rochester (Greece, Niagara Falls, Irondequoit: how much, homes, neighborhood)

[cadence75]

I have been reading very carefuly all the comments posted in regards to my initial question about Rochester. All the replies are very helpful. I have to say that my family and I are very eager to move to the upper Monroe neighborhood. I discovered it in this very forum. Someone had said Rochester is a fine place to live, so we researched it. This forum should be taken very seriously by folks that write in it and for the most part I see that you do. Of course we first flew in and researched very well the area. I can honestly say as someone that has traveled and lived in many major cities, Rochester has great things to offer, but more inportantly an incredible amount of room for growth and potential. I simply can't believe more people don't mention this city. It's cold and icy yes, but the house we bought for the price we paid is unheard of in todays America. One more thing before I bore you any longer. I am a veteran that recently came back from Iraq and recently discharged from the military. If any vets that have seen combat read this, do yourself a favor and look at the price breaks you get in monroe county for your service. I will pay approximately 45% less in property taxes. Thank you all for reading my input and look forward to helping Rochester out in any way I can with the help of my family and wonderful children.

[nymom]

Originally Posted by cadence75

I am a veteran that recently came back from Iraq and recently discharged from the military. If any vets that have seen combat read this, do yourself a favor and look at the price breaks you get in monroe county for your service. I will pay approximately 45% less in property taxes. Thank you all for reading my input and look forward to helping Rochester out in any way I can with the help of my family and wonderful children.

Welcome back and thank you for all you have done for our country. I'm glad you are safe and together with your family. Good luck with your move.

[I'minformed2]

Originally Posted by cadence75

I have been reading very carefuly all the comments posted in regards to my initial question about Rochester. All the replies are very helpful. I have to say that my family and I are very eager to move to the upper Monroe neighborhood. I discovered it in this very forum. Someone had said Rochester is a fine place to live, so we researched it. This forum should be taken very seriously by folks that write in it and for the most part I see that you do. Of course we first flew in and researched very well the area. I can honestly say as someone that has traveled and lived in many major cities, Rochester has great things to offer, but more inportantly an incredible amount of room for growth and potential. I simply can't believe more people don't mention this city. It's cold and icy yes, but the house we bought for the price we paid is unheard of in todays America. One more thing before I bore you any longer. I am a veteran that recently came back from Iraq and recently discharged from the military. If any vets that have seen combat read this, do yourself a favor and look at the price breaks you get in monroe county for your service. I will pay approximately 45% less in property taxes. Thank you all for reading my input and look forward to helping Rochester out in any way I can with the help of my family and wonderful children.

Rochester should be proud to have attracted such a fine citizen as yourself. I can only hope that more people like you move to the area.

[JWilliams]

Originally Posted by NWGirl31

I also want to know if there are great neighborhoods inside the city of Rochester to raise kids. After sitting in traffic for most of our lives, we dream of being able to walk places

Most nice spots will be to the east of Rochester, I think. We moved to Rochester recently. The best schools are in Penfield, Pittsford, and Fairport/Perinton and it seems Brighton. The others are not bad (by Rochester standards, nationally they are very good, still), but they are not as good, even if some people from the outlying areas like Webster pretend that they are (though we may be splitting hairs to some degree).

In regards to walking, move to Fairport. Fairport village has ample sidewalk-lined streets and a nice village center on the erie canal. Also, the electricity costs, if you get a house with Fairport electric, are about 1/3 of most areas here (most homes are gas-heated, though, but this can still save a good bit). We first wanted to move to Fairport but for $200k we could not get what we wanted, which specifically was a 4 bedroom house new or newish in great condition (meaning, needs absolutely no work and will not for years, so essentially new, though for a person used to having an older home $200k does give a good number of options and the houses are far from being in bad shape).

Most of the new homes are in Webster or Walworth if you're looking on the East part of the city (the nicer part). There, $200-220k will get a nice 4 bedroom house, brand new. You say you hate driving, and so do I. Those new sections are not next to sidewalks, but are only a few miles from the rest of Eastern Rochester (and people on the east infrequently bother going to the lower-end Western side).

$200k will get a house in Fairport, but it won't be new. If you can put down $250-300k on a house you can get a really nice one, though. Property taxes are about 3.5% here, so they are VERY HIGH. We only put up with the taxes, knowing they were ghastly when we moved, because it was either pay high property taxes, or have lower ones like most of the rest of the nation and pay for a private school, so it was a wash either way, and there are a darn few cities in the US of any significance where $200k will still buy a new four bedroom house not 5 days' commute from work if one wants to have a high calibre of public school.

FWIW, I found yesterday that 80% of Christmases here are white.

[I'minformed2]

I feel the need to "stick up" for my native Western suburb of Greece. It was just ranked the 9th safest city in America and while it might not be as affluent and "upscale" as the east side; it's still a very good place to raise kids and is MUCH more affordable. That brand new 4 bedroom house that you get in Webster for $220,000 would only be about $160,000 in Greece or Hilton. If you are talking about the city of Rochester itself; then yes, it is definitely not a stretch to say that the east side is far nicer than the west side. But with the exception perhaps of Gates and Irondequoit (with Irondequoit technically being an "east side" area) all of suburban Rochester is a great place to raise a family and with the exception of Pittsford (exception by Rochester and upstate ny standards at least) affordable area to live.

[VITAMINKA]

I was thinking about relocating to the Rochester at some point, because of it's so much cheaper real estate comparing to NYC, BUT... Be careful, when you are picking your neighborhood. Make sure it is at least farther than 5 mile radius from Kodak Park, since pollution from Kodak is the most toxic out of all known toxins. ( DIOXIN) There is a studies that were condacted and reported that increased incidence of pancreatic cancer in women noted who lived for 5+ years in 5 miles radius of Kodak Park, as well as there was a cluster of children who died from Central nervous system cancers. And all of them used to live in 2-3 miles radius from Kodak.
All of the ground waters are poisoned around Rochester area and unsafe, so drinking water is provided from somewhere else. ( I do not recall exactly) Monroe county is on one of the first places on the list of NYS counties with highest cancer incidence rate.
I have nothing against Rochester in general, and I think this city would be perfect if I would not find all this information while doing my getting ready to relocate research.
Check out enviromental websites for more information . I think that it is also very important part of the research when thinking about relocating. It maybe a cheap house for few years, but when you get sick you would wish you would just rented in some other area with better environment.
Good luck!

[I'minformed2]

Kodak park doesn't pollute HALF as much as it used to. The film manufacturing is on its way out as kodak is making the major shift over to digital (allbeit 5 years late). It is true that the Maplewood Nieghborhood; what would be one of the nicest in the city, and where my settled when they first came to Rochester in the 1800's, has some of the most polluted air in the state. That is some good news that comes from the dramatic cutbacks at Kodak. Kodak Park will eventually all be transformed into another use other than heavy polluting industry, that's practically a given; we can only hope the environmental effects will gradually sink away. As for the water in the area; I don't know where you got that information from; but Rochester gets plenty of its water straight from Lake Ontario. If you are in Greece west of 390, or east of Irondequit; their is little if any effect from Kodak Park any more.

[PastorJack]

As Iminformed pointed out, Greece is a growing community, and has scored high marks as one of the safest towns in America!

Welcome to western NY!

[igadget]

As for the water, the southern areas of the city get their water from hemlock lake which is aquaducted to the city. The closer than 5 miles is a concern and is a potential concern for Webster is the Nuclear Power plant up on lake Ave. Ive seen some of the disaster plans and evacuation routes, and you should check with the town if you are considering that neighborhood. This way you wont be caught if they do a drill.

[igadget]

As for the water, the southern areas of the city get their water from hemlock lake which is aquaducted to the city.

The closer than 5 miles is a concern around Kodak Park, though the southern part of the park is no longer generating chemicals.

A potential concern for Webster is the Nuclear Power plant up on lake Ave. I've seen some of the disaster plans and evacuation routes, and you should check with the town if you are considering that neighborhood. This way you wont be caught if they do a drill. The main plan if during a school day is to bus all of the kids to various parts around eastern rochester and to setup a 10 mile exclusion zone.