>Driving through that area, I was flabbergasted at the number of houses that were falling or fallen over and they just built another house next to the rubble. A lot of them were also just trailers or even RVs.

Been in the Buffalo area for most of my life, and while there's definitely some not so great areas, I really can't think of any place that's just a bunch of ruined houses, trailers, and RVs. Most of Erie county isn't in ruins.

Some people are stupid and just don't listen. Every time there's a snow storm, you get some sarcastic jerks who go around saying, "Wow, it's like people in Buffalo never saw snow before," as people go out and try to get prepared. They think that just because we're used to snow around here, it can't present problems. So these people don't get prepared. They don't have food, or gas, or meds, and then decide they can handle the storm and get stuck.

Some people were still forced to go to work. I'm not talking about essential workers either. So imagine you have to go into work because (no can't take off and can't risk losing your job), so you go in. Now the weather gets crazy here. It changes pretty rapidly at times. Not only that, but 5 minutes away might be experiencing completely different weather than where you are currently. So you could be a work and the weather could be pretty okay there. You start heading home, and all of a sudden, there are high winds, a lot of snow, and low visibility.

Finally, there are people who get into medical emergencies or have family/friends who do. Also, people who had zero power and are freezing in their homes (my brother's place was 20°F all weekend). People may decide it's worth the risk to get to a medical facility, a shelter, or a hotel because their life (or a loved one's life) is in danger anyways if they stay where they are.

>As a California native, I've always wondered how people live where they live. >Phoenix. Buffalo. Minnesota. Las Vegas. > >Like...why did people CHOOSE to live there?

You can say that about anywhere though. Parts of the west coast have have wild fires, volcanoes, droughts, earthquakes. And just for the states in general, you also have tornados, hurricanes, blizzards. There's freezing temps, really hot temps, high humidity. Some areas have more dangerous wildlife. Each area has it's pros and cons, so I thinks it's just a case of people learning to adapt to the cons to have access to the pros.

For a historic point of view about why people would live in the Buffalo/Niagara region... the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal.

Tons of people suffered without power for days (including my brother). As cold as it was, it wasn't cold enough to be a death sentence for most people without heat (inside a building). So I wouldn't day you'd definitely be dead. Still a scary and dangerous situation though. That's just for the lack of heat alone. Of course there are so many other dangers with being stuck in a home with no power.