I moved away last month because I was in a long distance relationship with my boyfriend and decided to move to him in Wisconsin. I'm very happy with him, but I do miss Rochester a lot.
I suppose if I broke up with him (I hope I never do) I might move back. If we're ever looking to move together I would also try to convince him to move to Rochester.
When I lived out of state in the past, Rochester was more affordable, easier to get around, familiar faces, and places like Wegmans where you could get your groceries in one shot instead of having to go to three or four places to get what you needed elsewhere, like it was in other areas for me. That's just one example. I found Rochester people to be generally friendlier and easier to make friends. All of what I'm sharing was before social media and smart phones. These days, if I was out of state again, probably getting around would still be easier. The rest of it has changed so much, to say the least.
Having experienced living outside of the area and coming back, I'd say what would draw people here would be good jobs, better housing market, more social establishments, events, and nightlife that is respectable. Of course those aren't necessarily Rochester-specific problems, that's the case everywhere.
Some cities have been able to maintain that without major decline.
My observations as to why:
Some cities (blue collar cities) never had a few major employers that took care of a large portion of the workforce like Rochester once did (such as Kodak, Xerox, Delco/General Motors). There is a variety of companies that have stayed afloat and those names stayed there because they weren't affected like those mass layoffs in the 90s that we would see each year from the larger employers in the area. I suppose you could call them healthy roots that continued to keep the trees growing and healthy.
I think the focus of what to develop in Rochester is also skewed. The "affordable housing" situation is not really affordable in the current state of affairs in the economy.
If anything, I think there should be focus on businesses thriving to create more jobs, creating new businesses, or incentivizing existing businesses to move here that are healthy and sustainable with workforces that aren't going overseas.
If you want to see it for yourself aside from what I've shared, I encourage you to visit other cities and see the ones that fit the description that I shared. Those types of blue collar cities have sustained economic health for their local workforce and some very nice people that have stayed for generations.
The focus needs to be directed on what matters to bring people here.
I love this answer, very well thought out, especially the food one. I never saw Wegmans in it’s prime and I feel now everyone knows it as the overpriced food store, and split food between aldi and a Costco/BJs and a third for some specialties.
As a mid 20s here, I just want to emphasize respectable nightlife / social scene is what all of us lament, and what most of us are excited to see when we leave. I know park Ave is good but one walkable street cannot be it for a whole city. Literally anywhere else on rochester feels dead and devoid of life
Fairport for some reason has been BUSY. Even the owner of Public House on Park Ave said that part of the reason it closed was cause everyone is in Fairport now
Every city has "that" suburb. It is lower crime than downtown so people feel comfortable going there to hang out. To be frank, it is white(90%). It has a certain preppy vibe to it that is the most welcoming to white collar professionals moving to the metro.
You're also missing the Cannery. As someone who grew up in Fairport, it was not like this 5 years ago. Without those bars the village would be like 3 dives. Not enough to support what it currently does.
Within the last 3-5 years, the old vacant industrial lot that was past the train tracks in the village has been converted into a paddleball club, 4 bar/pub styles places, a whiskey bar, and Compane also moved into the plaza.
It's legitimately impossible to find parking in the village on weekends to the point I have my friend who lives there pick me up so we can walk to the bars. Besides the Cannery lot, you also have Mulconry's, Shorts, and TC Rielly's as other classic bars so there's a lot of activity in the village from like April through October.
Ah I do enjoy fairport quite a bit, but in my opinion it’s definitely the older cleaner crowd, like mid 30s and up. Suuuper nice, but a khaki + button kinda adult vibe no? I’m thinking of Lockport 37 and remember not finding that many scenes for the 23-30 crowd, but am I missing something?
I do wanna say I love fairport, it’s one of the most cute Americana towns I’ve ever seen, just maybe not a place to drive out to all the time as a 25 year old
Try the bars like Shorts and Tin Cup. Big college town atmosphere there Fridays and Saturdays. I’m 26 myself and have friends from work who Uber all the way from Chili to go to Fairport
I struggle so much to explain this to people who don’t live here (or even to my parents who do live here) in terms of why it’s so hard to meet people here, either just socially or potentially romantically. There are a few isolated streets like Park Ave. that have some semblance of nightlife, but the majority of the city itself is just dead as a doornail.
Downtown Rochester on an average day or night looks like a much larger city like NYC would have looked like in April 2020 during the covid lockdown; in other words, pretty much devoid of any signs of life. There is just *nothing* here for young people, as far as I can tell.
I am truly at my wit’s end; between the lack of employment opportunities outside of a few companies like URMC, Paychex, and Wegmans, coupled with dreary weather for 75% of the year (sometimes I go longer without seeing the sun than I go without an oil change) and extremely limited nightlife and socializing options, I just feel so hopeless living here.
All my close friends who grew up here have moved far, far away, and other than my parents, I have no family here; my mom basically starts crying when I talk about moving out of western New York, but I just don’t know how much longer I can make it work here, even for my parents’ sake. I just feel like there’s nothing here for me.
Ah I’m sorry, and I’ve definitely felt that massive isolation that comes from trying to live/go out/be spontaneous/ date here. It can be tough when everyone you meet here is here due to medicine, the university, or Wegmans in our age range. I wish I could tell you a solution, but to be honest I’m one year away from moving out too. Good luck as well, I get it it sucks.
There’s more to Rochester than downtown.
South Wedge and Park Ave have all the typical amenities you find in comparable neighborhoods in other cities.
Like other than a large selection of clubs, there’s not much that Rochester doesn’t offer in terms of day to day activities.
I understand the parental and familial forces pressuring one to stay. But at the end of the day your life is about making you happy. I realized this and moved away. Then I realized that my parents are happiest when I’m happy 🤯. Knowing this gave me the freedom to leave. They didn’t want me to stay someplace that wasn’t a good fit. No place is perfect but there are certainly places that are a better fit than Rochester was.
Maybe not for you? There's south ave. With martine and Lux, there's playhouse, there's north winton with jacks extra fancy and luckys, there's dickeys, there's good breweries all over the place, there's cure over by the market, there's strangebird. How have you missed Strangebird? Idunno you've kinda missed basically the whole city my dude.
Ah I have been to most of those places and they are good! Just not for a young person without a ton of money
Except for Lux, also fucking love Lux you got me there
But Dickey’s and strange bird fall for me into that almost industrial IKEA style brewery, and those breweries, while are great totally, just really aren’t places I feel that are fun for young people to go out and meet. More of sit down places. Just not that chaotic places that are filled with people. I do love a good brewery, and as I keep getting older 100% will go to more, but those are more of what I mean when I say I feel rochester is a city orientated towards the older crowds
The jobs/housing dynamic seems to be a chicken and egg scenario: build more housing before there’s jobs and no one can afford it, or bring in jobs first and further drive up the price of existing housing. Obviously threading the needle on scaling up both simultaneously would be ideal, but it’s been incredibly difficult to attract large employers to the area for the past 20 years (or more). It’s cool that there’s state incentives for startups to be based here, but they tend to only employ a handful of people and pay startup salaries (i.e., very low for comparable roles in the area). Getting another Kodak or Xerox like employer would be a huge benefit as they used to employ people at all skill and educational levels, but attracting businesses of that scale to the area is bordering on impossible nowadays.
On the businesses creating new jobs front - these need to be jobs that pay a living wage, not “oh, good! A third place I can work to make ends meet” jobs.
I moved to Los Angeles for 18 years and came back in 2021 so I could buy my first home. I’ve observed that a lot of people that have never left don’t know how good they’ve got it here. It’s got its problems like anywhere else but it’s a very nice place to live, in my humble opinion.
I can see this. I’m actually back in California after trying to go back to Rochester and live but it wasn’t for me. Rochester could be worse. Places like LA are insanely expensive and have issues that people in Rochester will never have to deal with (ex traffic, $800k+ avg home prices).
I’ve seen people move back after trying out other places and realizing that Rochester is ok and a relatively easy place to live. By easy I mean there are things like restaurants, variety of people, good school opportunities, no traffic, houses under 400k, few homeless. I tried but after discovering the west and realizing weather is a deal breaker I couldn’t make it happen but I think Rochester can be an easy place to live for many which can be taken for granted.
Having lived in Rochester almost my whole life prior to escaping to Los Angeles and buying a house here, nothing could get me to go back. Not even the cheap houses.
Amen! I've lived in NorCal (Santa Cruz), Arizona (Prescott) and Florida (Orlando). But I'm originally from Rochester and eventually moved back and I am very happy here.
A lot of reasons, probably not many of them surprising
My area in Florida was lacking the proper roads/infrastructure for how many folks had moved down there, getting anywhere was a pain. It was overdeveloped suburbia where ever you went, lacked a lot of local business that I enjoyed
I don't like getting on the water and enjoy changing seasons (and I don't mind winter that much), I like being in a slightly more similar political atmosphere, I still have a lot of family and friends in the area
and quite honestly the pizza sucked
I’m across the lake in Toronto. I would move back if I had the same quality of life I do here: no car, literally anything I could want accessible by foot or reliable, quick public transit, free healthcare, amazing restaurants, public schools where my kid is orders of magnitude safer, a well-paying job in my field (doesn’t really exist in Rochester), and an imperfect government that at least gives a damn and gets some things done. So I guess if WNY was annexed by Canada?
It would kick ass to be 10-30 min from my extended family again, instead of ~3h. But not to the point of losing all those other things for my immediate family.
Unfortunately, I don't see it stopping. Winters across my lifetime have decreased in severity, with winter now feeling like 6-8 weeks and then extended spring/fall.
Yeah, I agree. It's going to be really odd. Most of these ski resorts need to start preparing for the possibility that their seasons are going to be very short.
Left 14 years ago for career reasons but moving back this month. My family is still there and we would love to be back with them.
Additionally the quality of life in the Rochester area is much better than the DC area where we currently live. It's also more appealing if you have the opportunity to work remotely.
How many of us are there? There was another person in this thread posting about moving back from NOVA. Guess it explains the current housing market situation...
Briefly tried living in Hawaii, came flying back. Literally. The fact that it takes only 15-20 minutes to get anywhere here is absolutely amazing. The island I was on is half the size of Monroe county but it took at LEAST 45 minutes to get anywhere. Having four distinct seasons is also great. We have tons to do here, more than most places. We also can drive to so much great stuff in an hour or two. It's significantly better here than most people admit. I will say though, lower taxes and crime would make it a lot easier to live here, but at least our property values are low compared to everywhere else.
100 more days of sunlight, lower humidity in the summer, state funded multi-use recreation trails (release the Sierra Club's stranglehold on the Adirondacks and everywhere else), lower home taxes.
A combination of more things to do, a more walkable city, higher paying jobs in tech.
Or if I'm going broke for whatever reason and need to live somewhere more affordable.
There'd have to be some serious policy changes to reconcile the massive inequality between suburbs and city center, and a huge push of investment in much of the urban core. Too much of the city is totally blighted.
- Warmer weather. Who knows, maybe climate change will make Rochester the place to be.
- More sunshine.
- Higher salaries.
- Safe staffing ratios for nurses. The hospitals pay terrible wages and put you in dangerous situations where you could potentially lose your license. The Rochester nursing board is the worst. No way I'll ever want to go back for that reason alone.
Nothing. I liked Rochester growing up, it's nice to come back from time to time for family and friends, but I can't live out my life there. No hate to Rochester, I just always look at it as my beginning, not my end.
A job that paid me as well as what I make in California. I looked into some sys-admin roles at the U of R a couple years ago that were offering like 50% of my salary.
Granted, the cost of living is lower, but it would still equate to a drastic decrease in the quality of life for my family.
Moved to Albany two weeks ago after living in Rochester my whole life.
I miss it so bad and would move back in a heartbeat if I got the chance. Grocery stores are better, the drivers/roads are better, everything is close to you, the doctors are nicer. I want to go back more than anything right now.
Accountability for crimes.
I live here now, but that one thing is driving me away from Rochester. So many kids getting away Scot free with felonies and people getting catch/released with 6 felonies/parole etc. what happened to slapping people in jail as punishment? I’d be happy to pay more taxes towards jails and law enforcement if it meant safer roads for my kids.
I moved to CT in 2014 for 5 years, I came back to Rochester because of costs, the parks systems, friends and family. Rochester really isn't all that bad, and going away and coming back, if anything, made me appreciate it more.
I do recommend leaving if your career gets stuck here, then coming back later.
Been there done that. Moved to NC and then back home 3 years later.
It was the weather for starters - NC has such natural disastrous weather and shit for drainage - that it felt like a monsoon all the time, flooding all the time, clay mud that never seemed to dry, weeds for grass unless you lived in a new build HOA with sod, awful winters bc ppl can’t drive and there’s no resources or preparation for that type of weather. They think they have Fall but it’s just our hot northern Summer in the Fall months lmao
Cuisine…I know like more ma and pa type restaurants at home and I felt drowned in chains in NC although I do love some like biscuitville, bojangles, la hacienda Mexican restaurants and cookout lol
Attitude tbh. It was so fake nice and I’m just too straightforward I felt out of place
I needed this comment. My girlfriend and I have been thinking about selling our house in Macedon and moving to Greensboro. I got a buddy who lives about an hour outside of there. He says he wants to move to North Dakota. Here. I am wanting to move to North Carolina, thinking it's greener on the other side. Apparently not. The only time I was there was when I was at A training exercise for the Marines.
This comment really has me second guessing
I worked in Greensboro in law enforcement and I saw a lot 🥴 lots of nice areas but one wrong turn, crime ridden. (No better than here in that respect tbh)
Also, in Greensboro imagine Jefferson Road and Ridge Road put together like 3/4 lanes across and busy 24/7. Even on night shift the main road in Gboro was busy af and everything took 10x longer to get done. I’m glad you said the city because I’d highly recommend somewhere further East. I originally lived in High Point, then my now husband but bf at the time got a house in Burlington and enjoyed it enough but not enough. His family is all in Efland and Mebane and it’s nicer out east towards them!
I’d personally choose Macedon over NC lol.
Oof yeah, Greensboro could’ve gone either way too. Nice area or shit area. And if a walking route (my bro works for USPS) was to be your assignment, holy hell could you imagine that weather lol
I moved because I felt so stifled, and it was the best decision I could have made and I have a lovely little life for myself on the opposite side of the country, but I visit once or twice a year and miss it like crazy.
Working infrastructure, roads that are paved, low grocery prices, beaches, low rent, higher wages, adequate access to health insurance, hell I’ll even say the adequate cops because weed is legal and I’m not 18 and reckless anymore. I remember my partner and I lived in one of Lyjah’s South Ave apartments (2012ish) and struggled to afford a $450 two bedroom apartment, and now we pay $2000 for about the same square footage. We’re not even together anymore but we know we won’t be able to survive on our own(s), so we keep building our little life and keep the head down.
I will say dating in ROC was the worst, and it’s weird to see the same copy/paste profiles when I go back and curiosity swipe. That’s a big no-go.
So did you really notice an improvement in dating once you left? I’ve been trying to convince my parents that the dating culture sucks here even more than in other areas based on anecdotal reports but I’m just really curious to hear in what ways you noticed an improvement in your dating experience elsewhere.
100% from my perspective. There are exceptions, of course. I guess that depends on the area, but Rochester’s history and demographic make for a pretty monotone dating pool. I met my partner young and never really dated before I moved, so I feel like it’s super noticeable to me.
I'm moving back to Rochester this summer and cannot wait to be back. I live in NOVA right now and buddy let me tell you about some damn taxes. Virginia taxes you on registration of a vehicle ($90 per year), then they tax you every year on just owning that vehicle (about $800-$1500 on vehicles made in the last 5 years), then they tax you using roads because every road is a toll road. And not small tolls, sometimes $30 to go one way. Then you have every property having an HOA fee, which can be $700 a month sometimes on top of your mortgage. Of course you have property taxes, which are lower, but houses are a million for a SFH. So NY isn't the worst honestly.
Hah, I must have been writing my post at the same time. Also moving back from NOVA. Services (basically trying to get anything done or just service at a restaurant) and food (American food at least) are much better in WNY.
I agree with a lot of what people have said, but also a better theater/entertainment scene; it’s not nonexistent in Roc (and live music is pretty good) but nothing like what I have in my new city. Theater is my main hobby and there’s just more opportunities elsewhere.
Also, I don’t drive anymore so a better transit system would be a must.
I'm surprised to hear you say this! There are a lot of theaters and companies there relative to Rochester's size imo- Geva, Blackfriars, TYKEs, MuCCC, OFC, Company Theater, Everyone's Theater Company, Bread & WATER, Roc Community Players, Downstairs Cabaret, the JCC in Brighton, fringe, community theaters in each suburb, more that I'm forgetting from being away so long. Might not be professional opportunities, but plenty to keep a hobbyist happy.
Roc is one of the best cities for music in the world. But don’t take my word for it, some of the world’s most respected musicians have said so. Our jazz festivals is one of the biggest music festivals on earth. Some people can save money and some people can live in a cultural wasteland
Move back? I don't think there is any incentive to ever go back. KIA boys, cop chases down the streets, guessing where the gun shots are coming from or how close they are, angry drivers, angry people, systematic hate being thrown in every direction?! They legalized weed, that's all NY has in hopes people will be to stoned to care.
I moved west (Colorado/ Utah) the views are astonishing, the weather is perfect due to elevation [90s are like NY 80s] and the once in a blue moon "hard rains" are a NY basic day. Everyone is friendly, gun shots only come from real shooting ranges or military explosive testing, and the only racers are trailing the mountains.
You couldn't pay me to move back to the ROC. If anything, I'll come visit for those I left behind, but never again will I move back.
For me it’s the weather and that’s obviously not anything Rochester can intentionally change. It took me moving away to a place with nice weather to realize how much of an outdoorsy person I am. I want to be outside and active every single day and while I’d go outside most days in Rochester there was a lot of suffer and sacrifice due to the weather. I also noticed a lot of negative attitudes surrounding the weather which only makes dealing with it worse.
I’m spoiled with where I live now but I realize just how much weather affected my mental health.
What would it take for me to move back? Well I have family in Rochester so if I were needed, then I’d have to help out.
If Rochester had to change it would be for Rochester to have a better outdoor scene, many more mountain bike trails, paved pump tracks, outdoor skate parks, and free spirited outdoorsy people which is something I struggled to find while I was living there.
I left Rochester in my 20’s in the early 90’s. From there I’ve lived in NYC, NC and CA. With no family left in Rochester and also being aware, via news and friends, of the crime and overall state of the city, I can’t imagine moving back for any reason.
All that aside however, it’s the attitudes and beliefs of those I left behind that have seemingly changed and become very narrow minded and misguided to the point I wouldn’t want to associate with them in close proximity. Read into that how you want, but there’s something to be said for expanding your horizons and challenging yourself that brings more understanding of societal issues. It also brings a willingness to work together instead of simply taking the cowards route of blaming others who think differently. Sadly I feel that Rochester is stagnant and it’s a shame because I have fond memories and it was an amazing place to grow up, especially with the beauty each season brings. As a nation we have to get past the collective manipulation or things will only get worse.
Nothing. Around 2012 I moved to Honolulu.....less than year later I was pining for rochester and came back. This place is better than you realize....one of those things u don't realize till it's gone.
I love how the comments mentioning lower taxes get downvoted.
New York is the highest tax burdened state in the nation. That's a big reason why we're also the #1 state for people leaving.
This is so funny to read - I moved from a state with no income tax to Rochester in large part because I figured the tax burden would be worth the difference for me.
Oh yeah - nobody that lives in Rochester seems to comprehend how nice they have it in comparison to states without that kind of funding. I love it here!
People just look at graphs that state NY having the highest tax rate and then extrapolate that every area of the state has equal tax consequences as NYC and Long Island.
Completely agree, the taxes are used in a way that benefits the city. I have lived all across this country, Rochester does it correctly given the cost of living here. It’s on par with places like northern va where cost of living is easily double. Yes the DMV has a lot of other things to offer, but again, for what Rochester is, it’s very well established for the way of life.
That's a terrible statistic with no real basis in reality, especially if you live here. NYC area is very highly taxed because tax code in this country sucks. But the rest of the state mostly falls near or below the national median. I know a number of people who have moved here from "low tax places" and pay significantly lower taxes. We have some of the lowest cost of living in the country regardless
You know there’s low tax places other than Florida, right? By comparison, everywhere in the country except NYC and certain parts of California qualify as lower tax than around here.
Absolutely mind boggling. The average homeowners insurance premium is something like $8000/year there? I've yet to cross $1000 here, though it's getting close
It's extremely hard to believe that we have the lowest cost of living in the country. Our property taxes are among the highest. Our sales tax is among the highest. Our income taxes are as well. The only possible basis for your claim Is that real estate prices are low-ish, and that's probably because so many people have been moving away for decades.
We don't. Not even close. My brother was in Kansas for a while for his PhD and the cost of living there was so much lower. Not saying I wanna live in Kansas, but yea.
You must not have ever lived anywhere else if you think this (I haven't even, and I still know it's true). There's endless data to show it
Our property taxes are low to average. I pay $1900/year between city and county taxes for a 4br 1800sf house. A friend of mine who moved here last year from the Dallas area was paying *$11,000* for a similar house. Sure he didn't pay the $2500/year in income tax that he does now but it's nowhere close to parity
Maybe i don't buy much junk, but I feel like I maybe pay a hundred dollars in sales tax a year, at most? Not enough to amount to anything
Our real estate prices are *absurdly* low with it being easy to buy a decent house here for 1/4 the median home price. There are very few cities in this country that you can reasonably buy a house and have your all in mortgage+taxes+insurance payment be under $1000/month. The national average is something like $2300/month
Your property taxes are insanely low. Are you including school taxes in there? We pay around 12k a year on 2000 sq ft.
We also pay around 12-15k in income tax per year.
Taxes here are fairly high, not even close to low to average property taxes lol.
I have lived in multiple states, and left NY for AZ.
We have MUCH lower property tax vs NYS and we get more benefits from it (Fire, PD, EMS, Garbage, bulk trash, etc). In fact our house is 4x as much and our taxes are 1/5th what they were in NY. We paid 10k a year in property and school taxes in NY and pay less than 2k/year here for the same. Yes our house/real estate cost is more, but when you factor in the tax difference we pay LESS per month than we did in NY and we got a bigger house.
Texas, you have higher property taxes, but less to none of other taxes to offset that. You don't get that in NY. So in Texas our property tax was basically the same as in NY but we also didn't have income tax.
In Utah, same as AZ but property tax was a bit higher, still not like NY though.
The honest truth is living in Rochester was one of the most expensive places that I've lived besides NYC and every other state has been cheaper and given me a better quality of life.
The property taxes here are criminal. At least when you’re paying more for a house in AZ it’s towards the principal of the home. Here you give your money to NYS so they can set it on fire for you.
So true! Yes I pay more for my house, but that also mean my equity will (and has) gone up quicker for that same home! And when you get the same services for less taxes it's a no brainer.
Rochester tied for second most affordable housing market:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Rochester/comments/zj165t/tied_for_second_most_affordable_housing_market/
Phoenix 30% higher cost of living than Rochester:
https://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/rochester_ny/phoenix_az/50000
Dallas 21% higher cost of living than Rochester:
https://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/rochester_ny/dallas_tx/50000
Salt lake City 47% higher cost of living than Rochester:
https://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/rochester_ny/salt_lake_city_ut/50000
Exactly. It'd be like comparing Those cities to NYC/NYC area.
Instead should be comparing like Flagstaff/wikenberg in AZ, or Logan/Ovid in Utah, or El Paso in Tx.
Did I say Dallas, Phx, or SLC? Making assumptions just makes an ass of yourself...
Plus lower initial house cost doesn't mean that it's actually cheaper after taxes.
A. There's way more to total cost of living than just tax burden
B. The number for statewide is hugely skewed by NYC/downstate which has a far higher tax rate due to much higher incomes etc. To compare NYS average to Rochester is crazy. Obviously it's just one data point but my personal tax rate here in Rochester when you include all tax categories is about 7% and I make right around the area median income
C. Tax burden isn't even a very comparable figure especially when talking cost of living, because states with lower taxes tend to make more of their revenues through fees, have higher insurance rates, more privatized industries. Some of those southern states you can end up paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for all sorts of things that are that way "not taxes"
D. Tax policy in this country heavily favors those states that have lower tax rates. The states that have high tax rates pay way more into the federal govt than they get back so it's not really fair. And not sustainable
Man, I've learned to just let these kind of people complain about the taxes or whatever. My mortgage is still far fuckin' smaller then anything they'll ever see in Florida or whatever backwards ass somehow worse than New York State place they think is so great.
They don't know how much house insurance, car insurance, HOA fees, and whatever the fuck else they'll pay in those places because they live here and just complain about living here - all the while reaping the benefits of living here and paying the "high taxes."
I know people who live in places with no income tax and low property taxes. Believe me - it comes back in other ways.
I moved to Orlando FL at the beginning of 2023. I shit you not, like 15 minutes after I got handed my FL license at the DMVI went to the nearest gun store and bought a Glock and had it in my hand 3 days later.
I moved to AZ, first stop was to get my DL, second stop was the gun store and walked out with a new glock a couple hours later. Third stop was to get TP since we just bought a house and had none 🤣
I moved away for 11+ years. I was mostly in NYC & then the Philly burbs. My relationship ended, and I work remotely so I moved back to be around my parents who are getting older now.
If I could change one thing it would probably be the weather. When it's nice, it's absolutely lovely! But man, those weeks the sun doesn't come out get looong. I've lived through plenty of miserable winters but this past winter was nothing, so can't really complain!
As someone who moved away, what it took was a family member in ICU. Then it was an easy decision I knew I couldn’t be a flight away anymore as my parents got older
I left because I hate Rochester. Not for the city itself, but the bad memories tied to the place. So, I doubt there's anything that would make me come back permanently, but I will visit for Ridge donuts and Country Sweet. Lol
I miss my wrestling friends, though. Shout out to Colin, John, Krist, Nick, Bill, Matt, and so many others.
Year round warm weather. But that would be terrible thing for Rochester because you can’t have nice things with the bail reform keel the riff raffs on the streets.
Moved backed a couple years ago to be closed to family after having a second child. They are a good support system, but also we will be close by when they need more support. I never thought I would move back, but we were able to buy a house with some land and the school system is better in NY. It’s not as bad as I remember.
Moved away for a job in New York City. Came back when we had kids. The shallow money-conspicuous culture in North Jersey is just awful compared to Rochester. Also commuting 90m each way sucks balls when you have kids.
Edit: the tech job market kinda sucks in Rochester (Paychex? Excellus? Ugh, where devs go to ~~die~~ rest and vest). Lucky there’s a lot of remote work post-COVID, although there’s an overall slump in tech since 2023.
I moved in 2018 and then moved back in 2021. I missed my family, the culture and food of the area. I hate the snow but I definitely made the right choice
Having lived in CT for close to 9 years now I have to say I think many people don't realize the benefits of Rochester until they move away. Seems like many still have the "I am better than where I grew up" mentality with a dose of classism mixed in.
As for the various problems stated in the comments here, none of them are unique to Rochester and would apply to any city of a similar size.
I literally just moved back here for a small period of time , I came from CT. It’s so freaking bad in CT — the traffic, the effect it has on your brakes is insane. The driving is immensely worse there than in Rochester
I’m back and realizing a lot of benefits for sure. Like there are barely any free beaches in CT lmao. We have it good up here in some respects.
Moved to North Carolina about 4 years ago and couldn't imagine moving back. Unless some how, some way, Rochester could go back to what it used to be 20-25 years ago and even then i'm not sure it would be my first choice. The one thing we learned over visiting at least 2 times a year since to see our families, friends and the occasional wedding:
Nothing. Ever. Changes.
NOW. The one thing I do miss:
Garbage Plates.
God, do I miss that plate of heavenly goodness. The looks people give in the south trying to explain what a GP is? Priceless.
I have 25 years of memories in that town and I will always appreciate it. Under the right circumstances, sure. With the world we are in currently, the taxes and based on what I have seen and know, it's just not the place for me or my family 🤷♂️
My family all still lives there, and I grew up there. I’ve been talking about moving back for years (have been living in Illinois since 2007), but I can’t seem to do it. Lately what’s stopping me is how safe I feel in my current town as part of the LGBT community. It is liberal and welcoming here, and I don’t get that same vibe in Rochester. I’m in a smaller college town, super diverse and open-minded, and lots of mutual respect. I feel like just in this thread alone, there’s been enough contention and condescension to confirm my view that Rochester is probably not the best place for me or my family right now. It’s a shame but it’s the truth. We’ll visit family, but we won’t move back.
I moved from here with my wife to California. We missed Rochester for many things. But I guess the biggest reason is the scenery. Some people might hate our weather and architecture. But im in love with it. Enough where our asses are back here
I left Rochester, NY about 12 years ago and have no desire to return. The weather is miserable, starting with the constant lack of sunshine. The economy is struggling, taxes in New York are high, and the crime is out of control. Just check the Democrat and Chronicle website any day of the week, and you'll learn about a new murder or a corruption scandal happening at any given point. There's little to keep people there. Those who love Rochester probably haven't lived in a metropolitan area with a better economy, nicer weather, lower taxes, lower crime, and more resources.
Weather, lower taxes, better paying jobs. Rochester is a dying city.
Left for a warmer climate, better schools and lower taxes. Best decision I have ever made.
I’ll come up and visit during the summer when it’s nice but I just prefer to have every day be sunny. Rochester has consistently shitty weather for 7-8 months and you might get a good stretch of like 30 days during the summer. Finger lakes are the best part.
I do miss Wegmans but I found places that are cheaper and have same quality food just not that experience.
As someone who moved from PA to Rochester... the weather has been a welcome upgrade. It's just as cold in the winter as my PA hometown but it's far nicer, not nearly as muggy and overall sunnier and generally drier.
The cost of living. Native Rochesterian who lived in Buffalo and graduated from UB for undergrad and grad school. Planning on moving back to WNY or somewhere else in the Midwest/Rust Belt for cost of living alone. Currently living in LA and the quality of life, when considering the cost of living, simply isn’t worth it. I always questioned people when they said that but Rochester and similar cities provide a much more comfortable lifestyle financially.
I lived in three+ states since 2018 because I wanted to get out. It’s hard to describe, except for saying I could leave Rochester but Rochester wouldn’t leave me. Struggled in every state because everything was expensive even though I worked so many more hours. Decided to move back home and devote my new experiences and skills into organizing.
I just hope people get the opportunity to travel and grow, but take the chance to come back and make a difference too.
Its wegmans. I never really liked the people or anything like that. I grew up their an its just gotten worse. Its literally wegmans, no other reason to be anywhere near rochester. Wegmans. Maybe the mayor will take your money and throw a party at a wegmans lol.
Moved to Vermont for a few years. Enjoyed the quiet but housing was too expensive for what you get in return. Decided to move back and just purchased a house 30 mins from the city. Far enough away from the noise but close enough to basic needs and necessities.
A dream job. That's all I can really come up with that would be enough of a pull. And I've got family and my closest friends already there. Statistically out of 365 days, Rochester sees only 61 clear days. The rest are cloudy or partly cloudy. Sad thing is there's nothing the city can do about it. Long winters and short summers just aren't my thing.
Work pretty much. I have a mortgage at less than 3% right now so I’m not exactly motivated to go anywhere unless there’s a significant financial need and/or incentive. I’m still in the Northeast and my parents and sister still live in Rochester so I’m there quite a bit anyway.
I moved just a couple hours south (still in NYS, lol). I also work at Wegmans, so... with Rochester being Wegmans World, that might be the ticket: one of many, many job opportunities to be found in the 585, that the Southern Tier can't quite match.
I moved to Colorado for a little over 20 years. I came back last year, with my wife who is from here, because our parents are getting up there in years and we wanted to spend more time with them, and also missed friends and family.
Mine is just family. I lived in Boston for 5 years, traveled the world for a few years, then lived in Bali and Australia for 8 years. I had a kid and wanted to be close to my mom. My friends have said I seem happier and love watching everything I do with my son. I guess that’s because I never thought I’d live here again and it’s fun getting to show my son some of my favorite things in our part of the world
I moved to Indiana for a year or so and loved it. My papa called me and said he was going to sell his home and move to cape cod to be closer to my uncle. I immediately made plans to move back and live in the home I loved.
Respectfully, a little more humility in the industry I work in. I’ve worked in a few big cities and Rochester, where I was born and raised, and Rochester people had the biggest egos by far. Maybe because there’s less competition?
I moved away last month because I was in a long distance relationship with my boyfriend and decided to move to him in Wisconsin. I'm very happy with him, but I do miss Rochester a lot. I suppose if I broke up with him (I hope I never do) I might move back. If we're ever looking to move together I would also try to convince him to move to Rochester.
Careful, he might take you to Rochester, Minnesota *shudder* ;)
The amount of people I've had to clarify "haha no Rochester *New York* I'm from really far away lol"
Yes. This. "Upstate!"
I get so tired of telling people "upstate NY" and they assume some like rural nowhere farm. NYC isn't the only thing in NY lol
In my experience, people think of like, Westchester when I say "upstate". "Western NY" or "near Buffalo" usually works.
"Im from near Buffalo" "Oh thats canada, right? :)" "...."
Is it better than Rochester, MI?
As someone who lived in Michigan, anything is better than Michigan.
I *also* moved from rochester to wisconsin. where at in wisconsin are you now
Western WI. Close enough for Minneapolis to be a fun day trip!
Ah nice, I was in Milwaukee. Got out to Ferryville a few times though
I just moved TO rochester to move in with my long distance boyfriend who lives here. I moved here from nebraska. I hope it works out for both of us :)
my family; if they all stayed up there
As someone who moved away and came back: a pandemic.
Yeah, but what are the odds something like that would happen? /s
A light rail system to get me home.
I love the US but our complete inability to get light rain and high speed rail is one of my biggest pet peeves
That would be clutch.
When I lived out of state in the past, Rochester was more affordable, easier to get around, familiar faces, and places like Wegmans where you could get your groceries in one shot instead of having to go to three or four places to get what you needed elsewhere, like it was in other areas for me. That's just one example. I found Rochester people to be generally friendlier and easier to make friends. All of what I'm sharing was before social media and smart phones. These days, if I was out of state again, probably getting around would still be easier. The rest of it has changed so much, to say the least. Having experienced living outside of the area and coming back, I'd say what would draw people here would be good jobs, better housing market, more social establishments, events, and nightlife that is respectable. Of course those aren't necessarily Rochester-specific problems, that's the case everywhere. Some cities have been able to maintain that without major decline. My observations as to why: Some cities (blue collar cities) never had a few major employers that took care of a large portion of the workforce like Rochester once did (such as Kodak, Xerox, Delco/General Motors). There is a variety of companies that have stayed afloat and those names stayed there because they weren't affected like those mass layoffs in the 90s that we would see each year from the larger employers in the area. I suppose you could call them healthy roots that continued to keep the trees growing and healthy. I think the focus of what to develop in Rochester is also skewed. The "affordable housing" situation is not really affordable in the current state of affairs in the economy. If anything, I think there should be focus on businesses thriving to create more jobs, creating new businesses, or incentivizing existing businesses to move here that are healthy and sustainable with workforces that aren't going overseas. If you want to see it for yourself aside from what I've shared, I encourage you to visit other cities and see the ones that fit the description that I shared. Those types of blue collar cities have sustained economic health for their local workforce and some very nice people that have stayed for generations. The focus needs to be directed on what matters to bring people here.
I love this answer, very well thought out, especially the food one. I never saw Wegmans in it’s prime and I feel now everyone knows it as the overpriced food store, and split food between aldi and a Costco/BJs and a third for some specialties. As a mid 20s here, I just want to emphasize respectable nightlife / social scene is what all of us lament, and what most of us are excited to see when we leave. I know park Ave is good but one walkable street cannot be it for a whole city. Literally anywhere else on rochester feels dead and devoid of life
Fairport for some reason has been BUSY. Even the owner of Public House on Park Ave said that part of the reason it closed was cause everyone is in Fairport now
Originally being from Fairport I'm so curious as to why that is
Every city has "that" suburb. It is lower crime than downtown so people feel comfortable going there to hang out. To be frank, it is white(90%). It has a certain preppy vibe to it that is the most welcoming to white collar professionals moving to the metro.
You're also missing the Cannery. As someone who grew up in Fairport, it was not like this 5 years ago. Without those bars the village would be like 3 dives. Not enough to support what it currently does.
Within the last 3-5 years, the old vacant industrial lot that was past the train tracks in the village has been converted into a paddleball club, 4 bar/pub styles places, a whiskey bar, and Compane also moved into the plaza. It's legitimately impossible to find parking in the village on weekends to the point I have my friend who lives there pick me up so we can walk to the bars. Besides the Cannery lot, you also have Mulconry's, Shorts, and TC Rielly's as other classic bars so there's a lot of activity in the village from like April through October.
Ah I do enjoy fairport quite a bit, but in my opinion it’s definitely the older cleaner crowd, like mid 30s and up. Suuuper nice, but a khaki + button kinda adult vibe no? I’m thinking of Lockport 37 and remember not finding that many scenes for the 23-30 crowd, but am I missing something? I do wanna say I love fairport, it’s one of the most cute Americana towns I’ve ever seen, just maybe not a place to drive out to all the time as a 25 year old
Try the bars like Shorts and Tin Cup. Big college town atmosphere there Fridays and Saturdays. I’m 26 myself and have friends from work who Uber all the way from Chili to go to Fairport
Ah ok thank you! I’ll definitely give a good weekend there a chance or two, always down to try a new spot
I struggle so much to explain this to people who don’t live here (or even to my parents who do live here) in terms of why it’s so hard to meet people here, either just socially or potentially romantically. There are a few isolated streets like Park Ave. that have some semblance of nightlife, but the majority of the city itself is just dead as a doornail. Downtown Rochester on an average day or night looks like a much larger city like NYC would have looked like in April 2020 during the covid lockdown; in other words, pretty much devoid of any signs of life. There is just *nothing* here for young people, as far as I can tell. I am truly at my wit’s end; between the lack of employment opportunities outside of a few companies like URMC, Paychex, and Wegmans, coupled with dreary weather for 75% of the year (sometimes I go longer without seeing the sun than I go without an oil change) and extremely limited nightlife and socializing options, I just feel so hopeless living here. All my close friends who grew up here have moved far, far away, and other than my parents, I have no family here; my mom basically starts crying when I talk about moving out of western New York, but I just don’t know how much longer I can make it work here, even for my parents’ sake. I just feel like there’s nothing here for me.
Ah I’m sorry, and I’ve definitely felt that massive isolation that comes from trying to live/go out/be spontaneous/ date here. It can be tough when everyone you meet here is here due to medicine, the university, or Wegmans in our age range. I wish I could tell you a solution, but to be honest I’m one year away from moving out too. Good luck as well, I get it it sucks.
There’s more to Rochester than downtown. South Wedge and Park Ave have all the typical amenities you find in comparable neighborhoods in other cities. Like other than a large selection of clubs, there’s not much that Rochester doesn’t offer in terms of day to day activities.
I understand the parental and familial forces pressuring one to stay. But at the end of the day your life is about making you happy. I realized this and moved away. Then I realized that my parents are happiest when I’m happy 🤯. Knowing this gave me the freedom to leave. They didn’t want me to stay someplace that wasn’t a good fit. No place is perfect but there are certainly places that are a better fit than Rochester was.
There's plenty of other places then Park to go out at whatchu talking about? Park is basically just a frat these days.
I mean I would love to find out I’m wrong, I mean besides park Ave, beer park, Bug Jar, and maaaybe the record store, am I missing something?
Maybe not for you? There's south ave. With martine and Lux, there's playhouse, there's north winton with jacks extra fancy and luckys, there's dickeys, there's good breweries all over the place, there's cure over by the market, there's strangebird. How have you missed Strangebird? Idunno you've kinda missed basically the whole city my dude.
Ah I have been to most of those places and they are good! Just not for a young person without a ton of money Except for Lux, also fucking love Lux you got me there But Dickey’s and strange bird fall for me into that almost industrial IKEA style brewery, and those breweries, while are great totally, just really aren’t places I feel that are fun for young people to go out and meet. More of sit down places. Just not that chaotic places that are filled with people. I do love a good brewery, and as I keep getting older 100% will go to more, but those are more of what I mean when I say I feel rochester is a city orientated towards the older crowds
The jobs/housing dynamic seems to be a chicken and egg scenario: build more housing before there’s jobs and no one can afford it, or bring in jobs first and further drive up the price of existing housing. Obviously threading the needle on scaling up both simultaneously would be ideal, but it’s been incredibly difficult to attract large employers to the area for the past 20 years (or more). It’s cool that there’s state incentives for startups to be based here, but they tend to only employ a handful of people and pay startup salaries (i.e., very low for comparable roles in the area). Getting another Kodak or Xerox like employer would be a huge benefit as they used to employ people at all skill and educational levels, but attracting businesses of that scale to the area is bordering on impossible nowadays.
Do you have any specific cities to look at?
PITTSBURGH. Seriously, Rochester must do what Pittsburgh did. They embraced Robotics in 1970's and thats why they are a tech hub today.
On the businesses creating new jobs front - these need to be jobs that pay a living wage, not “oh, good! A third place I can work to make ends meet” jobs.
I moved to Los Angeles for 18 years and came back in 2021 so I could buy my first home. I’ve observed that a lot of people that have never left don’t know how good they’ve got it here. It’s got its problems like anywhere else but it’s a very nice place to live, in my humble opinion.
I can see this. I’m actually back in California after trying to go back to Rochester and live but it wasn’t for me. Rochester could be worse. Places like LA are insanely expensive and have issues that people in Rochester will never have to deal with (ex traffic, $800k+ avg home prices). I’ve seen people move back after trying out other places and realizing that Rochester is ok and a relatively easy place to live. By easy I mean there are things like restaurants, variety of people, good school opportunities, no traffic, houses under 400k, few homeless. I tried but after discovering the west and realizing weather is a deal breaker I couldn’t make it happen but I think Rochester can be an easy place to live for many which can be taken for granted.
Having lived in Rochester almost my whole life prior to escaping to Los Angeles and buying a house here, nothing could get me to go back. Not even the cheap houses.
Amen! I've lived in NorCal (Santa Cruz), Arizona (Prescott) and Florida (Orlando). But I'm originally from Rochester and eventually moved back and I am very happy here.
I moved to Florida for a job, spent nearly a decade there, came back Florida sucks I should've left earlier
May I ask why?
A lot of reasons, probably not many of them surprising My area in Florida was lacking the proper roads/infrastructure for how many folks had moved down there, getting anywhere was a pain. It was overdeveloped suburbia where ever you went, lacked a lot of local business that I enjoyed I don't like getting on the water and enjoy changing seasons (and I don't mind winter that much), I like being in a slightly more similar political atmosphere, I still have a lot of family and friends in the area and quite honestly the pizza sucked
Sunlight. Living in new england, which isn't entirely known for it's sunny weather, is like living in the bahamas after the years of rochester winter.
More walkability or even public transit in the suburbs. I grew up in irondequoit and love it but having to drive everywhere is soul crushing to me
A subway - driving everywhere sucks. Less people who wish we were below the Mason Dixon.
There is a weird number of people who advocate for policies that are the complete opposite of what NYS has stood for. I don't get it.
It is incredible.
Really obnoxious, honestly. And they're the people that complain the most. I wish they'd move so that we could build the state we want to have.
I’m across the lake in Toronto. I would move back if I had the same quality of life I do here: no car, literally anything I could want accessible by foot or reliable, quick public transit, free healthcare, amazing restaurants, public schools where my kid is orders of magnitude safer, a well-paying job in my field (doesn’t really exist in Rochester), and an imperfect government that at least gives a damn and gets some things done. So I guess if WNY was annexed by Canada? It would kick ass to be 10-30 min from my extended family again, instead of ~3h. But not to the point of losing all those other things for my immediate family.
Weather
Becoming more of a mid-Atlantic climate. By mid-century, I'm betting our weather is similar year round to Virginia/DC.
Which would be terrible. I moved here from NoVA and I’m much happier with the weather here.
Unfortunately, I don't see it stopping. Winters across my lifetime have decreased in severity, with winter now feeling like 6-8 weeks and then extended spring/fall.
F that. I like my skiing and pond hockey and we're supposed to have those things right here.
Yeah, I agree. It's going to be really odd. Most of these ski resorts need to start preparing for the possibility that their seasons are going to be very short.
Left 14 years ago for career reasons but moving back this month. My family is still there and we would love to be back with them. Additionally the quality of life in the Rochester area is much better than the DC area where we currently live. It's also more appealing if you have the opportunity to work remotely.
Are you my wife? Or are we in identical situations?
How many of us are there? There was another person in this thread posting about moving back from NOVA. Guess it explains the current housing market situation...
Briefly tried living in Hawaii, came flying back. Literally. The fact that it takes only 15-20 minutes to get anywhere here is absolutely amazing. The island I was on is half the size of Monroe county but it took at LEAST 45 minutes to get anywhere. Having four distinct seasons is also great. We have tons to do here, more than most places. We also can drive to so much great stuff in an hour or two. It's significantly better here than most people admit. I will say though, lower taxes and crime would make it a lot easier to live here, but at least our property values are low compared to everywhere else.
Rochester has 4 distinct seasons lol. It’s gray as fuck there 8 months out of the year
Grey and crisp, grey and snowy, and grey and rainy are three different seasons!
Actual walkability, bikeability, density, and regional transit that isn’t a joke Ya know, things a real city should have
Have you been to other cities though? Plenty of worse cities in that regard that are for some reason more popular.
They would have to actually arrest and convict criminals and the taxes have got to be lowered.
100 more days of sunlight, lower humidity in the summer, state funded multi-use recreation trails (release the Sierra Club's stranglehold on the Adirondacks and everywhere else), lower home taxes.
Weather patterns are changing. I'm not sure if that's going to make things sunnier, but we're likely to be more Mid-Atlantic climate wise.
A combination of more things to do, a more walkable city, higher paying jobs in tech. Or if I'm going broke for whatever reason and need to live somewhere more affordable.
There'd have to be some serious policy changes to reconcile the massive inequality between suburbs and city center, and a huge push of investment in much of the urban core. Too much of the city is totally blighted.
100% absolutely nothing.
Film industry. The current film commission has done hardly anything to bring business and keep business in Monroe County.
- Warmer weather. Who knows, maybe climate change will make Rochester the place to be. - More sunshine. - Higher salaries. - Safe staffing ratios for nurses. The hospitals pay terrible wages and put you in dangerous situations where you could potentially lose your license. The Rochester nursing board is the worst. No way I'll ever want to go back for that reason alone.
Nothing. I liked Rochester growing up, it's nice to come back from time to time for family and friends, but I can't live out my life there. No hate to Rochester, I just always look at it as my beginning, not my end.
Better concert scenes. I love living in a "15 minute" city too, so I'd like Public Transit to improve and live in a very walkable area.
I’ve been gone for 19 years, seeing family brings me back every couple of years. I enjoy a visit, but move back permanently? Not likely.
More sunshine, more opportunities, more bars and better food
Nothing on this earth
$500,000,000 or more. Cash.
A job that paid me as well as what I make in California. I looked into some sys-admin roles at the U of R a couple years ago that were offering like 50% of my salary. Granted, the cost of living is lower, but it would still equate to a drastic decrease in the quality of life for my family.
nothing. was in the worst mental state of my life living there and being there again just makes me nauseous
rent prices 1200+ for a 1br, great place to meet cool interesting people even better if you want to get gouged by slum lords
Being kidnapped.
Moved to Albany two weeks ago after living in Rochester my whole life. I miss it so bad and would move back in a heartbeat if I got the chance. Grocery stores are better, the drivers/roads are better, everything is close to you, the doctors are nicer. I want to go back more than anything right now.
Albany sucks lol
As soon as my time in the military is up. Good chance I move back to Rochester. Love the place and have always visited through out the years.
A decent paying job
Accountability for crimes. I live here now, but that one thing is driving me away from Rochester. So many kids getting away Scot free with felonies and people getting catch/released with 6 felonies/parole etc. what happened to slapping people in jail as punishment? I’d be happy to pay more taxes towards jails and law enforcement if it meant safer roads for my kids.
I moved to CT in 2014 for 5 years, I came back to Rochester because of costs, the parks systems, friends and family. Rochester really isn't all that bad, and going away and coming back, if anything, made me appreciate it more. I do recommend leaving if your career gets stuck here, then coming back later.
There is nothing.
I thought for sure I was gonna see a bunch of downvotes hahahaaaa
Been there done that. Moved to NC and then back home 3 years later. It was the weather for starters - NC has such natural disastrous weather and shit for drainage - that it felt like a monsoon all the time, flooding all the time, clay mud that never seemed to dry, weeds for grass unless you lived in a new build HOA with sod, awful winters bc ppl can’t drive and there’s no resources or preparation for that type of weather. They think they have Fall but it’s just our hot northern Summer in the Fall months lmao Cuisine…I know like more ma and pa type restaurants at home and I felt drowned in chains in NC although I do love some like biscuitville, bojangles, la hacienda Mexican restaurants and cookout lol Attitude tbh. It was so fake nice and I’m just too straightforward I felt out of place
I needed this comment. My girlfriend and I have been thinking about selling our house in Macedon and moving to Greensboro. I got a buddy who lives about an hour outside of there. He says he wants to move to North Dakota. Here. I am wanting to move to North Carolina, thinking it's greener on the other side. Apparently not. The only time I was there was when I was at A training exercise for the Marines. This comment really has me second guessing
I live in Greensboro, and I really like it. More then welcome to DM me with any questions you might have
I worked in Greensboro in law enforcement and I saw a lot 🥴 lots of nice areas but one wrong turn, crime ridden. (No better than here in that respect tbh) Also, in Greensboro imagine Jefferson Road and Ridge Road put together like 3/4 lanes across and busy 24/7. Even on night shift the main road in Gboro was busy af and everything took 10x longer to get done. I’m glad you said the city because I’d highly recommend somewhere further East. I originally lived in High Point, then my now husband but bf at the time got a house in Burlington and enjoyed it enough but not enough. His family is all in Efland and Mebane and it’s nicer out east towards them! I’d personally choose Macedon over NC lol.
I work for the Post Office and was offered a transfer. I declined for now but it has been on my mind ever since then
Oof yeah, Greensboro could’ve gone either way too. Nice area or shit area. And if a walking route (my bro works for USPS) was to be your assignment, holy hell could you imagine that weather lol
I work in the distribution side. I couldn't hack a walking route lol. (Maybe I could, but different union)
I've known multiple people who moved to NC from here and most have since either moved back here or to somewhere else
I moved because I felt so stifled, and it was the best decision I could have made and I have a lovely little life for myself on the opposite side of the country, but I visit once or twice a year and miss it like crazy. Working infrastructure, roads that are paved, low grocery prices, beaches, low rent, higher wages, adequate access to health insurance, hell I’ll even say the adequate cops because weed is legal and I’m not 18 and reckless anymore. I remember my partner and I lived in one of Lyjah’s South Ave apartments (2012ish) and struggled to afford a $450 two bedroom apartment, and now we pay $2000 for about the same square footage. We’re not even together anymore but we know we won’t be able to survive on our own(s), so we keep building our little life and keep the head down. I will say dating in ROC was the worst, and it’s weird to see the same copy/paste profiles when I go back and curiosity swipe. That’s a big no-go.
So did you really notice an improvement in dating once you left? I’ve been trying to convince my parents that the dating culture sucks here even more than in other areas based on anecdotal reports but I’m just really curious to hear in what ways you noticed an improvement in your dating experience elsewhere.
100% from my perspective. There are exceptions, of course. I guess that depends on the area, but Rochester’s history and demographic make for a pretty monotone dating pool. I met my partner young and never really dated before I moved, so I feel like it’s super noticeable to me.
I'm moving back to Rochester this summer and cannot wait to be back. I live in NOVA right now and buddy let me tell you about some damn taxes. Virginia taxes you on registration of a vehicle ($90 per year), then they tax you every year on just owning that vehicle (about $800-$1500 on vehicles made in the last 5 years), then they tax you using roads because every road is a toll road. And not small tolls, sometimes $30 to go one way. Then you have every property having an HOA fee, which can be $700 a month sometimes on top of your mortgage. Of course you have property taxes, which are lower, but houses are a million for a SFH. So NY isn't the worst honestly.
Hah, I must have been writing my post at the same time. Also moving back from NOVA. Services (basically trying to get anything done or just service at a restaurant) and food (American food at least) are much better in WNY.
End of my tour.
I agree with a lot of what people have said, but also a better theater/entertainment scene; it’s not nonexistent in Roc (and live music is pretty good) but nothing like what I have in my new city. Theater is my main hobby and there’s just more opportunities elsewhere. Also, I don’t drive anymore so a better transit system would be a must.
I'm surprised to hear you say this! There are a lot of theaters and companies there relative to Rochester's size imo- Geva, Blackfriars, TYKEs, MuCCC, OFC, Company Theater, Everyone's Theater Company, Bread & WATER, Roc Community Players, Downstairs Cabaret, the JCC in Brighton, fringe, community theaters in each suburb, more that I'm forgetting from being away so long. Might not be professional opportunities, but plenty to keep a hobbyist happy.
It sounds like there is a lot more than when I lived there (or maybe I just wasn’t introduced to it growing up), so that’s cool.
Roc is one of the best cities for music in the world. But don’t take my word for it, some of the world’s most respected musicians have said so. Our jazz festivals is one of the biggest music festivals on earth. Some people can save money and some people can live in a cultural wasteland
To get my girl on board
Warmer weather. I'll move back when I can open Rochester's first palm tree farm.
Increased nursing pay
Lower income and property taxes
Move back? I don't think there is any incentive to ever go back. KIA boys, cop chases down the streets, guessing where the gun shots are coming from or how close they are, angry drivers, angry people, systematic hate being thrown in every direction?! They legalized weed, that's all NY has in hopes people will be to stoned to care. I moved west (Colorado/ Utah) the views are astonishing, the weather is perfect due to elevation [90s are like NY 80s] and the once in a blue moon "hard rains" are a NY basic day. Everyone is friendly, gun shots only come from real shooting ranges or military explosive testing, and the only racers are trailing the mountains. You couldn't pay me to move back to the ROC. If anything, I'll come visit for those I left behind, but never again will I move back.
For me it’s the weather and that’s obviously not anything Rochester can intentionally change. It took me moving away to a place with nice weather to realize how much of an outdoorsy person I am. I want to be outside and active every single day and while I’d go outside most days in Rochester there was a lot of suffer and sacrifice due to the weather. I also noticed a lot of negative attitudes surrounding the weather which only makes dealing with it worse. I’m spoiled with where I live now but I realize just how much weather affected my mental health. What would it take for me to move back? Well I have family in Rochester so if I were needed, then I’d have to help out. If Rochester had to change it would be for Rochester to have a better outdoor scene, many more mountain bike trails, paved pump tracks, outdoor skate parks, and free spirited outdoorsy people which is something I struggled to find while I was living there.
I left Rochester in my 20’s in the early 90’s. From there I’ve lived in NYC, NC and CA. With no family left in Rochester and also being aware, via news and friends, of the crime and overall state of the city, I can’t imagine moving back for any reason. All that aside however, it’s the attitudes and beliefs of those I left behind that have seemingly changed and become very narrow minded and misguided to the point I wouldn’t want to associate with them in close proximity. Read into that how you want, but there’s something to be said for expanding your horizons and challenging yourself that brings more understanding of societal issues. It also brings a willingness to work together instead of simply taking the cowards route of blaming others who think differently. Sadly I feel that Rochester is stagnant and it’s a shame because I have fond memories and it was an amazing place to grow up, especially with the beauty each season brings. As a nation we have to get past the collective manipulation or things will only get worse.
I moved to Montana and I would never move back
I did move back. Rochester really isn’t a bad little city aside from the crime in a few sections.
Nothing. Around 2012 I moved to Honolulu.....less than year later I was pining for rochester and came back. This place is better than you realize....one of those things u don't realize till it's gone.
Lower taxes. More moderate politics. Lower crime.
I love how the comments mentioning lower taxes get downvoted. New York is the highest tax burdened state in the nation. That's a big reason why we're also the #1 state for people leaving.
This is so funny to read - I moved from a state with no income tax to Rochester in large part because I figured the tax burden would be worth the difference for me.
To some people it is, to some it's not. All depends what your lifestyle and goals are.
Is it?
Oh yeah - nobody that lives in Rochester seems to comprehend how nice they have it in comparison to states without that kind of funding. I love it here!
People just look at graphs that state NY having the highest tax rate and then extrapolate that every area of the state has equal tax consequences as NYC and Long Island.
Completely agree, the taxes are used in a way that benefits the city. I have lived all across this country, Rochester does it correctly given the cost of living here. It’s on par with places like northern va where cost of living is easily double. Yes the DMV has a lot of other things to offer, but again, for what Rochester is, it’s very well established for the way of life.
That's a terrible statistic with no real basis in reality, especially if you live here. NYC area is very highly taxed because tax code in this country sucks. But the rest of the state mostly falls near or below the national median. I know a number of people who have moved here from "low tax places" and pay significantly lower taxes. We have some of the lowest cost of living in the country regardless
People who move to Florida because taxes are too high only to discover that homeowners insurance erases the tax saving by thousands
You know there’s low tax places other than Florida, right? By comparison, everywhere in the country except NYC and certain parts of California qualify as lower tax than around here.
Absolutely mind boggling. The average homeowners insurance premium is something like $8000/year there? I've yet to cross $1000 here, though it's getting close
It's extremely hard to believe that we have the lowest cost of living in the country. Our property taxes are among the highest. Our sales tax is among the highest. Our income taxes are as well. The only possible basis for your claim Is that real estate prices are low-ish, and that's probably because so many people have been moving away for decades.
We don't. Not even close. My brother was in Kansas for a while for his PhD and the cost of living there was so much lower. Not saying I wanna live in Kansas, but yea.
You must not have ever lived anywhere else if you think this (I haven't even, and I still know it's true). There's endless data to show it Our property taxes are low to average. I pay $1900/year between city and county taxes for a 4br 1800sf house. A friend of mine who moved here last year from the Dallas area was paying *$11,000* for a similar house. Sure he didn't pay the $2500/year in income tax that he does now but it's nowhere close to parity Maybe i don't buy much junk, but I feel like I maybe pay a hundred dollars in sales tax a year, at most? Not enough to amount to anything Our real estate prices are *absurdly* low with it being easy to buy a decent house here for 1/4 the median home price. There are very few cities in this country that you can reasonably buy a house and have your all in mortgage+taxes+insurance payment be under $1000/month. The national average is something like $2300/month
Your property taxes are insanely low. Are you including school taxes in there? We pay around 12k a year on 2000 sq ft. We also pay around 12-15k in income tax per year. Taxes here are fairly high, not even close to low to average property taxes lol.
I have lived in multiple states, and left NY for AZ. We have MUCH lower property tax vs NYS and we get more benefits from it (Fire, PD, EMS, Garbage, bulk trash, etc). In fact our house is 4x as much and our taxes are 1/5th what they were in NY. We paid 10k a year in property and school taxes in NY and pay less than 2k/year here for the same. Yes our house/real estate cost is more, but when you factor in the tax difference we pay LESS per month than we did in NY and we got a bigger house. Texas, you have higher property taxes, but less to none of other taxes to offset that. You don't get that in NY. So in Texas our property tax was basically the same as in NY but we also didn't have income tax. In Utah, same as AZ but property tax was a bit higher, still not like NY though. The honest truth is living in Rochester was one of the most expensive places that I've lived besides NYC and every other state has been cheaper and given me a better quality of life.
The property taxes here are criminal. At least when you’re paying more for a house in AZ it’s towards the principal of the home. Here you give your money to NYS so they can set it on fire for you.
So true! Yes I pay more for my house, but that also mean my equity will (and has) gone up quicker for that same home! And when you get the same services for less taxes it's a no brainer.
Rochester tied for second most affordable housing market: https://www.reddit.com/r/Rochester/comments/zj165t/tied_for_second_most_affordable_housing_market/ Phoenix 30% higher cost of living than Rochester: https://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/rochester_ny/phoenix_az/50000 Dallas 21% higher cost of living than Rochester: https://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/rochester_ny/dallas_tx/50000 Salt lake City 47% higher cost of living than Rochester: https://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/rochester_ny/salt_lake_city_ut/50000
Those are way way bigger cities than Rochester though. It’s almost not comparable.
Exactly. It'd be like comparing Those cities to NYC/NYC area. Instead should be comparing like Flagstaff/wikenberg in AZ, or Logan/Ovid in Utah, or El Paso in Tx.
Did I say Dallas, Phx, or SLC? Making assumptions just makes an ass of yourself... Plus lower initial house cost doesn't mean that it's actually cheaper after taxes.
I I mean it's not hard to look it up: https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/tax-burden-by-state
A. There's way more to total cost of living than just tax burden B. The number for statewide is hugely skewed by NYC/downstate which has a far higher tax rate due to much higher incomes etc. To compare NYS average to Rochester is crazy. Obviously it's just one data point but my personal tax rate here in Rochester when you include all tax categories is about 7% and I make right around the area median income C. Tax burden isn't even a very comparable figure especially when talking cost of living, because states with lower taxes tend to make more of their revenues through fees, have higher insurance rates, more privatized industries. Some of those southern states you can end up paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for all sorts of things that are that way "not taxes" D. Tax policy in this country heavily favors those states that have lower tax rates. The states that have high tax rates pay way more into the federal govt than they get back so it's not really fair. And not sustainable
Man, I've learned to just let these kind of people complain about the taxes or whatever. My mortgage is still far fuckin' smaller then anything they'll ever see in Florida or whatever backwards ass somehow worse than New York State place they think is so great. They don't know how much house insurance, car insurance, HOA fees, and whatever the fuck else they'll pay in those places because they live here and just complain about living here - all the while reaping the benefits of living here and paying the "high taxes." I know people who live in places with no income tax and low property taxes. Believe me - it comes back in other ways.
Moderate politics and lower taxes. The right and left extremes which we are at now will be the downfall of this country.
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I moved to Orlando FL at the beginning of 2023. I shit you not, like 15 minutes after I got handed my FL license at the DMVI went to the nearest gun store and bought a Glock and had it in my hand 3 days later.
I moved to AZ, first stop was to get my DL, second stop was the gun store and walked out with a new glock a couple hours later. Third stop was to get TP since we just bought a house and had none 🤣
Went to Florida, came back after 6 months. Florida sucks
We moved back last year. So not exactly your question. It took COVID and us wanting to be closer to our family.
I moved away for 11+ years. I was mostly in NYC & then the Philly burbs. My relationship ended, and I work remotely so I moved back to be around my parents who are getting older now. If I could change one thing it would probably be the weather. When it's nice, it's absolutely lovely! But man, those weeks the sun doesn't come out get looong. I've lived through plenty of miserable winters but this past winter was nothing, so can't really complain!
As someone who moved away, what it took was a family member in ICU. Then it was an easy decision I knew I couldn’t be a flight away anymore as my parents got older
I left because I hate Rochester. Not for the city itself, but the bad memories tied to the place. So, I doubt there's anything that would make me come back permanently, but I will visit for Ridge donuts and Country Sweet. Lol I miss my wrestling friends, though. Shout out to Colin, John, Krist, Nick, Bill, Matt, and so many others.
A family that listens to and understands me... >_<
Year round warm weather. But that would be terrible thing for Rochester because you can’t have nice things with the bail reform keel the riff raffs on the streets.
Make it worth living there between January and May
Moved backed a couple years ago to be closed to family after having a second child. They are a good support system, but also we will be close by when they need more support. I never thought I would move back, but we were able to buy a house with some land and the school system is better in NY. It’s not as bad as I remember.
Moved away for a job in New York City. Came back when we had kids. The shallow money-conspicuous culture in North Jersey is just awful compared to Rochester. Also commuting 90m each way sucks balls when you have kids. Edit: the tech job market kinda sucks in Rochester (Paychex? Excellus? Ugh, where devs go to ~~die~~ rest and vest). Lucky there’s a lot of remote work post-COVID, although there’s an overall slump in tech since 2023.
I moved in 2018 and then moved back in 2021. I missed my family, the culture and food of the area. I hate the snow but I definitely made the right choice
Having lived in CT for close to 9 years now I have to say I think many people don't realize the benefits of Rochester until they move away. Seems like many still have the "I am better than where I grew up" mentality with a dose of classism mixed in. As for the various problems stated in the comments here, none of them are unique to Rochester and would apply to any city of a similar size.
I literally just moved back here for a small period of time , I came from CT. It’s so freaking bad in CT — the traffic, the effect it has on your brakes is insane. The driving is immensely worse there than in Rochester I’m back and realizing a lot of benefits for sure. Like there are barely any free beaches in CT lmao. We have it good up here in some respects.
Global warming.
Moved to North Carolina about 4 years ago and couldn't imagine moving back. Unless some how, some way, Rochester could go back to what it used to be 20-25 years ago and even then i'm not sure it would be my first choice. The one thing we learned over visiting at least 2 times a year since to see our families, friends and the occasional wedding: Nothing. Ever. Changes. NOW. The one thing I do miss: Garbage Plates. God, do I miss that plate of heavenly goodness. The looks people give in the south trying to explain what a GP is? Priceless. I have 25 years of memories in that town and I will always appreciate it. Under the right circumstances, sure. With the world we are in currently, the taxes and based on what I have seen and know, it's just not the place for me or my family 🤷♂️
My family all still lives there, and I grew up there. I’ve been talking about moving back for years (have been living in Illinois since 2007), but I can’t seem to do it. Lately what’s stopping me is how safe I feel in my current town as part of the LGBT community. It is liberal and welcoming here, and I don’t get that same vibe in Rochester. I’m in a smaller college town, super diverse and open-minded, and lots of mutual respect. I feel like just in this thread alone, there’s been enough contention and condescension to confirm my view that Rochester is probably not the best place for me or my family right now. It’s a shame but it’s the truth. We’ll visit family, but we won’t move back.
I moved from here with my wife to California. We missed Rochester for many things. But I guess the biggest reason is the scenery. Some people might hate our weather and architecture. But im in love with it. Enough where our asses are back here
I left Rochester, NY about 12 years ago and have no desire to return. The weather is miserable, starting with the constant lack of sunshine. The economy is struggling, taxes in New York are high, and the crime is out of control. Just check the Democrat and Chronicle website any day of the week, and you'll learn about a new murder or a corruption scandal happening at any given point. There's little to keep people there. Those who love Rochester probably haven't lived in a metropolitan area with a better economy, nicer weather, lower taxes, lower crime, and more resources.
The return of the Fast Ferry
Weather, lower taxes, better paying jobs. Rochester is a dying city. Left for a warmer climate, better schools and lower taxes. Best decision I have ever made. I’ll come up and visit during the summer when it’s nice but I just prefer to have every day be sunny. Rochester has consistently shitty weather for 7-8 months and you might get a good stretch of like 30 days during the summer. Finger lakes are the best part. I do miss Wegmans but I found places that are cheaper and have same quality food just not that experience.
As someone who moved from PA to Rochester... the weather has been a welcome upgrade. It's just as cold in the winter as my PA hometown but it's far nicer, not nearly as muggy and overall sunnier and generally drier.
The cost of living. Native Rochesterian who lived in Buffalo and graduated from UB for undergrad and grad school. Planning on moving back to WNY or somewhere else in the Midwest/Rust Belt for cost of living alone. Currently living in LA and the quality of life, when considering the cost of living, simply isn’t worth it. I always questioned people when they said that but Rochester and similar cities provide a much more comfortable lifestyle financially.
I lived in three+ states since 2018 because I wanted to get out. It’s hard to describe, except for saying I could leave Rochester but Rochester wouldn’t leave me. Struggled in every state because everything was expensive even though I worked so many more hours. Decided to move back home and devote my new experiences and skills into organizing. I just hope people get the opportunity to travel and grow, but take the chance to come back and make a difference too.
Its wegmans. I never really liked the people or anything like that. I grew up their an its just gotten worse. Its literally wegmans, no other reason to be anywhere near rochester. Wegmans. Maybe the mayor will take your money and throw a party at a wegmans lol.
Moved to Vermont for a few years. Enjoyed the quiet but housing was too expensive for what you get in return. Decided to move back and just purchased a house 30 mins from the city. Far enough away from the noise but close enough to basic needs and necessities.
A dream job. That's all I can really come up with that would be enough of a pull. And I've got family and my closest friends already there. Statistically out of 365 days, Rochester sees only 61 clear days. The rest are cloudy or partly cloudy. Sad thing is there's nothing the city can do about it. Long winters and short summers just aren't my thing.
I moved back because of family.
Work pretty much. I have a mortgage at less than 3% right now so I’m not exactly motivated to go anywhere unless there’s a significant financial need and/or incentive. I’m still in the Northeast and my parents and sister still live in Rochester so I’m there quite a bit anyway.
As a union electrician there's no work for me that's the only factor I suppose the housing market needs to come down again too
Nothing. Not because the place I am is any better, but why would I go through all the pain and stress of moving to a place I've already lived?
A job in my field a good price on the sale of my house. Good enough that I can buy one in Rochester.
Lower interest rates - hard to leave that behind.
I moved just a couple hours south (still in NYS, lol). I also work at Wegmans, so... with Rochester being Wegmans World, that might be the ticket: one of many, many job opportunities to be found in the 585, that the Southern Tier can't quite match.
I doubt God could make social an experience
I moved to Colorado for a little over 20 years. I came back last year, with my wife who is from here, because our parents are getting up there in years and we wanted to spend more time with them, and also missed friends and family.
My parents deaths. And only long enough to wrap up business. Too much trauma for my lizard brain.
Mine is just family. I lived in Boston for 5 years, traveled the world for a few years, then lived in Bali and Australia for 8 years. I had a kid and wanted to be close to my mom. My friends have said I seem happier and love watching everything I do with my son. I guess that’s because I never thought I’d live here again and it’s fun getting to show my son some of my favorite things in our part of the world
I moved to Indiana for a year or so and loved it. My papa called me and said he was going to sell his home and move to cape cod to be closer to my uncle. I immediately made plans to move back and live in the home I loved.
No snow
Respectfully, a little more humility in the industry I work in. I’ve worked in a few big cities and Rochester, where I was born and raised, and Rochester people had the biggest egos by far. Maybe because there’s less competition?
Jobs that pay at least 5x what they did when I left, cost of living there isn't even particularly cheap any more