Located on the eastern shores of Lake Erie, Buffalo combines the cultural richness of a large city with the ease of living in a much smaller town.  It is a place where one can afford to have a life and not merely toil to pay off living expenses.  With a metropolitan population of 1.2 million people, Buffalo is the second largest city in New York State and is easily its best kept secret.  Here are some of its secrets:

• Affordable housing
  
• Located at the U.S.-Canadian border on the eastern shores of Lake Erie, and 90 miles from Toronto
  
• Close to Niagara Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world
  
• The renowned Albright-Knox Art Gallery (in the summer listen to live jazz on its steps)
  
• Legendary architecture, including Frank Lloyd Wright homes
  
• Allentown Art Festival
  
• A Taste of Buffalo Food Festival featuring the city's top restaurants
  
• Much cultural diversity with summertime activities including the Italian, Greek and Polish festivals
  
• Five professional sports teams:  Buffalo Bills football, Sabres NHL hockey, Bisons AAA baseball, Buffalo Blizzard MISL Soccer, and Buffalo Bandits MILL Lacrosse
  
• A major orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic, as well as an opera company, the Greater Buffalo Opera Company
  
• The unique Artpark, summer home for outdoor theater and music as well as host to artists in residence
  
• The crown in Canadian theater, the Shaw Festival, is at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario (45 minutes from downtown Buffalo
  
• Delaware Park, designed by F.L. Olmsted (of Central Park fame), is also host to the summertime Shakespeare in the Park
  
• The breathtaking Finger Lakes and Letchworth State Park are less than a two-hour drive
  
• The quaint and cultural Chautauqua Institution is a little over an hour drive
  
• Numerous ski areas within one-hour drive of the city in addition to cross country skiing available in the many city parks
  
• Thirteen state parks in the nearby vicinity
  
• The Griffis Sculpture Park is a gem of the area, a short drive through rolling hills and farmland south of the city
  
• A comfortable pace of life
  
• An infrastructure built for a much larger city so that road are not congested and traffic jams are a rarity
  

     Those of us who live here know Buffalo as a friendly, comfortable, sane place to live and raise a family.  Add to that the many cultural offerings and recreational opportunities and even the most discerning individuals will be pleasantly surprised.

     Click here to see a long list of Western New York Attractions.