

The national media like to bash Buffalo and the Bills for some reason. It’s all good but once we get to the playoffs and make some noise they will all be jumping on the bandwagon.

[Mango]

41 minutes ago, Buffalo_Gal said:

 

I think that, in addition to M&T (as previously mentioned) they may also be referring to all the back end offices for a number of major banks as part of financial services too.

 

I forget the exact number of 'em, but there is more than just UB for college in the area too. I'd assume UB is the biggest and brightest, but definitely not the only.

 

I think the point is being missed here. Granted my response was full of some snark.

 

Most and many of the jobs for companies like Ingram, Citi, Ingram, Blue Cross, Kalieda, etc. are largely low end employment in the grand scheme of things. Largely because of the need for work in Buffalo and the low cost of living.

 

There are a number of colleges in WNY, but it’s not a hub for education. It is a mid sized city with colleges that are relatively average. UB, Buff State, Cansisus, D’Youville, Daemen. It is not an educational hub.

 

Buffalo props up these companies and universities more so than they are actually recognized outside of the community. 

 

Not to hate on the area. I moved back a few years ago for a number of reasons, mostly personal and home town stuff. But it is also an honest inventory of the region. Most of the actual data for the Buffalo area does not point to any sort of resurgence or renaissance. It’s a relative fallacy. Very little meaningful data points to an upward trend. It’s still stagnant with a few coats of paint. 

[C.Biscuit97]

22 minutes ago, LSHMEAB said:

My perception of Buffalo is a bit skewed. Growing up in Maryland, we'd take summer vacations to Pop's(Detroit) and Mom's(Buffalo, specifically Armor.) I grew up loving the area mostly because I was a freaking kid and it was just cool. Wasn't a fan of downtown, but this was the early 90's. Popped back in a few times over the 90's and 2000's and had a great time only because I was attending a Bills game.

 

Last time I was there was the Raiders game in 2017. Crazy day because the temperature went from 70 to 30 on Sunday. Must say that the city was vastly improved since my time there in the 90's. It's funny that people from places like Pittsburgh or Philly trash Buffalo. I live in Las Vegas because I'm also a weather p word, but Buffalo is definitely improving and no worse than other cities in the region.

 

I would advise the OP to not let such trivialities affect your mood. 

Good post.  Buffalo people and Bills fans are very sensitive.  Who gives a crap if someone doesn’t like your city?  One of my favorite things about Buffalo is it has a lot of things big cities have without the big city problems.  But yes, the weather sucks for like half of the year and there aren’t a ton of jobs.  But every single city has their own issues (LA - cost of living, traffic, super fake NYC - living like a college student etc). 

 

But as you said, because Buffalo was at rock bottom, it had no where to go but up.  I’m very proud of my city for the progress it’s making.  I love telling people I’m from Buffalo.  

3 minutes ago, Mango said:

 

I think the point is being missed here. Granted my response was full of some snark.

 

Most and many of the jobs for companies like Ingram, Citi, Ingram, Blue Cross, Kalieda, etc. are largely low end employment in the grand scheme of things. Largely because of the need for work in Buffalo and the low cost of living.

 

There are a number of colleges in WNY, but it’s not a hub for education. It is a mid sized city with colleges that are relatively average. UB, Buff State, Cansisus, D’Youville, Daemen. It is not an educational hub.

 

Buffalo props up these companies and universities more so than they are actually recognized outside of the community. 

 

Not to hate on the area. I moved back a few years ago for a number of reasons, mostly personal and home town stuff. But it is also an honest inventory of the region. Most of the actual data for the Buffalo area does not point to any sort of resurgence or renaissance. It’s a relative fallacy. Very little meaningful data points to an upward trend. It’s still stagnant with a few coats of paint. 

I think Buffalo has more college student per captia than any other city in the country.  Bang for buck, in terms of quality education, you are hard press to beat UB.  Very good, affordable school. 

[LabattBlue]

OP...You are "seething" over an article written by an out of towner?  You might want to consider getting help for anger management issues.

[Augie]

Some people are just not as smart or funny as they think they are. That’s on the author. No big deal to me. 

[Mango]

6 minutes ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

Good post.  Buffalo people and Bills fans are very sensitive.  Who gives a crap if someone doesn’t like your city?  One of my favorite things about Buffalo is it has a lot of things big cities have without the big city problems.  But yes, the weather sucks for like half of the year and there aren’t a ton of jobs.  But every single city has their own issues (LA - cost of living, traffic, super fake NYC - living like a college student etc). 

 

But as you said, because Buffalo was at rock bottom, it had no where to go but up.  I’m very proud of my city for the progress it’s making.  I love telling people I’m from Buffalo.  

I think Buffalo has more college student per captia than any other city in the country.  Bang for buck, in terms of quality education, you are hard press to beat UB.  Very good, affordable school. 

 

 

I fully agree greed with your take on UB as a good school and bang for buck. I went to UB. I get it 

 

That doesn’t make mean that higher education is a major pillar of our community, and defining pillar. It’s not Boston, Chicago, NYC, the Bay Area, or for the sake of this conversation, Pittsburgh. 

 

Outside of UB the educational opportunities here are middling. Employment opportunities are currently relatively entry level for much of the population.  We don’t have a diverse job sector. A lot of those things go into what makes Buffalo affordable.

 

We’re in the NE, so we are ahead of the curve compared to a lot of cities and regions. But Pittsburgh is a great example of what Buffalo should strive for. Good use of waterfront. A lot of diverse employment opportunities. More than one good school for higher ed. Reasonable cost of living. 

[C.Biscuit97]

4 minutes ago, Mango said:

 

 

I fully agree greed with your take on UB as a good school and bang for buck. I went to UB. I get it 

 

That doesn’t make mean that higher education is a major pillar of our community, and defining pillar. It’s not Boston, Chicago, NYC, the Bay Area, or for the sake of this conversation, Pittsburgh. 

 

Outside of UB the educational opportunities here are middling. Employment opportunities are currently relatively entry level for much of the population.  We don’t have a diverse job sector. A lot of those things go into what makes Buffalo affordable.

 

We’re in the NE, so we are ahead of the curve compared to a lot of cities and regions. But Pittsburgh is a great example of what Buffalo should strive for. Good use of waterfront. A lot of diverse employment opportunities. More than one good school for higher ed. Reasonable cost of living. 

I definitely think a big issue Buffalo has faced has been keeping recent graduates or retaining younger people in general.  It’s been so mismanagement for so long.

 

and I don’t know who you credit for renaissance, but this is the best version of Buffalo I have seen.  Things are popping up everywhere.  There actually is a plan.  I do think they are copying the Pittsburgh blueprint (just need the good teams now!).  Now, we just need a dome for the weather (though at Christmas time, it was like 40 degrees with no snow).  Buffalo is finally going in the right direction for the first time since the 60s.

[SF Bills Fan]

No biggee- Buffalo is starting to get a lot of positive press these days. Pittsburgh and Buffalo are similar in many ways. Football wise they are far superior so if they are alluding to that then this jab is correct. 

[PUNT750]

11 hours ago, LeGOATski said:

Buffalo sucks. Get over it.

 

 

This is for your own good.

 

Love this comment!  

[WhyteDwarf]

Buffalo is an armpit. So glad I live in Lockport, a lesser armpit...

[SoCal Deek]

If you do not like living in a city that people make fun of I suggest you move.  If you like it there stay.

[george c]

4 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

That Ralph was cheap is a BS narrative... he gave OJ million +, the 90s Bills were known as the million dollar Bills.. million dollar contracts everywhere.. was he cheap then?

 

he also gave ludicrous contracts to Derrick Dockery in the 2000s.. 7 year 49 million.. one of the largest guard contracts ever at the time .. cheap?

 

He gave out $$$ to the wrong people... on bad teams

 

he had no problem giving Mario 100 million or giving Fitz a 65 million dollar extension lol

 

of course he wasn’t going to spend to the cap  when we had a crappy team, that doesn’t make him cheap . I don’t talk crap about the man who created and kept the Bills in Buffalo for 50 years 

Ralph was cheap. World class cheap..

[Buffalo716]

1 minute ago, George C said:

Ralph was cheap. World class cheap..

You’re a world class idiot

[george c]

1 hour ago, Buffalo716 said:

You’re a world class idiot

Ralph was cheap.. 

You are un-important In your world. .

Edited January 13, 2019 by George C

[LSHMEAB]

Why people feel the need to bash Ralph Wilson in death is beyond me. At this point, I don't care if he didn't spend x amount on y coach, etc. He went above and beyond to make sure we're even here talking about a team named the Buffalo Bills.

Edited January 13, 2019 by LSHMEAB

[Buffalo716]

21 minutes ago, George C said:

Ralph was cheap.. 

You are un-important In your world. .

???

[Punching Bag]

15 minutes ago, LSHMEAB said:

Why people feel the need to bash Ralph Wilson in death is beyond me. At this point, I don't care if he didn't spend x amount on y coach, etc. He went above and beyond to make sure we're even hear talking about a team named the Buffalo Bills.

 

Some know despite their vast bragged football knowledge would be laughed at if they applied for as low level job as locker room attendant or assistant in GM office.   It gnaws at their gut.

[RiotAct]

4 hours ago, Mango said:

 

I think the point is being missed here. Granted my response was full of some snark.

 

Most and many of the jobs for companies like Ingram, Citi, Ingram, Blue Cross, Kalieda, etc. are largely low end employment in the grand scheme of things. Largely because of the need for work in Buffalo and the low cost of living.

 

There are a number of colleges in WNY, but it’s not a hub for education. It is a mid sized city with colleges that are relatively average. UB, Buff State, Cansisus, D’Youville, Daemen. It is not an educational hub.

 

Buffalo props up these companies and universities more so than they are actually recognized outside of the community. 

 

Not to hate on the area. I moved back a few years ago for a number of reasons, mostly personal and home town stuff. But it is also an honest inventory of the region. Most of the actual data for the Buffalo area does not point to any sort of resurgence or renaissance. It’s a relative fallacy. Very little meaningful data points to an upward trend. It’s still stagnant with a few coats of paint. 

the colleges here are pretty damn good, but the problem is most of the grads then take their energy and knowledge elsewhere in the U.S. ...... or overseas