I've never been to the Roc before but is Rochester as bad as people say it is? (Greece: rental, mortgage)

[donbuy]

Originally Posted by Aorre

You won't be walking much more. You won't want to. Do you have decent snow tires? Get ready for the freezing hell that is Rochester for like, 6-8 months out of the year. You came at a good time, but unfortunately summer is very short-lived here.

Winter in Rochester may be the snowiest of any metro with more than a million people but the temps are far from the coldest. January high temps are colder than Rochester in many US metros including the Twin Cities, Milwaukee and Chicago. Put on a coat and enjoy

[cheese9988]

Originally Posted by Aorre

The snow itself doesn't last too long, but the low temperatures do. It's simply not fun to take a stroll outside in November/late October. Hell, it's not fun to take a stroll outside right now at this very moment, and today is supposed to be one of the better days of the week.

If you cannot take the temps in October, than there are not very many places you could live. I'm thinking the deep south, and south west would be the only places for you. The Raleigh temps, especially at night, were could enough to snow a couple months out of the year (the conditions just were not right) when we lived there. What you are talking about then is ZERO tolerance for, I'm guessing, anything under 60 deg. You gotta be a little reasonable. Todays high was around 50 and was great weather to do some repairs out on the garage with.

[Aorre]

Donbuy, I never said Rochester temps were the coldest. I understand Chicago is cooler, but it is still cold here.

Come to think of it, I hope it snows like no tomorrow very soon. My neighbor is doing a lot of inconsiderate house construction that keeps waking me up at 7:00 a.m (and goes on all day) because all I can hear are hammers and buzzsaws. I wish him the very worst weather conditions possible for being so inconsiderate. Let it snow!

[Bridget0560]

In my personal opinion, as a Rochester native who has lived all over US and moved back here for family, I personally do not care for Rochester. I find it too sleepy. The economy and taxes kills me. I pay $14,000 on a $340,000 home which elsewhere cost me $4000 in taxes on a $400,000 home. Again, my opinion only. Other posters enjoy the area b/c they have found ways to make it theirs. Like anything, attitude is everything.

[OverTaxedInNY]

This place is a hole. Terrible government with terrible ideas, no true forward thinking, public projects are a joke, and the only things we have going are the U of R and RIT colleges. And all they do is groom people with educations that they take out of the state anyways lol. Yeah we have some museums and good places to eat, but thats such a small part it doesnt even matter. After going to downtown Charlotte back in August for just a night, I already know I belong there and not here. And Im not much of a city goer! This place is just so depressing though. Definitely not what it used to be like in its hey-day before I was born. Im 27 now and hope to be out of here by 35.

[Aorre]

"Sleepy" is a suitable adjective for Rochester. Tonight it was cold and wet, which, combined with all the falling leaves, reminded me of Sleepy Hollow.

[donbuy]

Originally Posted by OverTaxedInNY

This place is a hole. Terrible government with terrible ideas, no true forward thinking, public projects are a joke, and the only things we have going are the U of R and RIT colleges. And all they do is groom people with educations that they take out of the state anyways lol. Yeah we have some museums and good places to eat, but thats such a small part it doesnt even matter. After going to downtown Charlotte back in August for just a night, I already know I belong there and not here. And Im not much of a city goer! This place is just so depressing though. Definitely not what it used to be like in its hey-day before I was born. Im 27 now and hope to be out of here by 35.

Why wait? Life is too short to spend 8 years of itin a place you obviously despise. 27-35 are some of the most prime years of your life, why wait till you're 35 to start adulthood?

[OverTaxedInNY]

I have a few reasons. First one being I just bought a house last year, and would walk away with nothing if I were to sell it now, after fees and commissions. And Im not about to try to sell a house myself in this market lol. I figure in 7 years I should be able to sell our house and walk away with about $30k in pocket, a hefty sum for a downpayment on a house in Charlotte. Second reason, and the most important, is that we are about to have our first child next summer and we dont want to take a grandchild away from our parents. The third reason is I have a very good job right now that is giving me tons of experience, making me more "sellable" when the time comes to transition to another company

Trust me, if it were more feasible, I'd do it in a heart beat.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by Bridget0560

In my personal opinion, as a Rochester native who has lived all over US and moved back here for family, I personally do not care for Rochester. I find it too sleepy. The economy and taxes kills me. I pay $14,000 on a $340,000 home which elsewhere cost me $4000 in taxes on a $400,000 home. Again, my opinion only. Other posters enjoy the area b/c they have found ways to make it theirs. Like anything, attitude is everything.

Outside of the property taxes, what about other costs or fees for places you've lived in in the past?

Also, if you get the $400,000 home with lower taxes, doesn't it almost "even out" versus a $340,000 home with the taxes you noted since the mortgage on the other home would be more per month and the house sizes are probably roughly similar?

[HowardRoarke]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

Outside of the property taxes, what about other costs or fees for places you've lived in in the past?

Also, if you get the $400,000 home with lower taxes, doesn't it almost "even out" versus a $340,000 home with the taxes you noted since the mortgage on the other home would be more per month and the house sizes are probably roughly similar?

I know some folks like to use the "even out" argument, but I'd argue that one person's "even out" is another's realization that their property taxes are so bad it's like carrying a second mortgage. To me it seems once you get beyond a certain home price, the taxes are outrageous. As if $4000 on $105K assessed isn't bad enough (a family member in Greece). This is one of the reasons why we left. They can't keep taxing people like that, 'cause something's gonna give.

My sister and brother in law's house in Victor carries taxes of roughly $4900 or so/yr. Same house in Perinton would have about a $7-$8K+ tax bill. To me that's a burden not worth carrying, especially for young couples starting a family who desire to live in a decent or even a nice area.

Personally, I'd rather have my money go into my property, instead of the pockets of powerful unions, overpaid government workers (many are overpaid, in NY), and the well-connected (amongst others).


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