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Aorre, I am just curious about your observations of the Fairport/Pittsford area. I am not from Roch, but have family there, and have my own ideas/observations about the attitude you mentioned. If you don't feel comfortable posting publicly, you could send me a private message. We are considering moving there, and this is actually a big concern for me.... Thanks!
Maybe the Western suburbs or places like Henrietta or Irondequoit will be more of what you are looking for in terms of "attitudes".
Just dont move to florida. I currently live here and grocerys are way more expensive, the cost of living is catching up to NY and there are way more hidden taxes!
Oh, no! Definitely not moving there. It's been a fun place to visit, but too warm for my taste. I'd prefer a colder state with a low cost of living, perhaps in the midwest.
Marmom: I don't really know what to say, so I'll go ahead and give you my biased answer. My parents sent me to different schools in Rochester, and I liked Fairport schools the best. In fact, that's the only reason to move to the Fairport/Pittsford area. If you have a child and want laudable public education for them, choose this area. If not, stay away. I know plenty of adults who are now leaving because their kids have graduated. There are many reasons for this! Ask around.
What else can I say? The rolling hills are beautiful and there are so many hiking trails and outdoor activities to engage in. The Village of Fairport looks like something out of a movie. In my backyard I always see deer, rabbits, ground hogs, and hear birds chirping, etc. It's very family friendly but the people here suck. Fairpot (yes, I mean Fairpot) has its share of pretention but Pittsford wins in that category. We never make it in the news for crime, because this has to be portrayed as an idyllic place to live, even though there are plenty of drug addicts, small thefts, alcoholics, and property crimes. Not as violent as the city area from my experience. Keeping up with Mr and Mrs Jones gets old pretty quick if you ask me.
Housing in Fairport is still affordable even though Upstate New York's property taxes are high. One of the main draws is Fairport Electric. Pittsford is more expensive and has RG&E. In either case, there is a lot of old money and nosy neighbors. Most of the adults I've met are volunteers, housewives, trust fundees, retirees, and small business owners, but there are plenty of normal working class.
The vibe I get from these people is that unless you're white and know the secret password, or at least related to someone who knows the password, it will be hard to fit in. People here are not interested in getting to know you, but rather to learn about you from others behind your back. They look down their noses at newcomers or people who don't adequately present themselves as part of the ideal suburban family portrait. They are royalty, as far as they're concerned. I've met several people who just don't like black people and are openly racist. If you are white, you'll do fine.
I would strongly advise against opening any small business here, unless you have a lot of connections and don't mind donating to charities you don't care about, or worse, blindly jumping through hoops and getting hazed without any guarantee of being accepted afterwards.
Was it worth all of this for some beautiful scenery and relatively low crime? No, not really. In my opinion, there are plenty of beautiful places in America with a lower cost of living and lower tax burden, meaning that you can save money and do the things you love more often. NYS wants all your profits...
Just make sure you rent for a while before you buy - that's the best advice I can give you. But you have family here, so that should make things easier. I'll take some pictures of the Fairport/Pittsford/Victor/Macedon areas this weekend. Best of luck to you no matter where you end up
Ugh, unions. This is the main reason I'm planning to move, preferrably to a red state, or a state with much lower taxes so more money stays in my pockets which would allow me to travel more. I think a lot of young people come back to visit family, at least from my observations. I'm also quite sick of the attitudes of people I've met in the Fairport/Pittsford area in the last few years...
The good news is that Motts seems to be telling their greedy union strikers to %$#@ off. Hopefully other companies and public entities will follow suit.
Oh, no! Definitely not moving there. It's been a fun place to visit, but too warm for my taste. I'd prefer a colder state with a low cost of living, perhaps in the midwest.
Marmom: I don't really know what to say, so I'll go ahead and give you my biased answer. My parents sent me to different schools in Rochester, and I liked Fairport schools the best. In fact, that's the only reason to move to the Fairport/Pittsford area. If you have a child and want laudable public education for them, choose this area. If not, stay away. I know plenty of adults who are now leaving because their kids have graduated. There are many reasons for this! Ask around.
What else can I say? The rolling hills are beautiful and there are so many hiking trails and outdoor activities to engage in. The Village of Fairport looks like something out of a movie. In my backyard I always see deer, rabbits, ground hogs, and hear birds chirping, etc. It's very family friendly but the people here suck. Fairpot (yes, I mean Fairpot) has its share of pretention but Pittsford wins in that category. We never make it in the news for crime, because this has to be portrayed as an idyllic place to live, even though there are plenty of drug addicts, small thefts, alcoholics, and property crimes. Not as violent as the city area from my experience. Keeping up with Mr and Mrs Jones gets old pretty quick if you ask me.
Housing in Fairport is still affordable even though Upstate New York's property taxes are high. One of the main draws is Fairport Electric. Pittsford is more expensive and has RG&E. In either case, there is a lot of old money and nosy neighbors. Most of the adults I've met are volunteers, housewives, trust fundees, retirees, and small business owners, but there are plenty of normal working class.
The vibe I get from these people is that unless you're white and know the secret password, or at least related to someone who knows the password, it will be hard to fit in. People here are not interested in getting to know you, but rather to learn about you from others behind your back. They look down their noses at newcomers or people who don't adequately present themselves as part of the ideal suburban family portrait. They are royalty, as far as they're concerned. I've met several people who just don't like black people and are openly racist. If you are white, you'll do fine.
I would strongly advise against opening any small business here, unless you have a lot of connections and don't mind donating to charities you don't care about, or worse, blindly jumping through hoops and getting hazed without any guarantee of being accepted afterwards.
Was it worth all of this for some beautiful scenery and relatively low crime? No, not really. In my opinion, there are plenty of beautiful places in America with a lower cost of living and lower tax burden, meaning that you can save money and do the things you love more often. NYS wants all your profits...
Just make sure you rent for a while before you buy - that's the best advice I can give you. But you have family here, so that should make things easier. I'll take some pictures of the Fairport/Pittsford/Victor/Macedon areas this weekend. Best of luck to you no matter where you end up
Thank you so much for your candid response, this really helps and actually validates some of my own observations. I have seen the open racism of which you speak, as well as the sort of exclusive attitude. Also the "pittsford/fairport are the greatest places on the planet no matter what - better than anywhere else - and if you don't agree then you are seriously flawed."
Now I know some people on this forum will be offended by this post, but please understand that it is an opinion, not a personal affront. I actually like the Rochester area very much, otherwise wouldn't be considering moving there. But like every place, we have to weigh the pros and cons and decide what is the best match for us.
I'm sorry ckh, I don't understand what this means. I have been to henrietta, but only to visit some family in a nursing home. Can you please clarify?
Hah, in Henrietta you're dealing with weirdos instead of Pittsford snobs (Scott Hetsko lives in Henrietta). I think it's easier to make friends in Henrietta. Irondequoit to me is more run-down and more like the city. I'm actually going to the west side this weekend to visit some of my friends who don't care how much I make or what I do for a living.
Measly $30M? It was way more than that. I doubt city taxpayers are happy with having to foot the bill for a $40M boat which is in the Mediterranean, now. The terminal, parking lots, and improvements to lower Lake Ave. cost north of $100M, alone.
If the state paid for the ship? So, taxpayers in Buffalo and elsewhere should have footed the bill for the thing? If the state had run the show things would have turned out worse, not better, as they would have run the thing even if it was losing money, and it would have been owned by one of NY's 800+ public/private "authorities", which are all union.
A low-cost, no frills ferry would have made more sense, but Rochester got a Cadillac ferry, when it's a Caprice Classic town.
Upstate would be smart to divorce itself from NYC and LI, thus creating a separate state. One where public employees are not allowed to organize.
Yes, a measily $30 million (approx). $30 million is not a lot of money, governmentally speaking. No, $100 million wasn't spent on the terminal and parking lots. If you include the new O'rouke bridge, than yes, but that was totally unrelated and a 20 year delayed project. Also, I'm sure Buffalo would be happy to help pay for our $30 million ferry, while they get $1 billion to make their Toronto connection. Actually, we would need 2 ferries to do it properly.
BTW, you totaly missed my point of Rochester having a master plan. You also focus on the size and quality of the boat, thereby proving my point that no-one ever takes the time to examine how connecting to Toronto would benefit Rochester (and Toronto). Everyone focuses on the boat, as if they saw it as a carnival ride.
I'm curious, though. You live in s. carolina, yet comment about Rochester and upstate daily. What's up with that?
OK, so back to answering the question asked by the OP:
Youth will move to where there is opportunity and more specifically, job opportunities. In a faltering economic region such as Rochester those opportunities are scarce. Rochester needs to try harder to encourage corporations, both foreign and domestic, to invest in the area. America on the whole is on the verge of a major technological revolution in clean energies. Rochester needs to fight tooth and nail to get in on this action. It can do so by lowering taxes. Is there any reason Rochester cannot transform itself from the film capital of the world into the solar panel capital of the world? What about wind turbines? Is it not usually blustery out on Lake Ontario? Rochester absolutely has the potential to become the greenest city in the world. Both environmentally and economically speaking.
Hah, in Henrietta you're dealing with weirdos instead of Pittsford snobs (Scott Hetsko lives in Henrietta). I think it's easier to make friends in Henrietta. Irondequoit to me is more run-down and more like the city. I'm actually going to the west side this weekend to visit some of my friends who don't care how much I make or what I do for a living.
Stop telling people about the west side. Last thing we want is the east side people moving in Actually, there are some neighborhoods here in the west side that are just as obnoxious (pretentious, keep up with the "Joneses", clique-y) as the "P" town...especially in the newer subdivisions.
I'm curious, though. You live in s. carolina, yet comment about Rochester and upstate daily. What's up with that?
Great question, as I forgot to include why I commented on this thread. There's a lot of misinformation, here, such as the meme that "Rochester people are just too dumb/conservative/etc., have their heads in the sand", etc., to "accept" a fast ferry, or closer connection to Toronto. That's just more pap like one often finds in the pages of the awful newspaper in that town.
If Rochester, and the rest of Upstate, can't right their ships, then there are more pressing issues than "forging more ties with Toronto", or whatever. I find it hilarious that people still think the business model the ferry was built around would have worked, "if only those ignorant/stupid/head in the sand Rochetarians would have supported it", meme (those are the typical remarks of the minority of people who still think a ferry has anything to do with economic development).
As for my comments here, I find it interesting that Page 1 of the City-Data Rochester Area part of this site has old threads on it, some going back 4 years, and nothing much in the way of new threads. Must be there aren't a lot of internet-savvy people seeking to relocate to Rochester (the Greenville thread's fresh posts usually fill a page on any given day, even as bad as the economy is right now).
Like I said, there's a lot of false/misinformation here, at times. Just wanted to clarify about the ferry situation to outsiders so folks don't get the wrong idea about it.
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Actually, there are some neighborhoods here in the west side that are just as obnoxious (pretentious, keep up with the "Joneses", clique-y) as the "P" town...especially in the newer subdivisions.
