There's the rub

BuffaloGeek went to the “Happy-to-be-Back” Hour at Left Bank last night, which was organized by the Buffalo Old Home Week folks.

Speaking of places where people had previously lived – places considered cool that sport insane real estate prices, he had several conversations that went thusly:

Geek: “I hope home prices here eventually get to that level, it would be a great thing.”

Partygoer: “Why? I hope it never gets like that.”

That’s not the first time I’ve heard that sentiment expressed by native Buffalonians.

Asketh the Geek:

I guess that there is a disconnect between my capitalist core and the hipster community of New Buffalo. So, I’m asking you, is it possible to have an egalitarian city that bustles with activity but keeps the best parts of Buffalo as we know it? I think not. It’s either progress or perish. Perhaps the New Buffalo crowd misses that connection, I don’t know…are some of us hoping for “Buffalo Static”?

If you think of reasons why you love Buffalo – reasons why we sometimes call it more than just a city but a state of mind – you think of the downtrodden, disrespected, plucky little rust belt burg it’s been for the last 30-odd years. At least, that’s the outsider’s perspective on it.

Those of us who live here know it to be much more than that. The people, the culture, the food, the friendliness, how easy it is to get around – those are all things that we hold dear around here.

If Buffalo becomes the next Boston or Portland or Seattle or [insert hipster city], will it cease to be the Buffalo we love now? When it no longer takes 20 minutes to get from anywhere to anywhere, when there’s such an influx of newcomers who don’t get into the whole City of Good Neighbors mindset, and when Elmwood starts becoming some homogeneous outdoor chain mall, then will it cease to be Buffalo and become anyhipstertown, USA?

Personally, I think that progress is good. I don’t necessarily think that an influx of newbies is going to fundamentally change what Buffalo is or how Buffalonians are. This city grows on you like a fungus until you’re overcome by it.

When (if) Elmwood becomes overridden by Gaps and Republics Banana, all the cool little shops will have to find a new area to gentrify (Grant Street, I’m looking atchoo). When traffic becomes an unbearable nightmare and the 33, 290, and 190 become virtual parking lots during the rush, maybe people will start more seriously looking into the expansion of Metro Rail, HOV lanes, and a commuter or regional rail service. When real estate prices start to take off a bit, assessments will go up and the City will have some more cash to spend with which to make improvements to infrastructure and shore up its financial picture, bringing about an end to the control board.

When large-scale projects no longer need massive incentives or tax breaks to get off the ground, but developers instead just build stuff because it makes awesome economic sense, that will be a good thing, too.

But I understand people’s trepidation. There’s a quiet sense of complacency with the way stuff is now. We all realize that Buffalo is a diamond in the rough – a secret little place that we ought sort of keep to ourselves in a way.

The goal, however, ought to be to help the region grow and succeed. To help others learn how awesome it is in WNY and convince them to live and work here.

Those of us who love it just the way it is, thank you, will just need to assimilate the newcomers to our way of thinking, and not vice-versa.