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Buffalo and Western New York
General: The population of the Buffalo Metropolitan area is approximately 1.3 million people, with 350,000 of those residing in the City of Buffalo *.
Location: The City of Buffalo is bounded by the west by Lake Erie and the Niagara River. The 36 mile long Niagara River, which is technically a "strait' between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, is the source of Niagara Falls, one of the great scenic wonders of the world. There is a great variety in living styles available, from urban townhouses to lake shore homes to rural farms. It is worth noting that Buffalo is centrally located, i.e. within a day's drive of many large urban centers (including New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago). Toronto is just one and one-half hours away. The location can make it easy to visit family or major professors, depending on one's preference.
Weather: Buffalo is fortunate in having four distinct seasons. Our summer temperatures range from 75-85, with very few days over 90 degrees. Refreshing breezes drift from Lake Erie over fine harbors and beaches along both the American and Canadian shore, convenient for summer sports like boating, fishing and swimming. Autumn is quite long, dry and colorful due to the changing foliage. In winter, Buffalo does get snow, mainly in the "snow belt" south of the city in which major ski resorts are located. Residents of that section are happy with the snowfall. As the Chamber of Commerce says, "we don't sit around all season watching it fall. We ski it downhill, we ski it cross-country, we snowshoe it, we backpack in it, etc." Buffalo residents consider that the seasonal changes are an invigorating part of the variety of life Buffalo offers.
Housing: In a recent nationwide survey of 18 urban areas, Buffalo was the 4th least expensive in housing costs. There is a wide variety of apartments available at reasonable rents. Since the DVA Medical Center is across the street from the SUNY at Buffalo * campus, student apartments are available within walking range of the Medical Center. For those with a car, there are many apartment complexes within a 5 mile radius of the Medical Center.
Education: As noted earlier, the DVA Medical Center is located in the northeastern suburban boundary of Buffalo and is directly across the street from the South Campus of SUNY at Buffalo *. SUNY at Buffalo has approximately 25,000 students on its two campuses. Noteworthy for prospective interns is that there are two APA-approved training programs at SUNY: the Clinical Psychology track of the Department of Psychology and the Counseling Psychology track of the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology. Located across from the Medical Center is the Health Science Campus, housing the schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing and Health Related Professions as well as the Health Sciences Library. A shuttle bus system transports one to the Amherst Campus which houses the Law Library, Graduate Library and the psychology departments. In addition to SUNYAB, there are six other four-year colleges on the Western New York area representing a wide range of private and public educational opportunities.
Health Sciences: In the metropolitan area there are approximately 25 general or specialized hospitals. Included in these facilities are two State psychiatric facilities, the Buffalo Psychiatric Center and the West Seneca Developmental Center. The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus includes Buffalo General Hospital, the University at Buffalo’s Center for Bioinformatics, Roswell Park Cancer Institute *, and several other programs, in a single clinical, research and academic complex. Womens and Childrens Hospital provides pediatric and maternity care. The state-funded Research Institute on Addictions conducts a wide range of basic and applied research on addictions. As the DVA Medical Center is a teaching hospital, there are regular seminars and symposia presented by other disciplines (psychiatry, nursing, social work, medicine, neurology and rehabilitation medicine) which are available for interested interns.
Leisure:
There are facilities for both spectator and participant sports in Western New York. For spectator sports, the multi-year AFC Champion Buffalo Bills * lead the NFL for attendance at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Buffalo Sabres * provide exciting hockey entertainment at the new HSBC Arena. The AAA league baseball team, the Bisons *, is located in Dunn Tire Park, a beautiful, nationally-recognized stadium in the heart of downtown Buffalo. Division I basketball and football is played at several area colleges.
Participant sports are many and varied. Because of the location, there are many facilities for water sports, including fishing and boating. There are also many facilities for winter sports. For instance, there are 20 ski areas within 90 miles of Buffalo, 12 of which are only 45 minutes from downtown. Facilities for racquet sports are also in good supply. There are 84 outdoor tennis courts scattered throughout the City of Buffalo. There are also a number of clubs available for indoor tennis, squash, racquetball and aerobics.
Locals and frequent visitors to Buffalo perhaps best regard the area as offering an unusually wide repertoire of good and affordable restaurants as well as music venues.
Parks: When urban quality of life is evaluated, Buffalo is always highly rated for its park system. Designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead, the designer of New York's Central Park, the city park system embraces over 3,000 acres. It contains numerous facilities such as swimming pools, golf courses, baseball diamonds, etc. Another 2,00 acres of parks, adjacent to Niagara Falls , offer spectacular views of the river and the Falls. Other state parks near Buffalo offer facilities for hiking and camping. The largest of these is Allegany State Park, whose 65,000 acres offer 100 miles of hiking trails. Letchworth State Park and the Allegany National Forest are also easily accessible from Buffalo.
Cultural Activities: Buffalo offers fine facilities for art, music and theater. The Albright-Knox Art Gallery * enjoys a world-wide reputation for its collection of contemporary painting and sculpture. The Gallery is usually chosen as a site for display of touring exhibitions from New York or Washington. The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra * features symphony concerts and pop concerts from October to May at Kleinhans Music Hall, which is architecturally famed for its acoustical qualities. The orchestra also plays summer concerts in a variety of settings, including local parks. Theater is well represented at 6 different facilities throughout Western New York. One spectacular theater is Shea's * Buffalo, located in the heart of Buffalo's Theater District. The 3,000-seat facility has been painstakingly restored to its original elegance as designed by Tiffany in 1926. Another spectacular site, for different reasons, is Artpark. Located on 172 acres along the Niagara River, Artpark * offers classical music, jazz, and rock as well as productions of plays, ballets and operas. In nearby Ontario are both a George Bernard Shaw Festival and a Stratford Shakespeare Festival * throughout the summer.
Many visitors are drawn to Buffalo’s architectural heritage, including several prized municipal buildings and homes built by Frank Lloyd Wright. The turn of the century Roycroft arts and crafts movement, centered at a campus in nearby East Aurora, is also a regional attraction. Buffalo also currently hosts several annual arts and cultural festivals, including the Allentown Arts Festival, Taste of Buffalo, and the Buffalo Guitar Festival.
Where to stay: Information about lodging may be obtained from the Chamber of Commerce, AAA, travel agent, etc. The Western New York area has a variety of hotel and motel accommodations available for all tastes. For your convenience, we have listed a few moderately priced motels within a five mile radius of the hospital that have been recommended by previous intern applicants:
Fairfield Inn by Marriott
52 Freeman Dr.
Williamsville, NY
(716)-626-1500
Hampton Inn
10 Flint Rd.
Amherst, NY
(716)-689-4414
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Red Roof Inns
I-290 and Millersport
Amherst, NY
(716)-689-7474
Super 8 Motel 0f Amherst
1 Flint Rd.
Amherst, NY
(716)-688-0811
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This web site is intended for psychology interns who are considering the VA for internships. Veterans can find VA health care information at the VISN 2 website. |
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