[jcoffy]

I'd like someone who has an expertise to teach me about The two cities e.i, Advantages and desadvantages of both; because i have to make a decision i want to make the right one for my familly & myself.

[skytrekker]

Hartford has housing costs that are higher-for a median priced home in the respective metro areas, the Connecticut city and environs will average about 100K+ more for a single family home.

Hartford is part of the BosWash corridor- or megalopolis- it is tied to New York & Boston economically. And while it is fairly independent of those two great cities- the relationship is culturally intertwined. Rochester is more closely aligned to the mid west industrial belt.

Both cities have pluses and negatives. Greater Hartford has some of the most attractive suburbs in the nation, has a thriving arts sector, and is among the wealthiest of US metro regions.

[briansf]

Many publications rank Rochester as one of the best places in the country to raise a family. The public school system in one of the best in the country and the suburbs south of Rochester are beautiful. The housing prices are amongst the lowest in the country so you get a big bang for your buck. One thing to keep in mind is that you must like the winter to like Rochester.

[Daisy Grey]

I lived in Rochester for almost 9 years before I married and moved to NE. Hands down, Rochester has it all over Hartford. It's a much more vibrant city, had great schools and cost of living is lower than here in CT though gas prices are about the same and taxes *may* be higher (someone else chime in on this )

In terms of Rochester winters they're not THAT bad. True, once in a while Rochester gets hit with both Lake Erie AND Lake Ontario "lake effect" snow. Because of the lake effect it is chronically overcast in the winter months which I never really noticed until we moved to the Boston area and I marveled at the blue skies. The real snow belt in NYS is Syracuse (NOT Buffalo!) which gets socked with insane amounts of snow.

The Rochester area is home to many great colleges and universities--U of R, RIT, Nazareth College and St. John Fisher College. U of R has a great medical/dental school. Rochester is home to the Eastman School of Music, the Strasenberg Planetarium and the George Eastman House. The city has a lot of great neighborhoods--the Highland Park area and the Park Ave. area are especially notable, see Park Avenue Rochester NY shops cafe restaurants Suburbs include Pittsford-Mendon area, Irondequoit, Gates, Greece, Henrietta, Penfield, Brighton, East Rochester (great bar town as I recall), Wester. There are plenty of easy-to-get-to shopping centers and malls.

The city highway system consists of an "inner loop" that surrounds Rochester proper, and an "outer loop" that runs through most of the surrounding suburbs (Rts. 590/490/390) This makes it fairly easy to get to where you want to go. Overall density of population is not as concentrated in upstate NY as it is along the NY-Boston corridor (FYI...it's about 5 hrs from Albany to the PA border along Rt. 90)

The big advantage of living in Hartford (I live 21 miles east) is that it's between Boston and New York and less than an hour from the Long Island Sound. It's very easy to take a "daycation" and feel like you've gone somewhere exotic. Rochester is as "exotic" as you get in upstate NY. The Finger Lakes region (wine country) and Niagara Falls are around 90 min. away and Toronto is around 3 hrs. (Buffalo is just south of Niagara Falls but that's not exactly a typical vacation destination.....)

Check this out: RocWiki Tourists Guide - Rochester Wiki

Good luck in your decision

[skytrekker]

Some additional information comparing Hartford & Rochester
Snowfall per winter (average) Hartford 45" Rochester 95"
Crime (as per city data) Hartford 741 Rochester 711 (average 323)

Average January high 34.1 Low 17.2 (Hartford) Rochester 31 & 17

[JayCT]

I can not comment much on Rochester but it would be pretty hard to find a better place to raise a family than the greater Hartford area. Connecticut schools consistently rank at or very near the top in education and the suburbs of Hartford have some of the best public schools in the country. Hartford is nice because it is a large enough city to have most of the things needed nearby but yet is manageable to get around. Also it is a short drive to so many things to see and do. Mountains, beaches, farms, countryside and large cities are all within 2 hours. I doubt you can go wrong moving to Hartford. Jay

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I can not comment much on Rochester but it would be pretty hard to find a better place to raise a family than the greater Hartford area. Connecticut schools consistently rank at or very near the top in education and the suburbs of Hartford have some of the best public schools in the country.

I believe New York's schools rank as high as Connecticut's.

Isn't the OP comparing Rochester (pop. 208,000) to Hartford (pop. 124,500) - not Hartford's suburbs.

[jcoffy]

I have to say thanks for all of you; because most of your informations are pertinents for my decision. But which one of both have better opportunities for my family. I have degrees in Health Information management & Health Services Management from SUNY Institute of Technology and i intend to get my MBA in Health Admistration and my wife is in Criminology. After all, In what city do you think the jobs could be less challenging. If someone has a clue please do not hesitate to give me an idea.

Tks again!!!

[uconn99]

The Hartford region has strong ties to Insurance, Aerospace, and Finance. There are many large insurance giants with HQ's in Hartford as well as ING's North American HQ's for Retirement investment.

Outside of those 3 area's, the region does have 3 very good and large hospitals, Hartford Hospital, St. Francis Hospital, and the UConn health center. All 3 rank nationally in some category yearly.

[Daisy Grey]

Originally Posted by jcoffy

After all, In what city do you think the jobs could be less challenging.

I'm not sure what you mean by "less challenging." In terms of a job market you've got to consider density of population and overall area. There might be more jobs in the Hartford area, but there will also be more competition for those jobs because CT is a small and densely populated state and can draw candidates from nearby NY, VT and MA (I have co-workers who live in MA and RI in my dept.) Unless someone out there can provide statistics I think Hartford vs. Rochester is a crap shoot in this regard.

Rochester has Strong Memorial Hospital and Highland Hospital, aflliates of the University of Rochester which has an excellent reputation. There is also Park Ridge Hospital and Rochester General.

It would probably be worth taking a trip and checking out both cities. It's about a 6 hr. drive between them.