Thinking of moving back to Rochester after 35 years in Florida. (New York: apartments, to rent)
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I know, 95% of you at least are going to tell me that I'm wacko. But we are considering moving back to Rochester after living 35 years in South Florida. I've had a great life here, have owned two breakfast and lunch restaurants in the past down here. We've had five really cool homes over the years all within a couple of miles of the ocean. Love palm trees and the weather. Hate hurricanes. But, we are both pushing 70, no kids, and have close family and friends of many years up in Rochester. When you get older, your priorities change. Do I hate winter? Pretty much. And we cannot afford to be snowbirds and have two households, but we will be in a position to live year long in Rochester but come down to Florida say maybe a month or so in the winter to get away. When I first moved here to South Florida, it was little villages by the sea. Now it has been incredibly overdeveloped and the traffic is horrendous most of the time. There are many many great things to do here, today we drove down to Hollywood and had a fabulous breakfast and it's so beautiful, and we go to Fort Lauderdale, West Palm beach, etc and there's just so much to do that I know Rochester is going to pale in comparison. But again, when you get older your priorities change and I would like to be around my close family and my old friends, though I have made a few really great friends here in South Florida who are more like family and will definitely miss them should I move. I've always wanted to live in one of those great old apartments with a fireplace around the Park Avenue area of Rochester and have definitely done some investigating and made a few phone calls. I have been told either that that area is still very safe, or that it is unsafe, so not sure what to believe. The rents on a two bedroom would be very doable for us, especially compared to South florida, where the rents have gone through the roof. Though all my relatives up in Rochester live in the suburbs near Pittsford, I am not a suburb person and after owning five homes over the years down here, we want to rent. I'm just wondering if Park Avenue is relatively safe? We are not naive, and in our last home before our present one, it was in downtown Lake Worth Florida, a few miles down the road from us, Lake Worth is like a very funky Key West, beautiful but very sketchy. We found a dead body of a beaten man just a couple houses down from us a few years back, and the guy in the home behind us shot his wife and then committed suicide. We definitely had more than a couple of hookers come into our backyard and had to call the cops. So we are not naive nor green, and we still loved our very funky compound we had. We are both retired on a decent social security and in all honesty the reason we also want to sell our present home is that it would allow us to have the money saved to do extra things like go to Europe, take another trip to Los Angeles and San francisco, which we did a few years back, eat a few more dinners out here and there, etc. Those kinds of endeavors would be impossible were we not to sell our present home here in South Florida. I worked in downtown Rochester at many of the fine restaurants in the early and late '70s and early '80s, and was constantly downtown, which was our little NYC. I realize that that is long gone and downtown is pretty much dead, which is really sad because it was fantastic.Anyway, I know this is kind of rambling, I'm really tired LOL. Just wondering what people's thoughts are. Thnx! ( P.S. I wrote a very similar post to this one on Craigslist recently and it was flagged for removal within 5 minutes. WTF?? How was what I wrote offensive? That in itself made me hesitant to move back to Rochester lol.)
It isn't crazy, as people move to places for a variety of reasons. Are you looking to move within the city or are you also looking at suburban neighborhoods as well?
I actually spoke about that in the post. I said we wanted to live specifically preferably in the Park Avenue East Avenue area and to rent. After owning five homes down here over 35 years, we want to rent. We've looked into the apartments in that area and the rents are very doable for us. Though the suburbs are beautiful and all of my family and friends live out near Pittsford and way out in chili, those areas are not my thing and I've always wanted to live around Park Avenue in rochester.
I actually spoke about that in the post. I said we wanted to live specifically preferably in the Park Avenue East Avenue area and to rent. After owning five homes down here over 35 years, we want to rent. We've looked into the apartments in that area and the rents are very doable for us. Though the suburbs are beautiful and all of my family and friends live out near Pittsford and way out in chili, those areas are not my thing and I've always wanted to live around Park Avenue in rochester.
I read that as more of a question versus being a place of preference or focus. Hopefully, others will chime in with more specifics, but Park and East Avenues still have the same reputations they have always had.
Another area that have transformed since you've left is South Wedge and that could be another option in the SE Quadrant. https://rocwiki.org/South_Wedge (needs to be updated, but still shows that the neighborhood has changed for the better over the years)
Sorry, my original post was indeed quite choppy. Had to put our sweet little kitty that we've had for 17 years to sleep couple of days ago and I'm still out of it and feeling miserable so that partially explains the incoherence of my post. Have definitely looked into the South wedge area too and did indeed see some nice apartments. I realize that renting is going to come with issues, like you never know who your neighbors will be, but that can be said of homes also and we've experienced neighbors From hell in our single family homes we've had. But most of the apartments I see that we find desirable in Rochester are priced about less than half of what you pay for one down here in South florida. Anyway thanks I do appreciate your input.
I have known several people who after their work career have moved back to where they grew up. The vast majority then move back and when asked why the returned say "It's just not the same!"
I think you are very wise to rent. I hope you are the exception.
I think Rochester is one of the nicest places to be in the summer........ winters not so much!
Right, I left because of the winters! I know that part will not be easy and will do our best to get away for a month or two in the winter. I've been back to Rochester about 6 or 7 times since I moved away 35 years ago, including about four years ago, and I definitely know that the city has changed greatly. Downtown used to be like our New York city, it was fantastic and I worked at all the best restaurants. It's dead now there. So I'm not coming back, if I do come back, expecting it to be like it used to be. Thanks for your input.
Right, I left because of the winters! I know that part will not be easy and will do our best to get away for a month or two in the winter. I've been back to Rochester about 6 or 7 times since I moved away 35 years ago, including about four years ago, and I definitely know that the city has changed greatly. Downtown used to be like our New York city, it was fantastic and I worked at all the best restaurants. It's dead now there. So I'm not coming back, if I do come back, expecting it to be like it used to be. Thanks for your input.
Downtown is not dead. There are hardly any stores, but plenty of apartments and businesses.
I don't mean this to sound sarcastic at all, but as someone who grew up downtown in the 60s 70s and early 80s, it is totally dead to me now. It was a thriving little metropolis back then.
I don't mean this to sound sarcastic at all, but as someone who grew up downtown in the 60s 70s and early 80s, it is totally dead to me now. It was a thriving little metropolis back then.
Yes, I know what you are saying, and I agree on that point. On the other hand, not sure the last time you were here, but all of the buildings are full. Many new apartments. Plenty of office jobs and apartments that didn't use to be. Retail is missing, yes, but with all the residents, some retail is sure to follow.
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