Stop laughing. Wegmans is the ultimate shopping experience, and if you ask any locals their favorite part about Rochester, they’ll agree with us. So what is it that gives Wegmans its allure? Maybe it’s the exclusivity, having just over 100 stores compared to Whole Foods 500. It could be the insanely nice people who work at Wegmans or the large selections of cheeses and international selections. Or it could be that Wegmans brand products are also a hit, with customers saying they just can’t find quality like that at such a low price at other places. Regardless, Wegmans is a staple in Rochester, and those who get it get it. And those that don’t will get it when they get here!

Residents of Rochester are often baffled that the Pacific Northwest gets to have all the fun of being named the dreariest place in the US. Rochester’s weather gives Seattle a run for its money, especially in the winter. It gets less snow than in the old days, and it's not nearly as cold or lasts for as long, but still, it's a legit winter. 





Wegmans is the Best!

LookyLOO Review of Rochester

Rochester is a city full of families and affordable living. The cost of living is well below the national average, which is why plenty of families relocate here. Besides being known for music with its rich history of Jazz musicians and the Eastman School of Music, Rochester is also known for what they lovingly refer to as the “Garbage Plate.” Don’t click away! We know it sounds…different. But the iconic dish is a late-night staple and the perfect thing after a night out. It’s a mountain of macaroni salad, home fries, baked beans, chopped onions, mustard, an infamous meat sauce, and topped with your protein of choice. The Garbage Plate has been served up to locals for over 100 years. It’s cheap, it’s hot, and a community staple to share with friends after a fun night. It’s a lot like Rochester: cheap, surprisingly amazing, and more than enough to keep you satisfied.

If you want to know what goes on in Rochester, check out the [**calendar of events**](https://www.visitrochester.com/events).

We highly recommend visiting Rochester and staying in the community in a [VRBO](https://vrbo.com/affiliate/p4JS4ZC) rather than a hotel to get a feel for what it's like to live among the locals. You can receive discounted fares on travel via our [partnership with Expedia](expedia.com/affiliate/9NZ8LBQ) as well.

Lifestyle 

Rochester is a hub for technology and education. The [**University of Rochester**](https://www.rochester.edu/) has a huge influence over the city, and the high concentration of universities in the general area drives economic growth. It’s home to a top research center, a renowned nursing school, and the Simon School of Business. Behind the University, there are also several large companies in the city, including [**Paychex**](https://www.paychex.com/) and [**Carestream Health**](https://www.carestream.com/en/us/). [**Xerox**](https://www.xerox.com/en-us) was also founded in Rochester and maintains a large presence to this day.


Worklife

Rochester may be snowy and cold in the winter, but it’s a city full of warm people and great community events. If you are looking for a great place to raise a family and aren’t afraid of the snow, this might be the place for you. There are job opportunities aplenty so it can also be a great place for young professionals. Grab a garbage plate and join us!


Warm People

Why You Should Move Here Now?

**ComfortableDuet0920**
1y ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

Cobbs Hill
I love Rochester. I grew up in the Boston area, lived there for 20 years, and lived in NYC for 4 years. I’ve been in Rochester for 3 years now, bought our first home nearly 2 years ago now, and can happily say Rochester is by far my favorite place I’ve ever lived. Yes, property taxes are high, as others pointed out. HOWEVER, the cost of living and cost of homes is so low that is easily cancels out the extra taxes (imo) and it’s still way cheaper to live here than most other places, and the amenities are amazing. I disagree with other commenters saying that the taxes don’t get you anything either - we have fantastic public services (unless we’re talking city public schools - but those are their own cluster f*ck). We get leaf removal, snow removal, public trash & recycling pick up, beautifully maintained parks, and lots of other city services, all paid for by taxes.

Again, gotta stress how good the amenities here are too. We live in the city itself, and most things are in walking distance, or a 10 minute drive. I never have to drive further than 20 minutes to get to anything. There’s good restaurants, lots of good mom and pop stores, nice grocery stores, and a place or community for pretty much any hobby you enjoy/are interested in. There’s lots to do here, and I can actually do those things because it’s affordable to live here. I live in the city proper (not a suburb) and there’s 25 acres of old grove trails literally 20 feet from my front door. I also love within a 5 minute drive of 5 other parks, so lots of options for outdoor fun. We ski in the winter, it’s an hour to the local ski places.

For more reviews of what living in Rochester is like from locals, check out [**The Reviews**](https://lookyloomove.com/locations/rochester/reviews).




Reviews of Rochester from Locals

With the great education in the area comes great places for college kids to live and hang out on the weekends. These areas have seen some redevelopment and have a ton of retail, restaurants, and more.
- 19th Ward


College Students

19th Ward

There is walkability in Rochester if you know where to look. These neighborhoods have a great mix of housing, shops, and cafes. Browncroft is a good place to start your search. A national historic district, the homes are beautiful and run along tree-lined streets. The area is also filled with restaurants and pubs, and a close walk to other neighborhood commercial districts. 
- Browncroft
- Marketview Heights
- Park Avenue


Young Professionals

Browncroft

There are a ton of quaint neighborhoods in Rochester that are perfect if you’re moving in from out of state and need a place to live as well as have built-in friendly neighbors and porch buddies. Grove Place is a beautiful option and is considered the "residential jewel" of the downtown area. It has big brick row houses for families but also is near the Eastman School of Music and The Cabaret Theater so you don't have to sacrifice culture in exchange for great homes.  
There are also a ton of great suburban type of neighborhoods that are close to hiking, biking, and other outdoor play options.  
- Grove Place
- Marketview Heights
- Charlotte
- Swillburg
- Susan B. Anthony


Families

Grove Place

Rochester

**Kindly_Ice1745**
10mo ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

Upstate NY is likely less polluted, at this time, then basically the entire state of Pennsylvania simply due to NY's strict environmental laws. We also remediate more brownfield sites than just about any other state.

Rochester is probably a bit slower paced than Buffalo, but faster paced than a Syracuse or Albany. But it's improving a lot. There's many city projects meant to revitalize the area and encourage a better city living experience: Roc the Riverway, removal of the inner loop, development of the eventual high falls state park.

Lots of festivals. Weather is improving due to climate change. Close to the lake. Good nature around.

**transitapparel**
10mo ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

The cliff notes version is:

We never had an iron/steel industry (only one foundry and one forge in our existence)

We never had a major "push-button-stamp-metal" manufacturing industry (yes we have GM and Delphi, but we were more in the R+D side of things than general manufacturing)

We had/have a much more educated and specialized workforce (much more white collar)

We had/have a much more diversified set of industries (and manufacturing/metals were never a major one) at the time and now (flour production/shipbuilding to seed dispensories/nurseries to photography/xerography/optics to clothing/info tech to photonics)

Our population didn't see the same steep decline as Pittsburgh/Cleveland/Detroit/Gary/Bethlehem/etc.

**tonysopranosalive**
1y ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉


Obviously everyone is mentioning taxes. But it really is quite a nice area to live. Lots of parks, the Genesee, the Erie Canal. Letchworth is a nice little day trip. Lake Ontario is amazing, I feel like a lot of us who are from here take it for granted. My wife’s sister visited from Nebraska and saw it for the first time, she was blown away. If you’re into football Buffalo/Orchard Park is like an hour away and has really cool spots, too. The weather can change frequently. In my opinion we’re currently in that spot. Yesterday was rainy and cold, miserable. Today is rainy but the temp is actually pleasant for this time of year. Tomorrow it might snow. It’s a craps shoot.

All in all I couldn’t tell you how it’s gonna be in 20 years when I’m in my 50’s. I’ve been to a lot of different cities/places in different states that I’m like: I could live here! But I always come back to ROC.

It’s a city that a lot of us like to bitch about when we’re here, but once you leave you really miss it.

**ComfortableDuet0920**
1y ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

Cobbs Hill
I love Rochester. I grew up in the Boston area, lived there for 20 years, and lived in NYC for 4 years. I’ve been in Rochester for 3 years now, bought our first home nearly 2 years ago now, and can happily say Rochester is by far my favorite place I’ve ever lived. Yes, property taxes are high, as others pointed out. HOWEVER, the cost of living and cost of homes is so low that is easily cancels out the extra taxes (imo) and it’s still way cheaper to live here than most other places, and the amenities are amazing. I disagree with other commenters saying that the taxes don’t get you anything either - we have fantastic public services (unless we’re talking city public schools - but those are their own cluster f*ck). We get leaf removal, snow removal, public trash & recycling pick up, beautifully maintained parks, and lots of other city services, all paid for by taxes.

Again, gotta stress how good the amenities here are too. We live in the city itself, and most things are in walking distance, or a 10 minute drive. I never have to drive further than 20 minutes to get to anything. There’s good restaurants, lots of good mom and pop stores, nice grocery stores, and a place or community for pretty much any hobby you enjoy/are interested in. There’s lots to do here, and I can actually do those things because it’s affordable to live here. I live in the city proper (not a suburb) and there’s 25 acres of old grove trails literally 20 feet from my front door. I also love within a 5 minute drive of 5 other parks, so lots of options for outdoor fun. We ski in the winter, it’s an hour to the local ski places.

**First Impressions of Rochester, NY (with a Local) Hint: It's Not What You Think**

Rochester, New York

Home of the Garbage Plate

Looklyloo Score: 85