Beyond Buffalo: Students Look Elsewhere to Begin Life After College

Though students come from all over the world to attend UB, their stay in Buffalo tends to be short-lived.

While it is not unusual for students to leave the area in which they attended college, Buffalo's brightest are leaving at an alarming rate. Even those native to the area often pack their things and try their luck elsewhere.

"Everyone is leaving," said Lisa Lafratta, a senior undecided major and Buffalo native. "I hate to think how the city is going to be in a few years."

This type of anxiety about the region's future is a mainstay of Buffalo conversation.

The city's population has been steadily decreasing over the last few decades. Buffalo lost over 35,000 citizens between 1990 and 2000 alone, according to Census Bureau data.

"I plan on leaving Buffalo after school because there aren't any jobs here," said Lafratta. "I have to go where the opportunities are."

In all fairness, Buffalo is not exactly Silicon Valley.

"This region has typically had factory jobs and careers that did not require a college degree," said Robert Silverman, associate professor of Urban and Regional Planning. "Buffalo just doesn't provide college graduates with a lot of options."

Though UB does a great job of preparing its students for the professional world, Buffalo has a hard time finding a place for them in its workforce, according to Silverman.

"The region simply doesn't have a large enough job base to absorb all of the graduates from UB," he said.

To attract people and business to Buffalo, Silverman believes city officials should emphasize things Buffalo can offer to residents that other cities cannot.

"The cost of living is relatively lower here than other cities in the region," he said. "There should be a stronger emphasis on marketing the strengths of Buffalo to companies that might want to relocate here."

Efforts based around building stronger, happier living environments are also key, according to Silverman.

"There should be emphasis on developing parks and other local amenities that benefit neighborhoods," he said. "Because it's that focus that makes people want to stay in a place and attracts new jobs and investments."

UB itself is a strong contributor to Buffalo's economy. The University's Web site lists its total economic impact on the community at $1.25 billion for 2000-2001 alone.

The university is among the area's top public companies for annual revenue, ranked second at $868.8 million. The only company to beat it was National Fuel, which provides home heating for most of Buffalo. Not much of a surprise for a city whose name is associated almost universally with snow.

It creates 29 jobs for every million dollars of research funding it produces. Thousands more quality employment positions are expected as UB teams up with Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute to create the UB Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics according to UB's Web site.

The center, while providing white-collar jobs for college graduates in the community, will provide $3 of economic impact for every $1 of funding it produces, the UB Web site states. With a projected starting total of $200 million, the effect on the city looks extremely promising.

Even with economic stimulation of this magnitude, Buffalo's taxes remain among the highest in the nation.

Alfred Price, an associate professor of urban and regional planning, said there are some very practical ways to remedy that problem.

"Consolidation of government services will reduce operating expenses, and therefore taxes," he said.

With all of the proposed solutions to save Buffalo's population, there remains yet another reason people leave Buffalo; one the region has a harder time fighting.

"I want to go somewhere (where) the weather is nicer," said Lafratta. "The weather bothers me the most about Buffalo."