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Looking into a bit more, I'm conceding that Rochester has better ed, primary and higher. I didn't realize U of R was that highly thought of / reputed. Stand by BHM having the better cityscape and food scene.
Food may depend the type of food. Birmingham of course will good Southern style food, but Rochester will have plenty of good Italian spots.
Interesting and good info... I don't know if Rochester gets any acclaim, but the relatively minimal chain restaurants and decent variety, allows people to check out a range of local spots: Restaurants - Rochester Wiki
Here are some restaurants you may like, for an example: Southern Cuisine - Rochester Wiki (People from Birmingham may like the 3rd restaurant on the list)
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 08-18-2015 at 12:33 PM..
Rochester.......except for maybe cost of living(probably better pay though) and sports.
You know you're my boy, but you're tripping with this....
Familiar, though not intimately (as in I've never lived in either), with both cities. Birmingham is a very strong and underrated city; Rochester is as well to a lesser extent. Essentially the same class/tier of cities, and I personally would move to either right now if the circumstances were right---although I have to say I'd probably go to Roc first, because I favor Upstate culture over Deep South. Where one would prefer essentially comes down to just that---which culture are you more adaptable to, because in all honesty, neither is a greater city than the other, although I would gather Birmingham seems 'slightly' higher up the totem pole...
If you're not huge into football, Birmingham probably isn't the place. Likewise, if you don't really care about hockey, you shouldn't go to Roc. Both cities have a large community around those two sports that isbimpossible to ignore. The differences in food have been noted, and I'd say they're even ground here as far as variety. Rochester does have far fewer chains. Everything else, while different in featured and local flavors, is a draw...
Rochester is by far the more urban city, so if that appeals to you, don't move to Birmingham. However, Birmingham does "feel" larger--again, I'd liken that to the fact it's the dominant city in its state. I will say, Birmingham probably also has better looking women, although there is a bit of a more diverse palette of women to see in Roc. Both downtowns are above average; there is worse (Memphis, Raleigh, etc).
Again, these are my opinions as just a visitor of both, never been a resident of either. I have extended family in Rochester (my uncle's wife's family), but all in all these two cities are fairly equal...
You know you're my boy, but you're tripping with this....
Familiar, though not intimately (as in I've never lived in either), with both cities. Birmingham is a very strong and underrated city; Rochester is as well to a lesser extent. Essentially the same class/tier of cities, and I personally would move to either right now if the circumstances were right---although I have to say I'd probably go to Roc first, because I favor Upstate culture over Deep South. Where one would prefer essentially comes down to just that---which culture are you more adaptable to, because in all honesty, neither is a greater city than the other, although I would gather Birmingham seems 'slightly' higher up the totem pole...
If you're not huge into football, Birmingham probably isn't the place. Likewise, if you don't really care about hockey, you shouldn't go to Roc. Both cities have a large community around those two sports that isbimpossible to ignore. The differences in food have been noted, and I'd say they're even ground here as far as variety. Rochester does have far fewer chains. Everything else, while different in featured and local flavors, is a draw...
Rochester is by far the more urban city, so if that appeals to you, don't move to Birmingham. However, Birmingham does "feel" larger--again, I'd liken that to the fact it's the dominant city in its state. I will say, Birmingham probably also has better looking women, although there is a bit of a more diverse palette of women to see in Roc. Both downtowns are above average; there is worse (Memphis, Raleigh, etc).
Again, these are my opinions as just a visitor of both, never been a resident of either. I have extended family in Rochester (my uncle's wife's family), but all in all these two cities are fairly equal...
Your post probably isn't much different than what I would say in terms of the categories you covered. What pushed it for me were the educational aspects, crime(comparatively speaking) and suburbs(in general). Nightlife I should have said may depend or is a question mark. With this said, this is a pretty good/even comparison given the size/population of the cities and metro areas and that both are underrated.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 08-18-2015 at 01:14 PM..
Your post probably isn't much different than what I would say in terms of the categories you covered. What pushed it for me was the educational aspect and crime(comparatively speaking). Nightlife I should have said may depend or is a question mark. With this said, this is a pretty good/even comparison given the size/population of the cities and metro areas.
Yeah I meant to cover crime and the schools. Birmingham has a higher violent crime rate, but you and I know Rochester ain't no picnic, so to me their a draw. I never felt afraid in either; there are some bombed out looking hoods in Birmingham, though, a few more than in Roc. Most of Rochester is more visually and aesthetically pleasing. Rochester's crime is centered on a handful of bad neighborhoods, while Birmingham's is more spread throughout the city, but those hoods in Roc aren't any "safer" than the ones in Birmingham....
Neither city is worth praising its public schools. Suburban living/suburban schools, again I call draw, because Roc has the best suburbs in Upstate NY and PA outside of Philly. Birmingham has some of the best suburbs in the South. We're pretty much in agreement here...
Yeah I meant to cover crime and the schools. Birmingham has a higher violent crime rate, but you and I know Rochester ain't no picnic, so to me their a draw. I never felt afraid in either; there are some bombed out looking hoods in Birmingham, though, a few more than in Roc. Most of Rochester is more visually and aesthetically pleasing. Rochester's crime is centered on a handful of bad neighborhoods, while Birmingham's is more spread throughout the city, but those hoods in Roc aren't any "safer" than the ones in Birmingham....
Neither city is worth praising its public schools. Suburban living/suburban schools, again I call draw, because Roc has the best suburbs in Upstate NY and PA outside of Philly. Birmingham has some of the best suburbs in the South. We're pretty much in agreement here...
Yeah, that's why I said comparatively speaking in terms of crime.
I only give the edge in education in terms of K-12 is due to real/perceived standards on a state level and in terms of higher education due to what lammius posted in terms of standards. From what I see of Birmingham, if probably go with suburban areas like Hoover or Homewood. In Rochester, I'd probably go with West Irondequoit, Rush-Henrietta, Brighton and maybe a few others. I'm not sure about private schools, but there are quite a few in Rochester that have a decent degree of cultural diversity(Bishop Kearney, Aquinas, Northstar Christian, Finney, etc). Like I've mentioned in some other threads, sports may give an idea of demographics, like this post if you click on the Rochester related listings: https://www.city-data.com/forum/40466519-post121.html
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 08-18-2015 at 02:12 PM..
I see a lot of wide open spaces in BHAM vs ROCH...
On schedule, the insecure Atlantan
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