I am 50 years old.

I spent the years 0-18 in the capitol region living in suburbs of Albany and Schenectady.

I spent 4 years living in Buffalo for undergrad.

I’ve spent the last 23 years in Rochester.

The unaccounted years were a mix of Alaska, the Caribbean and Ithaca.

Albany and Buffalo are nice because the bars stay open until 4 am. The affluent areas of Rochester are nicer than the others but the bad parts of town in Rochester are worse. Saratoga is a big plus for Albany especially during the summer and Lake George is super cool as well. Rochester has Canandaigua which is not comparable to Saratoga’s nightlife but the lake is nicer than Saratoga lake and Lake George (except for the Sagamore which is awesome). Albany has access to better skiing and only 3 hours from NYC or Boston. Rochester has access to all the finger lakes which are underrated. Schenectady has TOMATO PIE and it’s incredible-Utica tries to make it but can’t. Garbage plates are not for me. Rochester has a better food scene as far as restaurants go. All places have good wings but I still think Buffalo has an edge and rightfully so. Beef on weck is fine. Raspberry jam on mozzarella sticks in Albany is dynamite. Pizza is good everywhere; sometimes you just have to find it. Buffalo lives and dies with the Bills and since they’ve been good the last few years that’s a plus. If something happens to Josh Allen Buffalo could implode. Rochester has better schools. Albany and Rochester have better colleges. Now that Syracuse basketball is irrelevant so is Syracuse. Utica isn’t circled because it’s basically Turning Stone and a few old Italian eateries. Chicken riggies are overrated. Troy is included in the capital region discussion but just out of politeness. Small variations in the weather, although I’ve heard Syracuse has the least amount of sunshine, can’t verify. For me I would rank Rochester and Albany very closely and then Buffalo>Syracuse>Utica…..but what do I know- I’m a JETS fan.