I plan on visiting with my DD February break. She came across an article about Buffalo having one of the highest crime rates in the country. Anyone live around there and want to give insight?
Comparative context might help, particularly if you have personal experience with any of the cities listed in this article: https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-most-dangerous-cities-in-america/.
The main campus of SUNY Buffalo is in suburban Amherst. All large US cities have crime problems, some worse than others. An alternative would be to attend a school in a rural area of small college ton, although crime occurs there too.
I understand that all bigger cities have crime. I was looking for information about Buffalo specifically. Do college kids visit downtown Buffalo and feel safe? Are there just areas that are high crime and areas that are safer entertainment hot spots for the kids to visit?
Detroit, St. Louis, Baltimore & Memphis are the top 4 most dangerous cities in America. Buffalo, New York is in the top 25 at #21 or #22 if I recall correctly (definitely not in the top 20).
Buffalo has a weak economy & some run down, economically depressed areas.
Rockford, Illinois had the highest crime rate among cities with a population of 200,000 to 300,000.
My son attends Fredonia, which is about 45 minutes from Buffalo. For orientation, we took the Amtrak up from NYC to Buffalo. I grew up in the South Bronx and have lived in and around NYC for my entire life, so I am not a shrinking violet, but I will admit that I was a little nervous around the Buffalo train station area. I thought it was very sketchy. We were there at noon on a Saturday. I have not had my son take the train since then.
OTOH, when I visited him last spring, we went into an area of Buffalo that was very nice, cute with adorable homes and lots of nice restaurants and I would have no problem going back there again.
My sons also enjoyed a naval museum there and have visited several times.
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So my oldest S has an account in downtown Buffalo, so he’s become pretty familiar with the city. He says the area around the Buffalo main train station is pretty run down, as are the areas north of the train station. Downtown and the areas near the Canadian border is fine, though like any other big city, don’t let your guard down.
My daughter, from sunny, California went to SUNY Buffalo. The campus is split in two with South Campus: more in Buffalo proper, and North Campus in Amherst.
DD had several classes on South campus (engineering major with evening classes) and was housed on North Campus. There were lots of kids, who initially were not happy about being housed there, but the second year, it was requested.
Yes, there are some issues, but typically not if you stay on the campus. There is a free campus bus that rides constantly between both campuses. The kids take that bus which requires a student ID.
She loved it!
She had no problems getting employed in California.
@futurenursemom1 check this link:
https://www.roadsnacks.net/these-are-the-10-worst-buffalo-neighborhoods/
My son is currently a student at the North Campus but we live in the Rochester area. I spent my early childhood in Buffalo and I now have work colleagues who live in Buffalo and grew up there. Buffalo has it’s share of ghettos as shown in the link above. However, they have done a great job at the waterfront where there is a lot to do and see. There is a great theater district nearby as well. The city is definitely on the rebound after a few decades of neglect. Several of today’s trendy neighborhoods were areas I was kept away from as a kid. The new UB medical school was built downtown to continue to economically stimulate the immediate area by bringing in thousands of young professionals. Basically the areas east of the Museum of Science have some of the worst neighborhoods but I don’t think many students go down there. Areas outside of South Campus may be a little dicey at night but my son has walked around there at night without much fear but he is always in groups of three or more. A lot of students live in the South Campus area because housing is cheap which also means most of the homes in the area are not owner-occupied and not necessarily well-cared for. I would not consider it a “crime-ridden ghetto” however. Having not been back to the city in a few decades until about 5 years ago I am very impressed by how far the re-birth of the city has come.
Thank you everyone for your feedback it is helpful.
Hiii, I’ve lived in Amherst (my house is on the border of Buffalo and Amherst, which is the suburbs) for my entire life and I actually live right down the street from the South Campus and there are definitely some dangerous areas in Buffalo that should be avoided but the area around South Campus is definitely a pretty safe part of Buffalo, and North Campus is even safer. There are a lot of suburban areas around that part of town. Buffalo is actually a pretty nice city and there are a lot of things to do, like the waterfront (its called Canalside) and it’s also super close to Niagara Falls and Canada. The area around the falls is pretty nice and there’s a nice outlet mall but the neighborhoods in Niagara Falls are pretty dangerous. As long as you know which places to avoid, it should be completely fine. Also, the food is absolutely amazing so you should definitely check out some local spots while you’re down here (Duff’s and Leonardi’s are my personal faves!) Also, I’m a high school senior so that gives you some context lol.