Buffalo Shuffle

This past weekend, I shuffled off to Buffalo, New York, to cheer my sister on as she received her Master’s Degree. It was a fun adventure, as I’d never been anywhere near that far north and east in the United States. The food--we ate Jamaican, Greek, and of course hot wings--was good, the people were friendly and funny, and we were quite lucky that the weather was beautiful. Spending just over one day there, with not much time to explore, made me wonder how Buffalo compares to Fort Collins. Here are some quick facts:

Anchor Bar, home of Buffalo Wings
Founded:
FC:  1864
Buffalo:  1789

Nicknames:
FC: Choice City, Fort Fun
Buffalo: Queen City, Nickle City

Elevation:
FC:  5,005 feet above sea level
Buffalo:  619 feet above sea level

Average precipitation:
FC:  14.5”
Buffalo:  38.6”

Average clear days:
FC:  300
Buffalo:  54 (How do they stand it?)

Population (2010 Census)
Nancy Rubins' canoe art at Albright-Knox Gallery
FC:  143,986
Buffalo:  261,310

Population percent change 2000-2010
FC:  +21.4%
Buffalo:  -10.7%

Mean travel time to work, in minutes:
FC:  19.3
Buffalo:  20.2

High school grads, age 25+ (2006-2010):
FC:  94.6%
Buffalo:  80.6%

Female persons (2010):
FC:  50.1%
Buffalo:  52.1%

View from my hotel lobby
Land Area, square miles: 
FC:  54.28
Buffalo:  40.38

Persons per square mile:
FC:  2,652.8
Buffalo:  6,470.6

Median value of owner-occupied housing units (2006-2010):
FC:  $241,600
Buffalo:  $65,700

Professional sports teams:
FC: none
Buffalo: Bills (NFL), Sabres (NHL), AAA Bisons

Craft breweries (listed in BeerAdvocate)
FC/Loveland/Longmont: 13
Buffalo/Rochester: 12

Higher Ed:
FC: Colorado State University, Front Range Community College
Buffalo: 3 SUNY Institutions, 5 private colleges



Comments

liz young said…
That's an awful lot of facts, but what are buffalo wings like? Are they similar to the ones on pigs?
betty said…
Congrats to your sister! Great achievement with the Master's Degree! Interesting to compare the two cities; I'd be with you; I couldn't get by with only 54 clear days a year! I like my sun!

betty
Tonja said…
Did you get to see Niagara Falls? I love it on the Canada side especially.
Jenny said…
Lizy, Buffalo wings are fried chicken wings covered in spicy red pepper sauce. I've never had pig wings; those flying pigs are too hard to catch!

Thanks, Betty. I'm pretty proud of my sis!

Tonja, stop by tomorrow for the answer :-)
Amy Frazier said…
As the sister in question, I'd say that while both FC and Buffalo are interesting, my choice would be the Choice. Thanks, Jen, for educating me on some things I didn't know - about both cities!

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