So you're from Upstate NY?

    I had wanted to post sooner but work has been hectic and the weather hasn't cooperated to go out and explore. This post I'd like to accomplish a few things. An overview of Buffalo's geographic location, some background of myself and what I'd like to do with this blog.
 

   When I ever discussed where I'm from my canned answer was "Buffalo, NY". This is a half truth, I was born and raised in the town of Clarence, NY, a suburb of Buffalo, but no would know where Clarence is so to save time I say Buffalo. Most people in the US have heard of Buffalo due to our few claims to fame. Funny thing is few can actually say they know where Buffalo is in NY.

       Buffalo is part of Western NY, located in the county of Erie all the way to far left. Western NY is roughly all the purple counties on this map. I'm trying to be general as their are even more specific regions in WNY but that's not my focus. We are often grouped in the massive grouping of upstate NY comprising all counties north of New York City and surrounding few counties. If the meet someone from Western NY we often correct people on the Upstate part saying Western along with the city or town. Anyone who lives in NY and not in NYC area considers downstate and upstate unofficially two separate states.

  Buffalo is the located on the right on the Lake Erie. Geographically we are in a rather decent spot.  We are also only about 3 hours from Cleveland and 3 1/2 hours from Pittsburgh, which works well when traveling to see away game for the Bills and Sabres. Canada is at most an hour from anywhere in the Buffalo region and Toronto, one of the largest Metropolitan cities in North America, is only 2 hours away. We live near two of the Great Lakes and are only about a half an hour drive from one of the natural wonders of the world, Niagara Falls. The city of Rochester is not very far away only about an hour, a city not much smaller than Buffalo.

Something we take for granted.

Buffalo as I said before is located in Erie county. Buffalo and its surrounding suburbs is considered the Buffalo metro area and does extend into surrounding counties.

Buffalo has many suburbs and townships around it. This map is important to if I ever reference a town, village etc in future posts for thosewho don't know the area. The closest suburbs to Buffalo (Tonawanda, Amherst, Cheektowaga, West Seneca, Orchard Park, and the city of Lackawanna) are often referenced as the first ring suburbs being the first suburbs populated by people leaving the city in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. You may also note the number of odd names for towns. The Seneca Indians of the Iroquois Confederation have lived in the region long before European settlers got her and we adopted many of their names for towns  among other things in the area. They still remain in the area unfortunately on reservations and run some business downtown among other places. Another thing to note is an imaginary line goes below Cheektowaga, Lancaster, and Alden. We divided the suburbs into two groups the Northtowns and the Southtowns. Geographically the Southtowns is far larger but the Northtowns has a higher volume of people per square mile. Many town have villages incorporated with in them and are both autonomous and part of the towns at the same time which can lead problems between governing bodies. Each is unique and won't be discussed here. Sorry this isn't that interesting but my thought was to give those unfamiliar with a the area the lay of the land so to speak.


          Now what you all came here for, talking about myself. I hope this gives some insight to why i make my posts and my general interests. I am 24 year old native of Clarence. I am a college graduate with a Bachelors Degree in the study of history from the University of Maine at Machias. I work for a Wegmans Supermarket and unsure what I would like to do with my life. I am obviously interested in history and have an infatuation with the Sport of Ice Hockey and Beer. I like everything about hockey from watching games and learning about its history to meeting famous players and figures as well as collecting hockey memorabilia with my dad.   My interest in beer is beyond drinking massive amounts of it. As some people are "foodies", I'm a "beerie"(I know its not a real word) in that I like to try all kinds of beer both foreign and domestic but more craft beer as opposed to the mass produced beers of Budweiser, Coors, Miller, etc, though I do have a soft spot for Labbatt's and Genesee. I enjoy traveling to tour breweries both locally and internationally and often end up in a discussion with friends over beers we tried. I became more of an outdoor person from going to school in Maine and have taken up kayaking and hiking. In recent years, thanks to sites like BuffaloRising.com,  have taken more of an interest in the local city and area.  During my time in Maine I spoke highly of Buffalo trying to preach its merits as a place to visit and possibly live. This encouraged me to begin this blog. To try and change people perception of Buffalo a city known for nothing beyond snowstorms and buffalo wings. Buffalo has been stagnant for decades and the last few years momentum has been steadily building making many wonder is Buffalo on the cusp of a Renaissance?