I used to live in Buffalo, and the story brings back fond memories. I have a Buffalo photo page that includes a much broader array of neighborhoods (including suburbs):
http://atlantaphotos.fotopic.net/c534496.html I also created this (now way out of date) web page:
http://members.tripod.com/~lewyn/afg.htmlGenerally I liked Buffalo. It is not as compact as Providence or most northern cities, but is definitely LESS spread out than Jacksonville.
Its downtown is very weak; since I haven't lived there since 1999, its hard to compare- but I can say comparing 1999 Buffalo to 2008 Jax, the downtown was definitely weaker residentially, but I think was more of a commercial center than downtown Jax is. Law firms, etc. are more likely to be downtown in Buffalo, and the downtown is more compact than ours- there is nothing like the South Bank or the North part of Riverside that has a lot of commercial stuff but isn't really within walking distance of downtown. Although the expressway in Buffalo is a nuisance, it cuts off Buffalo from its dead riverfront, while our bridge to Riverside is much worse because it cuts off downtown from a thriving commercial area.
Non-downtown areas of Buffalo are significantly less awful than Jax- more likely to be sidewalks, commercial streets, both in "outer city" and in suburbs, a narrower and quieter (not very much narrower in suburbs, mind you- just that they are more likely to be moderately monstrous like Baymeadows than super monstrous like Southside or Phillips). Also, suburbs are a bit less cul-de-saccy than Jax's- not that they are a pure grid, but there are still more intersections and thus more ways to get around than Jax's.
Downside of Buffalo compared to Jax: less growth, more decaying "bad" neighborhoods. Upper class areas within city limits are mostly just a couple of strips three or four blocks wide- one area centered around Elmwood Avenue, another centered around Delaware Park in the north.
But Buffalo is certainly a bit better off than Detroit or Cleveland: at least the upper class areas do exist, and when I lived there about 1/3 of my law firm's lawyers lived within city limits (though almost none downtown). By comparison, when I was at a law firm in Cleveland only 4 or 5 lawyers out of 60 lived within the Cleveland city limits.
The light rail system is not great but is still far less inadequate than Skyway- it least it goes outside downtown!
