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The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter.

Let me take you on a little journey. Only about an hour and a half from St. Bonaventure University, nestled between Niagara Falls and downtown Buffalo sits my hometown, and favorite place, Williamsville, New York. 

With a population of only 5,400 people, the village of Williamsville is a welcoming Buffalo suburb full of friendly faces and something fun to do around every corner.

We start in the middle, Main Street. While it does run from the heart of downtown Buffalo to out past Batavia, my little section of Main Street is only about 4.5 miles long. 

Now the village of Williamsville may seem small, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in charm. From blocks of local shops and restaurants to live music every Thursday night. Being so close to Buffalo, we still carry the “city of good neighbors” attitude and, of course, a love for the Buffalo Bills. 

We have new businesses, like Britesmith Brewing, a small brewery with a sick outdoor patio, and we have classic, family-owned businesses like Ed Young’s Hardware that has been in the Young family for generations. On top of these businesses, we also have the chains that everyone knows and loves. We have a Wendy’s right down the road from a family-owned Italian restaurant.

In the center of the village lies Glen Falls, a beautiful park and waterfall that has just about anything you need for a peaceful day outside: a trail, plenty of places to sit and an ice cream shop just a 2-minute walk away. 

One of the best things about living in WillVille (a name for Williamsville that is an inside joke with my friends involving a local Soundcloud rapper) is how close you are to everything. Being just outside Buffalo means it’s a 25-minute ride to Niagara Falls, a 30-minute drive to Canada, a 5-minute drive to a large mall and only a 1-and-a-half-hour drive to the beautiful St. Bonaventure campus. 

My favorite feature of Williamsville is the walkability. I never knew how lucky I was to be able to walk to Starbucks or my favorite local restaurant. I was able to walk to the gas station at the end of my street anytime I got a craving for a sweet treat.

The Williamsville Business Association does this amazing thing during summer called Music on Main. 10 or more local restaurants have live bands and food specials that bring everyone out and together. It’s a great time seeing everyone come out and celebrate the good weather and good food. 

Now, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Throughout my childhood, all I wanted was to move away. Pack my stuff and never think of Williamsville again.

Then I did.

I started school here at St. Bonaventure and immediately felt the homesickness kick in. It wasn’t until I left that I felt how acutely I loved the place I grew up. 

I am so extremely lucky and privileged to be able to say that I had the choice to go to Tops or Wegmans for my groceries. I am so lucky to be able to choose between Overwinter, a local coffee shop, and Starbucks. 

These were the things that I had become used to while growing up. I used to hate that it seemed everyone knew everyone in my small suburb, but I didn’t realize how nice it is to have neighbors around you who want to say hi to you when they see you out. 

You know it’s a pretty cool place to live when you have the chance of running into a fellow Her Campus girly and your distant cousin at the same cafe.

As our journey through my hometown comes to a close, I hope that you got a sense of why I love Williamsville and the charm it holds.

Abigail Taber is a second-year writer for the St. Bonaventure chapter of Her Campus. She enjoys writing about culture, entertainment, and the happenings in her college life. Abigail is excited to shadow the editing team this year and to be a part of such a cool organization that centers around the work and interests of women. Beyond Her Campus, Abigail is the poetry editor for the literary magazine on campus, The Laurel, volunteers for the campus food pantry, and can be found in the library most hours of the day. Abigail has had her creative writing published in both her high school's and university's literary magazines. She is currently a sophomore at St. Bonaventure University, double majoring in English as well as Literary Publishing and Editing. In her free time, Abigail, or Abbey to her friends, enjoys reading, listening to music, and looking at art for her next tattoo. She is a music trivia master and a known enjoyer of any, and all, romance books. She hopes to pursue a career in publishing books in a big city. Growing up in a small suburb of Buffalo, New York, Abbey hopes to embody the city-of-good-neighbors attitude.