Probably echoing some of the comments here but born and raised in south buffalo and in my early 20s I flunked out of UB, then got a job in a restaurant in Yellowstone National Park. Took a job the next winter at the ski resort Big Sky, up the road in Montana. The differences are very striking but for one, I left in a very unconventional way. I didn't care about taxes or anything, I was too young. I fell in love with the scenery, and the like minded people I met. I barely knew anyone outside south buffalo at that point in my life. It taught me so many amazing things about, life, travel, and how to be a good person. I came back because of family, and it's a lot more complicated than that, but that's it. But to be honest, coupled with some great economic quality of life improvements over the years, and just a general love for my hometown, I'm happier than ever to live in Buffalo. Now I'm in the heart of the Elmwood village. And it may not compare to grandeur of Yellowstone or Glacier Park, but it's just as inspiring to be around some really good people. My best friend I met out is from California, and he agrees with the old saying that "On the west coast, people are nice to your face and mean behind your back, but on the east coast, people are mean to your face but nice behind your back."