The Happiness Project - Love Where You're At

The first week of the project is to love the city you're in and tell why.

I've lived in Buffalo my entire life (minus 5 months of being in Seoul when I was a baby). And while I know that this city has its own issues like anywhere else, I truly do like the city I've been in. Even though my friends that have moved can give me all kinds of reasons to hate this place, I don't. And I'm hoping that no matter how far away I get from here, I won't ever tire of the Queen City.

So here are my 10 reasons of why I love Buffalo.

10. Canisius College: Okay, so I know I'm biased because it's my alma matter, but I think Canisius is a great asset to the city. That school treated me so very well during my 4 years there and has continued to do so. Canisius is the reason I got my job at PwC. My best memories from 2000-2004 are housed there. And it's going to be the site of a very fun wedding on 10.2.10!

9. Seasonality: It sounds crazy, but I am in love with the seasons changing every year. The first snowfall always seems magical. And even in the dead of winter when it's so cold and summer seems so far away, seeing a pine tree dusted with freshly fallen snow always looks beautiful. Spring always smells so fresh and new. The flowers make everyone's yards look alive. And summer...oh how I love Buffalo summers. (see below for festivals and boating) And finally...fall. The leaves are my favorite thing about living here. I don't know how people live through a fall without seeing the leaves turn once a year.

8. Summer Festivals: Summer in Buffalo really means one thing - eating and festivals. From Allentown to the Italian Festival, it doesn't get much better.

7. Cost of Living: At age 25, I was a first time homebuyer. I was able to purchase my own townhouse and live comfortably. In most cities, it requires a 2 income family to own your own home. Or at least one very very large income. But here, on a CPA salary, I bought a house.

6. Food: I know that everyone says their food is the best in their town. And they are probably right. But the food in Buffalo is something that I love. From Chef's spaghetti parm to Coyote Cafe's chicken enchiladas to Salen's hot dogs at Teds, I could eat out every day. Of course, nothing beats my all time favorite restaurant, Tempo, and their calamari and proscuitto wrapped filet minon.

5. Traffic: Really I love the fact that there isn't much traffic at all. You can get anywhere in this city in 20 minutes max. I can get from the southern part of the suburbs to the northern suburbs in 20 min at any point in the day. It's awesome.

4. Niagara Falls: Living next door to a wonder of the world is amazing and certainly not something I take for granted. I try to get there once a year and take it in. Seeing the Falls takes my breath away every time.

3. Sense of community: Buffalo's been dubbed "the city of good neighbors" and I think that it definitely lives up to that. There have been some tragedies and disasters that have taken place and every single time it happens, the community pulls through and helps each other. During the October Storm in 2006, virtually all of Western New York was without power. It was common place to walk down a street and see a generator sitting there with multiple extension cords coming out of it so that more than one house could pump the water out of the drain. Last February when a plane crashed into a house in Clarence, the city rallied to support the family that lost their house and father, as well as anyone who lost a loved one on the plane. Memorials and food and love were sent from every house. We were also lucky enough to have Extreme Makeover, Home Edition come to our city. Buffalo had the best turnout of volunteers ever. Thanks to the volunteers, they were able to help an entire neighborhood instead of just one family.

2. Lake Erie: Lake Erie has afforded me an endless supply of water (which I never take for granted when some of my friends have water restrictions during the summer) for work and play. My house always has fresh, clean water. And I have spent most of my summer nights sailing away. I could spend my entire summer living on the sailboat. And it would make me perfectly content. Since it's currently 10 degrees outside, thinking of laying on deck with a good book, soaking in some rays sounds really great right now!

1. Family: I love this town so much because my family is here. I home is where you heart is and all but 1 piece of my heart is here, in Buffalo. Granted, the piece that's not here is a rather large part, but he calls Buffalo home, too. And for that, it'll always be very special to me.