It would be hard to debate on which is better, but there’s pros and cons to each. While I am bias towards home, I love being up in Western New York. Here, I will be exploring the differences from what I’ve noticed and see which is the superior part of New York:
Pros of Long Island
Food anytime, anywhere
At SUNY Fredonia, there’s very limited amount of food around here, unless you want to travel upwards of 40 mins for a particular craving. Forget ordering take out pass 9PM, there’s about three different places to order from and two of them are fast food burger chains. Fredonia has recently been adding more and more food spots, but that doesn’t even compare to Long Island.
Even though my hometown is the same size as Fredonia, I guarantee to you that I have not tried all the restaurants in my town. Any specific cuisine, meal or craving is within a 10 to 15 minute drive with wide range of small businesses, local chains, large food chains anywhere you look. Depending on where on Long Island you are from, most of these places are walkable as well, making it convenient for everyone.
The city that never sleeps extends to Long Island as well because you can get food anytime. I recently found a 24-hour IHOP ten minutes away from my house. Want tacos at midnight? A Uber driver will have that to you in 20 mins. The opportunity is endless!
Summertime Fun
Obviously, I’ve been in Western New York during the school year, so I’m not sure exactly what Western New York looks like in the summer. However, Long Island is made for sun and the summer months.
First, Long Island wouldn’t be an island without its beaches. You can get smooth sand with big waves on the South shore or rocky shores with calm water on the North Shore. It could get a little crowded, but its perfect for sun bathing, having fun in the water or fishing.
The Long Island atmosphere feels different in the summer. Some towns, especially near the water, come alive in the summertime opening a variety of little shops, outdoor dining and more.
Cons of Long Island
Traffic
With the population of Long Island being just under 3 million, the traffic is not over exaggerated. Typically what happens on Long Island highways, you enter the highway going the speed limit of 65 mph (hypothetically speaking if you are not a fast driver), every five minutes or so the highway will get congested and could be driving down to 35 mph, then it clears up like nothing happened and the cycle repeats. Don’t even get me started with the rush hour traffic because it is bumper to bumper traffic a mile out from the highway entrance let alone the highway.
For further proof, while checking Google Maps on a Tuesday morning, from Fredonia to Buffalo is approximately 50 miles and is just under an hour long drive. From my hometown to Manhattan, which is about 40 mile distance, is close to a two hour drive. There’s even beach traffic on the weekends and holidays when it’s nice out.
Expensive
One of the things Long Island and New York City is known for how expensive everything is. Monthly rent in an apartment in the middle of Long Island could cost the same or more than an apartment in the heart of buffalo. In the screenshots below, you can slide and compare each of the prices of a random apartment in Long Island and Buffalo, in which the Buffalo apartment is almost double the size, but half of the price of the Long island apartment
Pros of Western New York
The Scenic Route
As a big outdoors and nature fan, it brings me so much joy to drive the back roads of Western New York. As Long Island is mostly urban and flat, driving up to SUNY Fredonia is so thrilling with steep inclines, fast declines and nature all around. My favorite season to drive through is during the fall when the leaves are a beautiful hue of orange and brown surrounding the windy roads. Of course, there is the fear of driving in the woods at night and the deer all around, but during the day the drive is worth it.
My fall semester goal is to go on more hikes in Western New York before it inevitably gets cold. My first time hiking in Western New York was at the beautiful Letchworth State Park and I’m so glad I didn’t look up photos beforehand because it took me completely by surprise the wonders of the canyons. I’m excited to travel around New York and find more beautiful places as such.
A City of Good Neighbors
Personally, I am jealous of Buffalo’s nickname, a city of good neighbors because I would hold so much pride if I lived there. Honestly I do find strangers in Western New York so much nicer than back home. Long Islanders and New York City people have a very “mind your business” type mindset that doesn’t translate well in this different environment.
I was so wary of strangers first when to college up here, that every time they would try to make small talk or be overly nice, I would think What do they want from me? I don’t have any money nor care. Over the past few years, I’ve embraced the kindness a little bit nicer and try to return it back.
Cons of Western New York
Always Cold
The temperatures in Western New York is the number one thing that makes me miss home. It so frustrating going the weather app, seeing that there’s an almost 40° difference from cold Western New York to Long Island. When Western New York is at the heart of the gloominess and cold, it’s super hard to believe the temperature will rise above 65°.
Long Island and Western New York experience opposite temperature effects from their surrounding bodies of water. Since Long Island is surrounded by the ocean, the water heats up in the summer thus warming in-land temperatures as the heat releases during the wintertime. This cooler water also moderates the summer heat as the cool wind blows.
In Western New York, Lake- effect is the cold wind passing the warmer waters of Lake Erie, causing more cold and heavy snow fall. The bigger gap between temperatures of the water and air, the more snow and colder temperatures for Western New York.
