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I really got a kick from the out of towner labelling the area the "Whine" region. Because it is so correct in many ways. We just have too many whiners. Then they move away and continue to whine about a state and city they don't even live in any longer.
But regardless, the article does a great job at highlighting the great things that Rochester is doing:
Quote:
The Whine Region.
It's what one out-of-towner looking at doing business here dubbed the Rochester region after hearing the local litany of complaints about living and working in the Rochester region — like the high taxes and low winter sun, said Matt Hurlbutt, chief operating officer of Greater Rochester Enterprise.
"Yes, we complain too much," Hurlbutt told a crowd of close to 200 Tuesday as the Rochester Rotary Club put on its annual panel discussion looking at the state of and prospects for the Rochester area economy. The event was held at the Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center. And the panelists leaned strongly toward the glass half full end of the spectrum when discussing the economy and its prospects.
"There are seeds of a lot of great things happening," Center for Governmental Research President Joseph Stefko said.
The panelists fielded questions on topics ranging from how can the area better go about retaining graduates of the local colleges to using amenities as a tool for attracting professionals.
"We have culture, the arts, things to do," said Don Jeffries, CEO of VisitRochester. "One of the things that drives me nuts is when people say 'Ehhh, there's nothing to do.' Are you nuts?"
New Rochester Business Alliance CEO/former Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy was also scheduled to be on the panel, but was in Manhattan for former Gov. Mario Cuomo's funeral.
While largely upbeat, the panelists said the area has plenty of economic challenges. "The most difficult part of our job is overcoming the constant rankings of taxation and regulation" when trying to lure relocating or expanding businesses, Hurlbutt said.
And the local economy is growing slowly in large part because of the huge number of manufacturing jobs in recent years that have dragged down gains in other parts of the economy, Stefko said. "We've spent six or seven years clawing back just to a pre-recession employment level," he said, adding that over the past six years, about one in five manufacturing jobs locally has disappeared. "That's a stunning hit to absorb," Stefko said.
Yet while so much attention is being paid to the evaporation of manufacturing jobs locally, that overshadows the attention that could be paid to all the growth in the technology and knowledge-based industries, particularly at small-but-established firms of 10 to 20 employees, Stefko said.
Meanwhile, one of the area's biggest problems — Main Street — is turning the corner with Sibley Building redevelopment and a new Hilton hotel downtown providing that tie between downtown proper and the more bustling East End, Jeffries said. "There's 5,000 people on the Friday night in the East End. It's a bright spot."
I can tell you as someone who has been contemplating a move to the Rochester area in the spring, and who has been extensively researching what life might be like for my family there, that the many "whiners" have certainly frightened me at times! Though I have to dig sometimes, I have found glowing reviews on the area on this forum and others and I'm just trying to focus on those. Overall it appears the Rochester area could be a lovely place to raise my family!
I can tell you as someone who has been contemplating a move to the Rochester area in the spring, and who has been extensively researching what life might be like for my family there, that the many "whiners" have certainly frightened me at times! Though I have to dig sometimes, I have found glowing reviews on the area on this forum and others and I'm just trying to focus on those. Overall it appears the Rochester area could be a lovely place to raise my family!
I'm very happy that you are doing research beyond just what the negative naysayers constantly say. This is something that I've said before. The internet as a whole tends to bring out the most negative people and sometimes they feed on each other and pile on. There are many posters here that love Rochester and will point you to the positive aspects.
There's a million people living in this region and a great, great many love our community. There's an absolute ton that is family oriented in the region too. Yes there are some things we can't control like the weather. Winters do have a lot of snow and can be cold. But the key is to just find things you enjoy in the winter. With you having a family kids absolutely love snow. As a family you can go on sledding/snowboarding/skiing trips right in the region.
It's a city with a ton of history, beautiful parks and fantastic scenery with the canal and the lakes of every size. We have great museums, theatres that get a ton of local support, and many restaurants. We have zoos, amusement parks..etc.
If you need any advice on areas or questions about the area, definitely do ask. Like I mentioned, there are a number of posters on here from Rochester and surrounding cities that will definitely help you with questions instead of just being a curmudgeon.
These are some links posted before by myself and ckhthankgod who is also a fantastic resource on here if you want to get an idea of some of the things to do and neighborhoods and the history of Rochester:
Thank you db! I know I will definitely have many questions and I am already sure I will use this forum to ask them, so if our move comes closer to a reality get ready to hear quite a bit from me! We would be moving from Montana, so we also get a lot of snow and long winters, however our climate is drier and so I wonder how much that "wet" cold is different from our "dry" cold and how "lake effect" snow is different than the rocky mountain snow we get. I've had my city and Henrietta (we've been exploring houses in this area in particular) on my weather app on my phone all winter and it appears we've had a much snowier season so far and it's been pretty mild out there in the Rochester area. Thanks for your response! Hope to be talking with you all more extensively soon!
Thank you db! I know I will definitely have many questions and I am already sure I will use this forum to ask them, so if our move comes closer to a reality get ready to hear quite a bit from me! We would be moving from Montana, so we also get a lot of snow and long winters, however our climate is drier and so I wonder how much that "wet" cold is different from our "dry" cold and how "lake effect" snow is different than the rocky mountain snow we get. I've had my city and Henrietta (we've been exploring houses in this area in particular) on my weather app on my phone all winter and it appears we've had a much snowier season so far and it's been pretty mild out there in the Rochester area. Thanks for your response! Hope to be talking with you all more extensively soon!
ahh..coming from Montana you'll cruise through Rochester winters with no issue. We do get more snow than Montana but I think Montana is actually colder on average then Rochester. Our infrastructure deals with the snow super efficiently. Lake effect snow tends to be heavier than dry snow. But overall I don't think you'll find the climate really all that different with the exception of more snow on the ground on average.
Like Colton states though, this year has been super mild for snow. I think I've been delayed commuting to work for 10 minutes once this year so far. No biggie at all.
The whine region extends well beyond Rochester. In fact it infects the whole state and parts of New England.
It is really just an entrenched culture of pessimism.
You have New Yorkers who have taken their nest egg and converted it into a 3,000 sq/ft McMansion with $4,000/yera in taxes while their 'native' neighbors, many of whom are people living in comparative (or literal) poverty with infectious optimism who claim they live in the best state as they bounce along roads that are just as badly maintained for fifty miles to their $10/hour job.
That is not to say the NY doesn't have serious problems that need to be addressed yesterday, but the whining is more down to mindset than actual poor quality of life.
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