OK, why would anyone want to live in my corner of western New York State?
Well, if you hate winter you wouldn't...
If you prefer hot, hotter and hottest you wouldn't...
Those are the two biggest negatives.
OK, how about some positives?
I can go out this afternoon and find a nice 3 bedroom house with 2 baths for less than $100,000.
I'm about 5 minutes from the Pennsylvania state line, about an hour and a half from Ohio and two hours from Canada.
Within 3 hours I can visit 4 major cities... Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Toronto.
Within 6 hours I'm in Baltimore or Washington DC.
I'm within 45 minutes of a spot, where one body of water flows into the Chesapeake, another flows into the Mississippi and a third flows into the Great Lakes.
If I travel 1 hour west of here I'm enjoying fish from the Great Lakes... If I travel 1 hour east I'm enjoying fish from the Finger Lakes. Oh and I'll be having a glass of wine from one of the many wineries nearby.
Within 20 minutes I can be enjoying Native American cuisine within the only city located on Native American land in the U.S. Go 20 minutes in another direction and I'll be having dinner with an Amish family (BTW the Amish are the best bakers in the country-bar none!).
That's not to take away from the large contingencies of Polish, German and Irish that live here and provide a wide variety of their own foods.
Oh, but there's good old-fashioned "American" here too... It is the home of the "Chicken Wing".
History buff? Plenty here from the Revolutionary War and War of 1812. I'm 5 hours from Gettysburg. Plenty of other history too when it comes to our industrial past and railroads.
Recreational person? I already mentioned the Great Lakes and the Finger Lakes. Also have all the winter sports including one of the top ski resorts in the north east which is only 30 miles away. Also have a casino 20 minutes away.
If you like 4 distinct seasons this is the place to be. A fresh snowfall in winter? Seeing the blooms open in the Spring? Seeing the hills covered in a variety of reds and oranges? It's great to be here.
Speaking of hills we do have them. Not like the Rockies, but enough to break up the topography. No flat, flat, flat with roads as straight as arrows.
If I need to take a plane the Buffalo-Niagara airport is only 90 minutes from me.
Healthy care? For heart issues the Cleveland Clinic is world famous. Roswell Park in Buffalo is a premier cancer center. And we have a large hospital right here in my city.
I can look out my door and see white-tail deer walking up through the yard. I've had a black bear tear down my bird feeder. We've got fox, rabbits, coyotes and bald eagles.
Just in our small city we've got two colleges, plenty of shopping and a dozen good restaurants.
No tornado's and no one goes insane if there's an 1/2" of snow on the roads.
We're far enough west that "Nor'easters" don't usually bother us.
No, it's not perfect, but it is home.