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Comment by Cofike | Hacker News Reader

I was born in Buffalo, no longer there due to lack of tech jobs (that isn’t blue cross blue shield). The Canadian side of Niagara Falls already destroys our side. Much more development. Way more activities to do. Gorgeous view of the falls. All around better.

Now that weed is legalized this will only become more and more apparent. They will attract more individuals from both sides of the border and I bet see much more money coming in leading to more development, etc.

New York had missed out on this opportunity for years and by the looks of it will continue to miss out.

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Personally, I prefer the American side more. It has a more park like feel to it where you can enjoy the falls while sitting on the lawn, away from car honks and road noise. The Canadian side seems like an urban jungle with the waterfalls take a side step to tall hotel buildings and casinos.

The Canadian side is relatively developed (vs american side) and an economic engine (tourism, jobs, wines). Your parent commenter's point I believe is that the federal/state/local government has failed the local people in investing and developing a local economy in the area. Both sides have essentially the same resources (the falls), but one side is doing better (economically) than the other.

And the point made by (now) parent is that a preference for less resource exploitation and economic development can be a lifestyle decision, not a failure of governance. Not everyone wants to turn their town into a tourist hub.

Thank you. That was what I was trying to say.

The view from the Canadian side, though, is just superior.

Actually, I think it's Erie.

The Canadian side of Niagara Falls is largely a wine tourist/falls tourist trap and St Catherine's and Hamilton are just areas you drive through to get from Toronto to Niagara Falls, how do you see development in these areas being spurred?

I would offer a contrarian perspective on this development: this isn't good for society.

While for sure we don't want people going to prison for smoking a joint - this also isn't necessarily good for society for corporations to promote recreational legal drugs. Was it a good thing for the tobacco and alcohol industries to basically run amuck in their advertising campaigns all over the world? Are we better as we world for it?

Better thoughts than my own are in this TED Talk on the subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klafHRlhNg4

Which is funny considering you can order weed to be delivered in New York quite easily. You don't even need to go to a dirty back street or an weirdo flat down town anymore. So basically, the only missing link is the tax money.

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