Thinking of moving…hope I’m not crazy

Hey everyone. Been stalking this page for quite a while and I want to say the tone and love for the community is a wonderful thing to see. Just some back story here. I’m a 4th generation native Floridian (yes we exist). I live in Tampa. Growing up the area of Tampa I live in was what we would call a secret. Old families lived here. Everyone knew everyone. The city was rich in culture but gritty and dirty and we loved it for that. We were far removed from the soulless suburb. We once were a blue county and a purple state. We had lots of diverse political views. But lately, if you have been following the news, things have changed. My mortgage payment has almost doubled because of insurance rates. My car insurance is practically the price of some apartment rentals in Buffalo. Schools are banning books. Professors are leaving. The city has become overdeveloped and overpopulated with social media influencers. Any sense of community packed its bags and left during Covid. Restaurants and small businesses that were here for 100 years are closing. My son is 10 and is in a class of 40 students. All his teachers are young because the older and experienced teachers have left and I am supposedly in the best school district (whatever that means in Florida now).

And so with all of that, not to mention stronger hurricanes, I am thinking of Buffalo. It’s exciting to think of the change. And yes I know about winter. Used to live in some of the most brutal winters for college so I’m mentally prepared for snow and dark days. I’ll be visiting with my son in January (want to see winter at its worst). We are both hoping to get some sledding and winter sports in during the visit while visiting different communities.

My question is am I crazy? Is Buffalo really the city I keep hearing great things about? I keep hearing about community. I keep hearing about tolerance. I keep hearing about less traffic and less fakeness. I hope hope this city reminds me of the dirty, gritty, small town but lively city I used to call home.

Also, if any of you have suggestions of neighborhoods I should be visiting while I’m there please share. I am a full time single mom. I hold a doctorate degree and will be forced to acquire licensing to work in NY (so this will be a huge hurdle for me to relocate). I love good neighbors and walk my dogs religiously (need sidewalks). I support public education so intend to send my son to a public school. I’m active but wear yoga pants for comfort. I prefer small businesses over chains (this really applies to food). Any suggestion or thoughts would be welcomed. This is a HUGE decision for me and my family to make.