Situated halfway between New York and Chicago, Buffalo is midwestern in its hospitality and eastern in its pace. The second largest city in the state, Buffalo is the hub of the Western New York region, which offers its 1.3 million residents the attractions and convenience of a major urban center and the friendliness and livability of a small town. Buffalo boasts a first-rate philharmonic orchestra, one of the leading modern art collections in the world (at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery), residential and commercial buildings by some of America's greatest architects, and a downtown theater district where resident professional companies, touring groups and local performers provide a rich variety of dramatic entertainment.

The nearby town of Amherst, the home of the university's new campus, is a prosperous and friendly community of 125,000 rated as one of the best suburban places to live in the country and only a few minutes commute from both the city and the pleasant countryside nearby, and fifteen minutes by taxi from the Buffalo airport.

Accessible from the subway linking UB's South Campus to downtown is the Buffalo waterfront, where a new marina and park overlook the vast sweep of Lake Erie. Buffalo's grand park system, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (who created New York's Central Park), gives the city ample, beautifully landscaped greenspace, connected by bikepaths which also go to and along the Niagara River.

Several other major attractions are within easy reach of the university. Visitors from all over the world flock to Niagara Falls, only 20 minutes by car from UB. Toronto, one of the continent's largest cities and a major cultural center, is just a 90-minute drive to the north. Canada's Stratford Shakespearean Festival and the famed Chautauqua Institute are only a few hours away.

Western New York enjoys a temperate four-season climate. Buffalo has more sunny days than any other upstate New York city and is well known for its balmy, dry summers. Pleasant temperatures and colorful foliage mark the fall here, while winter snowfalls beautifully transform the landscape.

For sports enthusiasts, every season in Western New York is special. Major professional sports teams like the Buffalo Bills football team, the Buffalo Sabres hockey team and the Buffalo Bisons, a minor league baseball team, draw record crowds to their games in fall, winter and summer. Ice rinks and an array of ski resorts to the south of Buffalo entice thousands even on the coldest of days. Summer sees the return of thousands to the waterways of the region Lakes Erie and Ontario, the Niagara River, and to the east, the Finger Lakes for swimming, boating, waterskiing and fishing.

Buffalo is only an hour's flight from New York City, Washington, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago. The busy international airport at Buffalo is served by eight major airlines, with frequent service to destinations throughout North America.

Known as the "City of Good Neighbors," Buffalo is a welcoming and safe city for international students, who find it an enjoyable and comfortable place to live, at a very affordable price.