Hello Hometown!
Originally posted by Sadie:
Hello Hometown
Hello everyone! When Amy invited me to contribute to the blog after the RB meeting Tuesday night, I was a little tentative at first. After all, I’ve always been the “blog-reader, not blog-writer” type. But here goes!
Firstly, I’m really excited to see so much enthusiasm about my hometown from people who actually live here. It’s a refreshing change. And really good energy (like the type floating around the Lafayette Tap Room last night) is highly contagious. So keep on spreading the disease.
For this first post, I was asked to share my thoughts as someone who recently moved back to the area. I guess that requires a little back-story about why I left in the first place, where I’ve been and why I’m back. So here’s the abridged version:
I grew up in Western New York, and went to Buff State for my first 3 years of college life. While there, I studied graphic design and the interior of Mulligan’s Brick Bar. At some point (as most early twenty-somethings) I decided that that I was unhappy with my current existence and needed to “find myself” and have “new experiences”. So I packed up my “lost” self, transferred to the Savannah College of Art and Design and moved to the Peach State. In Georgia, I “found” not only myself, but a very healthy tan line and my future husband. Savannah is an enchanted, eccentric place and I was happy there. But, if you’re not a student, employed by the US Army, drive a tourist trolley or a professional lifeguard—good luck with making a decent living for yourself there. (Unless you’re retired or independently wealthy).
From Georgia, I moved to Cincinnati, Ohio for employment & to be closer to my (future) husband’s family in the same state. I figured Cincinnati to be similar to Buffalo. I was dead wrong. Buffalo is not the mid-west, and I soon realized Cincinnati to be a) in the middle of nowhere with no waterfront… a big muddy river doesn’t count in my book b) culturally limited c) traffic-ridden with REALLY bad drivers d) KKK Friendly e) uber-conservative and f) not the place for me! (Apologies to any Cinci-lovers! That’s just my experience & it was a miserable 3 years for me).
Eventually, Greg & I married and moved to NYC to further our careers in the creative industry and to expose ourselves to a more culturally stimulating way of life. While there, I landed a “dream job” as an Art Buyer at TBWA\Chiat\Day Advertising (you know– the guys who came up with the Energizer Bunny, The Taco Bell Chihuahua and the entire Absolut Vodka print campaign as we know it). It was my responsibility to find & book young hip photographers, designers, illustrators, fashion stylists, make-up artists and models for international print campaigns. I produced all of the photography shoots for my clients and got to spend my days hanging out on sets all over the country with the rich and fabulous telling them what to do and when to do it. It was fun and a very happy 5.5 years. Until I decided to give it all up and move to a more quiet but equally stimulating life here in Buffalo.
When Greg and I decided to leave our cushy creative careers on Madison Avenue to start our own design firm and base it in Buffalo, a lot of eyebrows were raised by both friends and colleagues. And I have to say that it mostly was “why would you ever leave your great job for the unknown” NOT “why the hell are you moving to Buffalo.” But for those who asked “why Buffalo” in combination with “are they going to re-fill your position after you leave?” I responded with this:
Greg and I suddenly realized that a) we were working so much (either he at his office until 3am weekdays and 9-5 on weekends, or me on the road producing photo shoots) that we didn’t know each other anymore. b) we’d been commuting and working our young lives away. (45 mins to go 8 miles one way on public transportation. And no, that’s not a typo). c) We could never afford to buy a home of our own in the NYC Metro area without going into major debt. Even on our generous salaries. (Which by the way- are generous for anywhere BUT New York City). d) I’d gained 2 stomach ulcers from 6 years of chronic stress. e) We needed to leave our cushy jobs and get the hell out of there to save our sanity!
But where to go from someplace as intense as New York? Well, for us- it had to be somewhere that has a ton of cultural resources so that we could remain creatively stimulated. Somewhere with a true sense of place with architectural character. Somewhere where we could really be involved in our community so that we felt connected to the universe again (New York is a very lonely place for being home to millions). Somewhere that is travel-friendly so that we could hop a plane to NYC to meet with our clients, or to the Caribbean for a little R&R very easily. But it had to be somewhere quiet. With little traffic and lots of green space and a large body of water that was both accessible and enjoyable. Somewhere where our dog would be happier and somewhere that would be physically close to both my family and his in Ohio. Really, it was a no-brainer. Buffalo was perfect for us. It has all of those things plus more! So, we racked our brains for almost a year devising ways to relocate. (Because what would we do if we gave up our jobs on Madison Avenue? We couldn’t really work for smaller local ad agencies without feeling it). And then it hit us. Why not go out on our own and start our own graphic design firm? We would be able to use our skill set, do what we love, work together out of our home, and make our own schedule and control our own client list. We already have several groups of married friends that did the very same thing and were very successful as husband/wife teams self-employeed in the arts (photographers in NYC and graphic designers in Chicago) so we picked their brains. We asked questions. We did a lot of research. We saved a TON of money and then went for it. We contacted a real estate agent in East Aurora (a place we really wanted to live in) gave him a very specific list of our wants and desires for our new home and had him keep an eye out for us. And then, this past Christmas, we fell in love with current our home and purchased it for the cost of a one room shanty on Long Island. By April, we’d finished our obligations in NYC and were here.
And we’re happy. Very happy. We’ve kept our contacts in NYC and have gotten steady business from a group of clients from NYC, Washington DC, and California. (But we look forward to working for some local clients too!). We still get to do high-end design work for Fortune 500 companies but get to live in a really livable place. We’re relaxed, have time to do things that we enjoy and finally have a home to call our own. We’re creatively stimulated and feel supported by the community. I look forward to going to all of the festivals this summer and fall, enjoying the waterfront, and skiing in the winter. And– breathing in clean, fresh air is a huge bonus. I feel strong, sane and healthy because Buffalo is such a great place to be. So for all of those people who asked “why Buffalo?”… those are just some of the reasons. And I look forward to adding a lot more.
posted by Sadie @ 4:06 PM 6 comments
The Why (Not!) Guy said…
Hi Sadie - welcome to the blog and welcome back to Buffalo!
1:48 PM
BuffaloBeacon said…
Welcome home! I hope you have a great summer and enjoy all that Buffalo has to offer.
1:50 PM
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8:49 PM
Me said…
Welcome to the blog world!
me, AKA All Things Jen(nifer)
8:50 PM
star0074 said…
HI there,
I am currently living in Savananh and have been trying to come home to Buffalo for the past year or so. Starting my own business was an idea I had because I have not been able to land a job in the area. Thanks for sharing.
1:18 PM
Nicole said…
I had several friends go to Savannah out of UB for grad school - I think about them a lot. 
But I digress…
Anyhow, I’m copying and sending this to my husband this minute. His calling is marketing (the creative side) and he is very afraid of moving to Buffalo from Chicago (advertising city) to, well, as he sees it, no opportunity. Well, resignation be darned! What a great story and how resourceful! There is opportunity everywhere if you make it (and work really hard, of course). This *could* be the way I finally twist his arm…errr…convince him.
Anyhow, welcome back to Buffalo - and thank you for your story, from someone who is longing to return.
3:52 PM
