Rochester, New York

Kindly_Ice1745
10mo ago
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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
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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
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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
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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