I spend a fair amount of time in the Buffalo metro area during the warm seasons and I find it to be a pretty vibrant, hip, youthful and economically strong zone. 5 years ago it wasn't as strong as it is now and people didn't seem to appreciate it like they do now. Other than a handful of isolated spots around the state the WNY region is more outdoorsy than the rest, it's the strongest bike market outside of the 5 Boros and outdoor winter recreation is booming. If I was 20 years younger I'd strongly consider living there.
Talk about worn out...