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I don't think some random guy who hasn't spent time in the area blogging has much bearing on the areas image abroad.. Seems like most of the comments from people on that site are well traveled and disagree with that guy.
You can't really disagree with the first part of his description all the way up through the "living in the past" statement. He hit the nail on the head with that part. Being overrun by chains could be possibly arguable, I don't really care so I don't know. The last part from the fat people comment to the sideburns comment are more laughable than anything.
We're not sprawling, if you leave Monroe county its farmland
We're not architecturally bland, take a look at the B+L or Kodak tower
We are economically depressed, but it's expected to rebound within 5 years
We're not really living in the past, health care it taking over as the top industry
We're not overrun by corporate chain stores, have you ever been to Northern VA?
We're not full of schlubby fat people, we ranked 73 compared to Buffalo's 14.
There are not older cars everywhere, definately not in the suburbs.
There are not a lot of gun stores around, not compared to the south.
We're not yahoos with sideburns, most men I know are clean cut with no facial hair.
The blogger's description of Rochester is either plainly false or wildly exaggerated where it's not. The guy's ex-wfe is from Fairport so it seems he has an axe to grind. This is obvious where he ends up defending Cleveland in one of his subsequent posts!
However, what may have some value here is acknowledging that the perception of Rochester reflected in the blog, cliche as it is, is held by a not insubstantial number of people outside of western New York and it is this perception that needs to be countered by effective marketing of the city and region, which in fact has a lot to offer both in terms of emerging technologies (especially in the optics and healthcare arenas) and in terms of natural, scenic beauty (fingerlakes, Bristol hills, etc).
Last edited by doggz; 09-03-2010 at 07:38 AM..
Reason: unfinished
Kodak Tower is extremely outdated and beyond it's time. The B&L tower is the only thing downtown has going for it. The Xerox tower is boring, the Chase tower is way too retro and 70's-80's-ish, the HSBC tower is a yawner, the Midtown tower is atrocious (at least that's coming down), and the rest of the structures in the city with the exception of the new ESL building and a handful of other smaller buildings are old, dirty, and outdated. And I don't want to hear "go down Park Ave" because one small area of older mansions (that are mostly now apartments anyways) doesn't count for $hit.
We are living in the past, just because we have a few good hospitals and some health insurance companies here does NOT mean that the city is moving forward with technology. If it were, RIT grads wouldn't be moving out of the area after finishing their education to find jobs they just spent a butt ton of money on a degree to get.
When it comes to Rochester, the glass is half empty, not half full.
Rochester DOES have one of the better collections of well-preserved victorian houses in the country judging by the number of preservation districts there are. These are found not only in Park Ave but in the 19th Ward and in the southwedge as well. This stock is also ridiculously cheap by national standards.
Rochester also DOES clearly have the human capital to become a very serious technology corridor, a la Austin, research triangle and silicon valley. This is the most important ingredient. The area also has sufficient wealth to supply a good deal of angel as well as deeper venture level investing in start-up technology companies. The missing ingredient is self-confidence; the belief that nothing good will come out of here.
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