Kevin, who lived in New Jersey just outside of New York City, went to college for computer science and, for a time, owned his own business, and so he knew he wanted to combine those two skillsets in whatever his next opportunity was.

What he didn’t know was much about Buffalo. He had never even been to Buffalo.

“I found the perfect opportunity at Odoo, applied without knowing much about Buffalo, and thought I’d figure it all out if I actually got the job,” said Kevin.

He did get the job. And so he headed straight to Reddit to start reading everything he could about living in Buffalo. He visited for a weekend and relocated not long after.

“Anything I want to do is available here, but without the added costs,” said Kevin. “That was really surprising coming from outside of New York. I really haven’t sacrificed or felt like I was missing anything. If anything, there’s more with hiking and how convenient and accessible things are.”

Kevin is now a Business Systems Analyst at Odoo, a growing software company that relocated itself to Buffalo less than a year ago. He rents an apartment in the redeveloped Seneca One Tower, the same building in which he works, embodying the idea of live, work, play that the new energetic beacon of Buffalo’s skyline offers.

What were you most surprised by in Buffalo?

Surprisingly there’s a great food scene, and you can get anything you can possibly think of. Especially coming from right outside of New York City I had my doubts. There’s nothing that I want that isn’t available.

What are your initial thoughts of Buffalo?

If you’re going to start a career, there’s not a better place. You can afford a fun lifestyle. Everyone here is friendly. Everyone I’ve met here is smart, too – they want to learn, or they’re inventing something, or they’re intellectually curious. I’ve had great conversation with every person I’ve met.