There is something about being away from home that makes you fall more in love with the place where you grew up. Throughout high school, all I could think about was "When am I going to get out of here? When is my life going to begin?" It wasn't until I moved out of the state that I began to realize how special Buffalo is.
1) When you say you are from New York, people always assume you're from New York City.
No matter how far you travel, whether you're in Pennsylvania or China, everyone thinks "New York" means "New York City." New York is a pretty big, diverse state. You have leafy state parks, the mountains, small towns like Hamburg and Orchard Park, small cities like Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse, and then you have New York City. You get a completely different lifestyle depending where in New York you're from, so it can be slightly annoying when many people believe that the entire state is the city.
2) People make fun of you for your Buffalo accent.
Suddenly, you realize you say words very differently than most in the United States. Apparently, you went to elementry school, not elementary school. You drink soda, not pop. You pronounce "a"s like aaangry very naseally.
3) You have prejudice for Dunking Donuts because it's not Tim Hortons
When you're so close to the Canadian border, Tim Hortons because a normal way of life for a Buffaloian. Once you go down south, you realize that Dunkin' is basically a Tim Hortons' nicotine patch. You may not want to drink it, but it's going to hold you over than spending way too much money on Starbucks.
4) You begin falling in love with any "Buffalo" Merchandise
When I came home for the holidays, I found myself obsessed with any Buffalo-specific store. I loved necklaces, sweaters, and other trinkets that had "716", "Buffalove", and other classic Buffalo trademarks on the product. It reminded me of home, and I reminded me where I was from.
5) People respect your dedication to the Bills and the Sabres, but do not understand it.
There is a weird balance to being a Buffalo sports fan. Because of our (unfortunately) low winning record, many other fans don't actively hate us from a competitive standpoint. Many nod their heads at the fact that we defend our city's teams, but have no idea why we are so loyal to them.
6) You realize how unique Buffalo really is.
If you think about it, there are many parts about Buffalo that make it so different from other cities. Buffalo was a boom city, and is covered with abandoned steel mills, run down factories, huge silos, and full of refugee housing. Over the last few years, Buffalo has made amazing strides to use these characteristics to make Buffalo incredible. I have so many happy memories of kayaking through silo city, learning about cultures from volunteering in the refugee community, watching hockey games at Riverworks, and spending my summer at canalside. There always was something to do or to see, and when all else failed, there was always the Canadian border twenty minutes away.
7) People down south have a completely different mindset with traveling and time.
In general, the New York mindset is to get to next place as fast as you possibly can. We leave early. We grab our coffee on the go. We rush. I've noticed, the farther you get away from New York, the more people like to take their time. In some ways, it's really refreshing to enjoy life in the moment. However, when you're thirty minutes late and your friends will still not get their stuff together to leave, or when you nearly run someone over when you are trying to get to where you need to be, it can be incredibly frustrating.
8) You know that you need to run away when the menu calls it "Buffalo" chicken wings.
Whenever I'm somewhere away and see "Buffalo" chicken on the menu, I have learned to not even think about it. When someone calls wings or wraps "Buffalo", it is clear that they are too separate from what that food is and you will be highly disappointed with what they are putting in front of you, because it isn't prepared in the "Buffalo" way.
9) You realize certain brands that you love are only found in Buffalo.
When ordering a drink from a restaurant outside of the 716, don't ask for a Loganberry, or you'll get a lot of weird looks. If you're looking for some Perry's ice cream in a grocery store in West Virginia, you will have no luck. If you're craving some sponge candy, don't drive to a candy store in Pennsylvania. It won't be there.
10) As much as you're happy to be out in the world, you learn that you want to come home.
When I left Buffalo originally, I thought I was going to see the world and leave this small city behind me for good. However, the more I see of other cities, states, and countries, I learn how amazing Buffalo really is, and I can't wait to come back.
