Quote:
Originally Posted by mrsmedea
Wow, thanks for such a wonderful reply!!
1. It's not an impulse move, we've been trying to decide on where to move to since '08 and started thinking about NY in general last year. It's still going to be a couple years and we're going to go up there first for a small "vacation" to learn our way around a little and get an idea of how things work. And just in case we hate it, we're going to have enough money saved to ship ourselves back here.
|
The folks within this Rochester forum are a gold mine of information re: Rochester and Upstate in general. Some have learned from me, and I've learned plenty since leaving 4 years ago.
When you guys are ready to visit just throw out a post here and we'll point you in the right direction.
Personally, if you're really that interested in NY, stick with Rochester. New York City and the general area around there might come as a shock to you guys, both from a professional standpoint and from a living standpoint. It's an extremely expensive place to live and work, but a cool place to visit.
Quote:
|
2. As far as work, I work from home so my job will come with me. I'm also starting a web-based business reselling. I have a lot of extra time on my hands, so hopefully I can use that to socialize a bit. I do worry about what people will think when they see us... my husband is a grungy, hairy, hispanic man and I'm a little blonde girl, so when we go out I'm in a dress with my hair in an elaborate 'do, and he's in torn jeans and a t-shirt. That doesn't matter here, but "stuck up" primped and pressed types might turn a nose. Whatever, I don't need that as a friend anyway, but it might make things more slow-going.
|
You sound like my kind of people.
At any rate, I'll say this and it may come as a shock to some, here: An industrious attitude towards work and life in general can still carry people in Rochester, particularly those with some skills and education. If you're willing to put up with the nonsense life might throw at you, there, especially as a small business owner, you can do just fine.
Quote:
|
3. Not in Sec. 8 housing. I wish. The section 8 housing only takes 30% of whatever income you make and it's nice places. Most of the major apartment complexes in town accept sec 8.
|
I was teasing you with that one. Sounds like Rochester could be better for you guys.
Quote:
|
4. I'm sure anywhere you go, when you've been there long enough you start to know everyone. I'm a bit blunt and snarky, so I'll be quick to just tell the people who freak if I don't know someone to push off. It sounds very co-dependent though, so we might be a bit shocking. I generally get a lot of crap for being so independent as it is... it's weird how that works. Because I quit smoking cold-turkey, have a backup income source just in case things go wrong, and actually plan for my future, people go to accusing me of lying and saying I must be on assistance or something... and it's like they're covering for the fact that they don't want to put in as much work as I do. It's not a bragging thing, more of a "you could do it if you wanted to" thing, and people don't like hearing that.
|
One thing you'll find there is there are plenty of not-so-productive people around town, and you might be surprised at the demographic(s) they fit within. With the right social skills one can get a feel for the area, and know how to avoid the idle rich and the folks whom have a false sense of security. One thing I've learned there, but only after leaving the area and hanging out in places here, is, some of the best networking one might do is in working-class bars. Seriously. You meet all kinds of people from various backgrounds in certain drinking/eating establishments in this life.
Some of the not-so-productive live within, or grew up within, some of the more affluent zip codes around town. They may come across as more than what they claim to be, you just have to read between the lines and roll with the punches, I guess. If some ******* or *******ette turns up their nose to you because you live in a certain part of town, or work for a (successful) company they never heard of (probably due to their lack of social skills/life experience/general ignorance), just bite your tongue and move on. Not everybody there works for a company which is in the local rag sheet newspaper every other week or month, even. There are plenty of successful people and companies in Rochester which fly under the radar
Quote:
|
5. Cheap houses in low-crime areas, good healthcare, and good tap water. Awesome.
|
If you and your husband are handy with tools and home improvement, there are killer deals in the $65K-$120K, range. No kidding. I was involved in real estate for some time, up there, albeit on the side, and some of the stuff my friends and I fixed up would knock your socks off. We'd take the properties from A to Z, inside and outside. Depends on how industrious you are and how much you're willing to do yourself. You could find, right now, houses in the $65-$120K range on the city border or right outside the city, in safe areas, which need some work but which are not outside the range of hard-working folks. I'd stay away from areas where housing values have dropped tremendously in the last 20 years, but, there are plenty of deals. The old 10th Ward is pretty much a non-starter, these days. I know there are some folks in the forum here who know the Culver and Winton corridors better than I do, so they could point you in the right direction on that side of town. South Wedge is nice in some areas.
City of Rochester water is some of the cleanest in the country for a city. Monroe County gets its water from L. Ontario, mostly, although some of the county gets its water from the same sources the city gets it from. Rare they have boil water advisories or issues with the water coming out of the tap. That pretty much sums up the municipal water in the entire region.
Quote:
|
7. Yeah, lots of permanent college "kids" here. People going to school to be a Jeopardy contestant or something. As long as mom and dad keep paying for it, or as long as their grant/scholarship holds out, they'll take classes in botany and art history.
|
Not too much of that in Rochester. Probably more so in Ithaca and Buffalo. The education bubble will burst, soon enough.
The soft sciences tracks don't get too many folks in Rochester too far, unless they go to work for a local college or the government, including public schools. Maybe certain, better retail jobs, who knows. Otherwise, those folks often times end up in dead-end, low-end retail jobs.
Quote:
|
8. 6.5 hours is nothing for me. That's a possible driving weekend trip. It's possible to leave on a Friday morning and see a show Friday night, and drive back Saturday and be home Saturday night. I've taken much longer road trips, since if it's not here it's at least that far away in any direction.
|
6.5 hours door-to-door, but with plenty of tolls that are very expensive. ck questioned my 6.5 number, but you have to take into account "door-to-door", tolls, traffic in the NYC area, parking, etc. Try taking the train into NYC from any number of safe transit points in the Hudson Valley and New Jersey (more so the former). <hint hint>
Trust me, you'll want to spend more than one day in NYC, unless your goal is to go from point A to point B, and back, within a short trip, which is understandable I guess.
Or, even better, and believe it or not some of my more wealthy friends in Rochester do this, just take Amtrak from Rochester all the way to Grand Central. I know millionaires who do this, not only for the convenience but for the lower cost (overall), the efficiency, and the general less of a pain in the a__ it is due to the fact you won't have to drive around Manhattan Island. You can walk around many parts of Manhattan Island and feel safe, these days. Even take the subway. Just try not to take the subway during peak hours.
If you're willing to put up with the occasional Amtrak delays, by setting aside time in case something does happen, the train is the way to go. Often times if there's increased freight traffic in Upstate the passenger trains have to defer/wait for the trains to pass, due to the fact Amtrak leases from CSX. So that's one way they can be delayed.
Quote:
|
9. As far as 19th Ward, I did some reading and found that though it's so much better than here, it's still a less good part of town. I just hadn't even thought about the idea before. It looks so nice. For contrast, here's my neighborhood (which is considered an okay part of town with one of the better elementary schools) and some of the prime real estate. The pic on the bottom is the cheapest stand-alone house available in the Albuquerque area according to Zillow. It's $60k and a "handyman special". Sometimes, real estate pics have trash in them, or people chilling out on the couch. It's kind of funny. So I guess I need to check out other neighborhoods since it seems to matter so much there. I never thought a place that looked so nice could be the dodgy part of town.
|
I'll bash most of the 19th 'til the day I die, however, I have close family whom live on Genesee Park Blvd., and they've never had a problem, in fact back in the 70's a lot of young couples of various backgrounds and ethnicities lived there in the 19th. You could drive down Genesee Pk. tonight and think it's idyllic. Some UofR workers and faculty live in the area.
How do I know this? Two engineers and their wives located to within feet of where I grew up (Town of Greece), ca. 1982 or so, and they'd lived in the 19th. One black couple (originally from Gary, IN), one white (locals). Great people and I can't blame them for getting out while they had the chance. Sad, considering much of the 19th had (has) custom homes as well as plenty of solid housing stock with hardwood floors and gumwood trim, typical of the early-20th C. homes built in Rochester. A bit of trivia: Much of the 19th was built upon a city dump. Roughly 2/3 of the city homes in Rochester were built with hardwoods and gumwood trim, around 1900 and up 'til 1930 or so, and some homes even have lots of custom features like cool leaded glass windows and custom cabinets and drawers, due to the high number of skilled craftsmen who located to there from any number of countries in Europe. You can't find that custom/quality work in too many places besides New England, NY/PA, the Upper Widwest, and the West Coast. Sad, considering so much of it is neglected in Rochester. Same said houses down here would go for $300K-$500K+.
Also, there's a part of the 19th which is kinda secluded in a way, bordered by Genesee Park Blvd., the canal, and Chili Ave. which is mostly quiet except for the airport traffic. It's a (short) drive to stores and whatnot (there's a Wegmans supermarket on Lyell right off I-390, mere minutes from there). Also, you'd be near to Gates where there are plenty of bakeries, delis, restaurants, etc., which are predominantly Italian-American owned. Trust me, you can't beat some of the food there and in Irondequoit and Greece. I guess what I'm driving at is you guys could rent in that part of town, first, then move on. However, city schools are another matter, and I'd hope you wouldn't put young children in Rochester city schools (if that applies). Lots of good college students, there, as well as young couples and other hard-working folks just trying to get through life and have a good time.
One other area you might want to consider is off of Monroe Ave. Upper Monroe is more urban, for sure, but lower Monroe near to Pinnacle Hill and whatnot has a mix of urban professionals, students, urban dwellers who take care of their properties, and just a generally better vibe and atmosphere than other parts of the city. Not sure what your family's size is but you could rent there from $700-$800/mo., and feel safe and secure, while having the "true urban" experience, if you know what I mean. Safe, secure, urban, affordable, good neighbors, etc. Off-street parking, etc.
Being that your husband is Hispanic, he'd be able to find folks from south of the border around town, as that demographic has grown some in recent years. I'm talking small business owners and whatnot, too, not just your stereotypical migrants who work the farms out in the country. Otherwise, I'd imagine a lot of folks in Rochester could care less about what he looks like or where he's from, and I'm kinda/sorta stating that from experience.
If you're really into city living, check out the Charlotte neighborhood, too. Otherwise, I'd stick to city-border areas if you're into the urban feel (to include Charlotte, which is pronounced sharrrrrrrr-LAAAT, locally).
If you really want an MBA, which may or may not benefit you depending on goals and which way this economy goes, UofR has one of the top 25 MBA programs in the country. Otherwise, there are plenty of great master's programs offered at the better schools around town.
Good luck and feel free to ask questions/throw out ideas, here.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
