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I have read through so many threads on this but wanted to just ask about our specific situation and see if anyone may be able to offer some advice. We are a young family from two different ethnicities and have kids. We live in a very bad neighborhood in New York City and are relocating to Rochester within the next month or two.
As for an area, we want to buy a home but I don't know where! We want them to be safe in school. We like city life but have open minds and want enough of a yard where we could have a garden and pool if we want I just don't really like the idea of living in a housing track in a newer suburban area. I love old Tudor style homes but most importantly I want to live somewhere with at least a little bit of character where the kids (and we) will feel comfortable and happy and get a good public school education.
I am interested in "diversity" in that I want our kids to go to school with a substantial mix of backgrounds. I know it won't be as mixed as here and that's okay. I was thinking about East Irondequoit but I heard the schools aren't great. Is that true? Is West Irondequoit mixed at all? Where else could we look? What about Rush-Henrietta? Brighton? Where could we live in those districts?
Basically, we want to be able to feel safe in our home at night, be able to go out after dark, and have the kids feel and be safe at school.
You could probably go with any of them and be fine, but from other factors mentioned in your post, I would say that Brighton would give you a complete package. Brighton in the 12 Corners area has some walkability and is close enough to the Southeastern portion of Rochester, which is largely fine and has some things to do. Brighton schools are some of the best in Upstate NY, if not the state and has some diversity as well. West Irondequoit would also fit due to the complete criteria.
I will say that East Irondequoit and Rush-Henrietta are more diverse school districts, if not the most diverse suburban school districts in Upstate NY. R-H is good academically and East Irondequoit is still solid. So, it may be a matter of what you value.
Henrietta also has plenty of shopping and tends to have relatively lower property taxes. So, that may be something to consider as well.
My advice to anyone who is relocating to a new area that they don't know: rent first. Buying before you actually move to an area is a really big gamble. If you rent without a long-term commitment, you can take your time to find exactly the area you want to live in, and then find the right house in that area.
Tudor houses are very common in Brighton and in the Browncroft neighborhood in the city of Rochester. Brighton and Henrietta are both relatively diverse compared to other suburbs. They differ in that Henrietta trends much younger demographically and has more newer construction houses; with Brighton being older demographically with older houses (again, many of those being in the Tudor style that you desire). Rush-Henrietta and Brighton are both good school districts; with Brighton having the "higher reputation" of the two. Seeing that you say you like "city life" (keeping in mind that Rochester's "city life" pails in comparison to what you'll find in NYC of course) my suggestion would be Brighton as it is very close to a lot of the city-amenities in southeast Rochester.
I would definitely suggest Brighton; it seems like the best fit for you. It offers top-notch schools, plenty of interesting architecture including tudor, and is close-in to the city while remaining very safe and secure. There are a lot of apartment complexes as well as homes with costs ranging from the $130s all the way up. As for diversity, Henrietta or East Irondequoit would offer more racial diversity, but Brighton also has quite a bit of cultural and religious diversity. (For example, many international scholars from University of Rochester live in Brighton with their families. There is also a strong Jewish population in Brighton.) I would also say it has a good amount of racial and ethic diversity for the caliber school district, albeit not as diverse as you would see in the city.
I would definitely suggest Brighton; it seems like the best fit for you. It offers top-notch schools, plenty of interesting architecture including tudor, and is close-in to the city while remaining very safe and secure. There are a lot of apartment complexes as well as homes with costs ranging from the $130s all the way up. As for diversity, Henrietta or East Irondequoit would offer more racial diversity, but Brighton also has quite a bit of cultural and religious diversity. (For example, many international scholars from University of Rochester live in Brighton with their families. There is also a strong Jewish population in Brighton.) I would also say it has a good amount of racial and ethic diversity for the caliber school district, albeit not as diverse as you would see in the city.
Good points and I believe that Brighton has the highest percentage of Asian residents in the area too(around 12-13%). It also is a participant of the Urban-Suburban program, if I'm not mistaken. Urban-Suburban Home Page
Here's the list of schools that participate: MonroeBOCES1
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