Stop laughing. Wegmans is the ultimate shopping experience and if you ask any local their favorite part about Rochester, they’ll agree with us. So what is it that gives Wegmans it’s 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 possibly be that Wegmans brand products are also a hit, with customers saying you just can’t find quality like that with such a low price at other places. Regardless, Wegmans is a staple in Rochester and those that get it, get it. And those that don’t will get it when they get here!

**Here's a note with a few pros from a local about Rochester:**
*-There are pristine suburbs, artsy downtown neighborhoods, and truly rotten, crime-ridden corners of the city that rival the worst of the nation.*
*-There are incredible schools--Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, to name a few.*
*-They have the best grocery store, Wegmans. It cannot be argued. (Okay, I'll hear a case for Whole Foods and Trader Joe's)*

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



Wegmans

Best Part About Rochester 

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. If you move to Rochester, you need to like the snow or come from a place with snow because you’re going to be seeing it from Halloween to Easter, easy. With winters being overcast and freezing, the summers aren’t much better with the rainiest month being June. 

**A local describes the good and bad of Rochester weather:**
*Winter is brutal and lasts 6+ months of the year. Autumn is a stunning, yet short transition. Spring is usually buried under winter leftovers, but summer is the best I've seen. It's sticky, hot, and lasts daily until about 10 pm. It's the kind of summer that you recognize from childhood movies and cliches of summer camp.*

The weather can be a bummer

Worst Part About Rochester

Rochester is a city full of families and affordable living. The cost of living in the city is well below the national average, which is why a lot of families relocate to the city. Besides being known for music with its 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…interesting. But the iconic dish is a late-night staple and the perfect thing after a night out in the city. It’s a quickly built 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 out. 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

Lifestyle of Rochester

Rochester is a hub for technology and education. The University of Rochester has a huge influence over the city and the high concentration of universities in the general area drives a lot of economic growth in the area. It’s home to a top research center, a renowned nursing school, and the Simon School of Business. Behind the University, there are also a number of large companies in the city including Paychex and Carestream Health. Xerox was also founded in Rochester and maintains a large presence in the city to this day.


Workstyle of Rochester

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?

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

**What is it like to live in Rochester, NY?**

Winter is brutal and lasts 6+ months of the year. Autumn is a stunning, yet short transition. Spring is usually buried under winter leftovers, but summer is the best I've seen. It's sticky, hot, and lasts daily until about 10 pm. It's the kind of summer that you recognize from childhood movies and cliches of summer camp.

There are pristine suburbs, artsy downtown neighborhoods, and truly rotten, crime-ridden corners of the city that rival the worst of the nation.

There are incredible schools--Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, to name a few.

They have the best grocery store, Wegmans. It cannot be argued. (Okay, I'll hear a case for Whole Foods and Trader Joe's)

I grew up in the suburbs around people who looked the same and thought the same. My public education was nearly ideal, but I wasn't exposed to innovation and motivation until I moved to a different city (with, of course, a few exceptions). People settle here. It cannot easily be defined as a place where people think big and accomplish big.

Also, people talk funny there. You can't miss it. I will always talk funny because of it :)

**What is it like to live in Rochester, NY?**

We moved here in 1993 and we've stayed and we'll stay. But the area is better for some people than for others.

Most of Rochester's population lives in its suburbs. As with many American cities, suburban life and city life are pretty different. Yes, about the same amount of snow falls everywhere. But suburban streets and shopping center parking lots are kept pretty clear. Many (most?) suburban home owners contract someone to plow their driveways. Downtown streets are not plowed so well. Merchants are supposed to shovel their sidewalks. Some do, sometimes. There are areas that are very nice to walk in the summer -Little Theater, East Avenue, Alexander, Park Avenue- but not in winter. The festivals are downtown, in the spring, summer, and fall. (I especially like the Lilac Festival and Jazz Festival, but there are also multiple arts and crafts festivals.) We live in the suburbs; I like having four seasons; I can manage the winters. And global warming may be making our winters milder. We played quite a bit of golf in February this year.

Similarly, public schools are very different in the suburbs than in the City of Rochester. Pittsford, Brighton, and Penfield suburban schools graduate 90%+ of their 9th grade students in 4 years. Rochester city schools are under 50%, with only 1/3 of graduates estimated to really be ready for jobs or college. And the last three RCSD superintendents have all said that someone has to solve poverty before those results can be improved much.

Employment is a problem here. The big employers in 1993 -Kodak, Xerox, Bausch & Lomb- have all shrunk, gone through bankruptcy, and/or been sold. Now the big employers are universities, hospitals, and the Wegmans supermarket chain. There are lots of efforts to encourage startups in life sciences and photonics - but the startups are still small and don't employ lots of people.

**What is it like to live in Rochester, NY?**

Rochester has a very long winter that wears on its residents. Lack of sunshine and continued cold, usually well into Spring, can make it difficult to have a positive attitude year around.

Things really come alive during the Summer and Fall. Just so much to do, and so much natural beauty in the area. Because of this, people of means tend to have very packed calendars on a given weekend during peak season.

There is a huge gap of have and have-nots that is impossible to escape within the city of Rochester. It really has the effect of tempering any sense of progress, that there are kids going hungry within a mile or so, regardless of where you live in the city.

Because of this extreme poverty at the financial core, change comes very slow, and much less pronounced than in other small-mid sized cities.

Part of this slow change helps to maintain a vibrant community of music and art- since so many comparable communities have essentially priced out the creative community.



**Does anyone actually like living in Rochester?**

I grew up in Brooklyn and lived and worked in NYC for the first 20, or so, years of my life. I bounced around and have found myself living in Rochester the past 20, or so. I LOVE it here. Will probably spend the majority of the rest of my life living here.

Things I love:

Low cost of living for the North East.

Great technical employment opportunities

Great wine, food, beer, whiskey and craft cocktail scenes

Less than an hour from a World Class wine growing region

Good arts and entertainment scenes

Great dive bars

No traffic

Easy plane/train ride to NYC

Easy drive to Toronto

Incredibly LGBTQ friendly

Rochester is a wonderful town...you just have to know where to look.

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

Rochester, New York