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[DarkJediKnight]

First off, this is not a hate thread about all of USA, so those with panties in a bunch can relax. There are some beautiful places in the States, Niagara Falls isn't one of them.

It seems every time I cross the border from the Rainbow or Peace Bridge, I feel like I drove into some Zombie infested Post-Apocalyptic wasteland.

We're talking, broken roads, abandoned stores, broken and rotting gas stations, houses, 7-UP signs from the 70s etc...

You'd think that a highly visible area where so many Canadians cross to shop and sightsee would be better looked after. It's damn near depressing when I cross that border

Spoiler

Until I get to fashion outlets, then it's shop shop shop till I drop...

 

[Begbie]

Agreed, Niagara Falls NY is the perfect setting if you want to shoot a post apocalyptic movie.

 

[Piecake]

Probably because upstate New York went to the shitter. Half of the population left because all the blue collar jobs went away. Apparently tourism can't support that many people.

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2012/06/can-niagara-falls-grow-again/2257/

Interesting article. I think their hopes for growth is going to end in disappointment. They should be transforming it into a smaller city (wrecking buildings and transforming the city center) and go all in on the tourist, arts + crafts, nature getaway, whatever center.

 

[Mesousa]

It really is a national embarrassment that nobody seems to want to tackle.

Would take too much money.

 

[entremet]

Same reason a lot of cities are dumps--poor industry--lol tourism--very little mid to high paying jobs, so no businesses to cater to those people. Vicious cycle. Any young person born into that mess will move out when they get out of college.

 

[Kaladin]

It has become a less popular tourist attraction than it used to be hasn't it?

I imagine that's the kind of things that happen to cities which rely on tourism for business and their attractions become not so attractive.

 

[kswiston]

The Canadian side soaked up the tourist dollars (Niagara Falls Canada is basically a theme park at this point), and the former industry jobs are gone as others have said.

It has become a less popular tourist attraction than it used to be hasn't it?

I imagine that's the kind of things that happen to cities which rely on tourism for business and their attractions become not so attractive.

It's still a popular destination. But everyone goes to the Canadian side, which has a Casino, multiple theme parks, and other attractions.

 

[teruterubozu]

Niagara Falls was also the bastion of super cheesy "Romantic" tourism with the heart-shaped vibrating beds. I don't think it ever recovered from that image.

 

[Winterfang]

I didn't even knew the USA shared the Niagara Falls with Canada, always seemed like a Canada thing.

 

[Kaladin]

The Canadian side soaked up the tourist dollars (Niagara Falls Canada is basically a theme park at this point), and the former industry jobs are gone as others have said.

That's just lol.....we're getting beat with our own theme park rackett.

 

[kswiston]

That's just lol.....we're getting beat with our own theme park rackett.

The Canadian city has ~80k residents, but gets over 10 million tourists a year.

 

[TheTwelve]

Although I live on the West Coast now, Upstate New York was my home for over two decades, and the Buffalo/Niagara area for 3 years. was born in Utica.

Upstate New York is one of the most gorgeous areas that I've seen in the world overall, and I've seen a lot of nice places in the world. The colors, the foliage, the rolling hills, the towns, the wildlife, the mountains, four beautiful and different seasons, no natural disasters to speak of (outside of blizzards)...

...however, there are a few ugly spots like the Buffalo/Niagara area.

There are a lot of reasons why the place looks run down but we can't underestimate the fact that Buffalo was the hub of a lot of mafia abuse. Not all cities can survive the overall mismanagement that would come from a mafia-run town for decades. Lots of money was put into the wrong places for a very long time. Lots of old money establishments and connections have to die.

Until money starts to go back where it should, Buffalo/Niagara will look like this.

 

[gutter_trash]

North-Western NY state is a dump. Buffalo is a dump, all that zone is lame

Niagara, Ontario is overrated by the way. Yeah the falls are nice, but the town is a joke with teenager oriented tourist traps

 

[Samyy]

The Canadian city has ~80k residents, but gets over 10 million tourists a year.

Yea the Canadian side is pretty great, at least it looks really nice. My family visited the American side out of curiosity and we were stunned at how run down it looked.

 

[nemesun]

Torontonians have an affinity towards the Falls because of the amount of business it brings to the city as a whole. Tourists flock to Toronto from all over the world just to visit Niagara.

 

[Grimm Fandango]

Pictures would be helpful.

 

[mf.luder]

For those that need visual descriptions, I'll take some shots!

NF, NY is a shit hole.

 

[Buddha Beam]

It's also pretty much run by the mafia... or at least it was back in the day. It was never a terribly nice city. Damn shame, since the Canadian side is so well maintained. It's almost like comparing New York City in the 80's to New York City today.

 

[jstripes]

Crossing the border to the American side is very eye-opening. It's like wandering into a third world country.

I really want to go on an urban decay photo excursion there sometime. (My girlfriend didn't want to stop the car anywhere other than the Outlet Mall last time we were there.)

 

[Valtýr]

The Peace Bridge is nowhere near Niagara Falls what are you talking about?

 

[bob page]

I've been stuck in Buffalo the past few weeks for work. The whole surrounding area is a dump.

Upstate NY is beautiful though.

 

[shadowkat]

I didn't even knew the USA shared the Niagara Falls with Canada, always seemed like a Canada thing.

There are two waterfalls at Niagara Falls. The horseshoe falls are on the Canadian side.

 

[gkryhewy]

On the bright side, the theme park goofiness on both sides of the border are why we have National Parks, to protect other natural wonders from being debased.

 

[SgtCobra]

I'd love to see pictures of said environment.

 

[RustyNails]

whatever you do, dont visit niagara falls in US during 4th of July. You can thank me later.

 

[krae_man]

The Peace Bridge is nowhere near Niagara Falls what are you talking about?

Downtown Buffalo is a hole too. I booked a hotel on Main St when I went to an event at First Niagara and practically the entire street from my hotel to the arena was boarded up, run down buildings that were falling apart minus one Subway.

There are two waterfalls at Niagara Falls. The horseshoe falls are on the Canadian side.

There are actually 3.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridal_Veil_Falls_(Niagara_Falls)

 

[OnPoint]

Downtown Buffalo is a hole too. I booked a hotel on Main St when I went to an event at First Niagara and practically the entire street from my hotel to the arena was boarded up, run down buildings that were falling apart minus one Subway.

Uh, no, this is hyperbole. It's really not. There's actually a bit of development going on downtown now, too, especially by the First Niagara Center. Not saying Buffalo is the mecca of activity and commerce -- it's definitely not, downtown is dead at night -- but there aren't any boarded up buildings. Closed, but not boarded up.

 

[jadedm17]

I live in Buffalo.

I have no clue.

Also, stop leaving your empty shopping bags laying about everywhere. Thanks.

 

[krae_man]

Uh, no, this is hyperbole. It's really not. There's actually a bit of development going on downtown now, too, especially by the First Niagara Center. Not saying Buffalo is the mecca of activity and commerce -- it's definitely not, downtown is dead at night -- but there aren't any boarded up buildings. Closed, but not boarded up.

It was a couple years ago when I went but that subway was seriously the only thing I saw open the entire way.

 

[Valtýr]

Uh, no, this is hyperbole. It's really not. There's actually a bit of development going on downtown now, too, especially by the First Niagara Center. Not saying Buffalo is the mecca of activity and commerce -- it's definitely not, downtown is dead at night -- but there aren't any boarded up buildings. Closed, but not boarded up.

What this guy said. Buffalo is a shit hole overall but it's not some post-apocalyptic wasteland like people are making out.

Also, I was simply pointing out that Buffalo =\= Niagara Falls. So saying Niagara Falls is a shit hole and then citing the area around the Peace Bridge as an example makes no sense since they are different cities.

 

[OnPoint]

It was a couple years ago when I went but that subway was seriously the only thing I saw open the entire way.

Our subway is a local punchline. I'm surprised you saw it considering it only runs along one street lol

 

[krae_man]

Our subway is a local punchline. I'm surprised you saw it considering it only runs along one street lol

I meant a subway restaurant :lol

I did see that light rail to nothing as well.

 

[Winterfang]

There are two waterfalls at Niagara Falls. The horseshoe falls are on the Canadian side.

Thank You and thanks for answering my question without calling me stupid. Internet Forums are very unreasonable when it comes to Geography knowledge.

 

[Divvy]

Yeah the US side of Niagara is a real shithole. I go there once in a while to pick up packages and it's really depressing as soon as you cross the rainbow bridge. Like 80% of the stores are boarded up and a lot of buildings are run down. It's also looks extremely worse in contrast to the Canadian side.

 

[East Lake]

Our subway is a local punchline. I'm surprised you saw it considering it only runs along one street lol

I used it once to go to Shea's.

It's not all bad here people.

 

[OnPoint]

I meant a subway restaurant :lol

I did see that light rail to nothing as well.

Oddly, I think they moved that location up the road.

They're actually opening up the street the light rail is on for automobile traffic again. It's often cited as one of the main reasons downtown died. As to whether reversing it 30 years later will change things, I feel doubtful.

I used it once to go to Shea's.

It's not all bad here people.

Shea's is something special.

 

[jadedm17]

What this guy said. Buffalo is a shit hole overall but it's not some post-apocalyptic wasteland like people are making out.

Also, I was simply pointing out that Buffalo =\= Niagara Falls. So saying Niagara Falls is a shit hole and then citing the area around the Peace Bridge as an example makes no sense since they are different cities.

Buffalo is pretty cool, its got its own thing going.

Niagara Falls, north of the Grand Island, is kinda rundown.

 

[ConfusingJazz]

Niagara Falls, NY died because its a literal toxic waste dump.

Ok, bit of an exaggeration, but the city never recovered.

Buffalo got hit by the St Lawrence Seaway killing off the Erie Canal.

And a bit of mafia corruption mixed in with the general failure of the Ruse Belt in general.

 

[OnPoint]

Niagara Falls, NY died because its a literal toxic waste dump.

Ok, bit of an exaggeration, but the city never recovered.

Buffalo got hit by the St Lawrence Seaway killing off the Erie Canal.

And a bit of mafia corruption mixed in with the general failure of the Ruse Belt in general.

And the departure of the steel industry.

 

[speculawyer]

Much of upstate New York is a wasteland. It used to be an industrialized area and lots of towns along the rivers had lots of manufacturing. GE used to be very big. IBM too. But most of that died out leaving a lot of struggling upstate areas with old decaying buildings.

 

[3N16MA]

Downtown Buffalo is a hole too. I booked a hotel on Main St when I went to an event at First Niagara and practically the entire street from my hotel to the arena was boarded up, run down buildings that were falling apart minus one Subway.

Every time I drive to NYC and pass by Buffalo the place looks like a ghost town.

 

[shadowkat]

Downtown Buffalo is a hole too. I booked a hotel on Main St when I went to an event at First Niagara and practically the entire street from my hotel to the arena was boarded up, run down buildings that were falling apart minus one Subway.




There are actually 3.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridal_Veil_Falls_(Niagara_Falls)

Well, I feel silly now. I always thought that was a part of the American side of the falls. lol

 

[krae_man]

Niagara Falls, NY died because its a literal toxic waste dump.

Ok, bit of an exaggeration, but the city never recovered.

Buffalo got hit by the St Lawrence Seaway killing off the Erie Canal.

And a bit of mafia corruption mixed in with the general failure of the Ruse Belt in general.

Oh man, I remember reading a cracked article about that. The School board wanted the land and the chemical company said "We store toxic waste there, you don't want it" and the school board basically forced them to sell it so they put massive "don't say we didn't warn you" clauses in the sale contract and they still got sued and lost.

 

[ConfusingJazz]

And the departure of the steel industry.

I peg that under "Rust Belt general failures"

 

[DarkFlow]

I used to live in Niagara Falls, NY :'(. There's really no jobs around the area and the casino downtown does a shit job of spreading the wealth around.

 

[Tonguer]

Its been alluded to above already. The Canadian side has the horseshoe (cooler, subjectively) falls and is nicer (again, opinion), so it does not surprise me that the American side is not doing well. If you were planning a trip, wouldn't you pick the nicer of the two?

Spoiler

"Once you go Canadian, you never go back"?

 

[DarkFlow]

I live in Buffalo.

I have no clue.

Also, stop leaving your empty shopping bags laying about everywhere. Thanks.

Lol yeah, I worked at target in the falls, fucking tour busses full of Canadian's would come by every day to blow up target. Then they would litter the parking lot with bags and boxes so they would not have to pay taxes when they crossed back over the border. They can't litter in Canada so they just did it here. Living there gave me a irrational hated of Canada lol.

 

[Dazzler]

The Canadian side is basically a mini Vegas. The Falls are obviously spectacular, but boy is the rest of the town tacky

 

[jstripes]

Lol yeah, I worked at target in the falls, fucking tour busses full of Canadian's would come by every day to blow up target. Then they would litter the parking lot with bags and boxes so they would not have to pay taxes when they crossed back over the border. They can't litter in Canada so they just did it here. Living there gave me a irrational hated of Canada lol.

I always find a dumpster to put my empty bags and boxes in.

 

[soco]

as i recall, the Canadian side has the only decent views of the falls, which are on the American side. Even Americans go to the Canadian side to see them, suggesting that the flow of traffic is typically near the best views.

That's not to say there aren't lots of other reasons involved, but I would best most of the money is near the best views. I'd also bet that many landowners on the American side think the property is worth more than most businesses could typically raise because of it's location. Sort of like when an apartment has a 100-400$ / month rent increase in Seattle when there's even the slightest view of water.