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My family and I moved to Rochester in 2010. It's safe to say that I've become pretty enamored with everything that the region represents. As such, I just started a rudimentary (and admittedly amateur) blog with the goal of highlighting in an objective/statistical manner why Rochester is a hidden gem.
Thank you for taking a chance on our wonderful city, I hate the perception it gets from the outside world. Just wondering, in your about me section you say "Because our research had revealed a surprising phenomenon.", how exactly did you learn more about Rochester? Visiting, reading about it? Our city really needs to do a better job selling itself, but the attitude of many people living here is also a problem.
We "chose" to settle in Pittsford. We have school age children, and we didn't want to experiment with their education. That said, we make every possible effort to spend time and money within city limits.
In terms of research, believe it or not we used Wikipedia, RocWiki, and the D&C (online.) This forum was also quite helpful. We visited once and saw Lake Ontario, the Public Market, and Seneca Lake. I completely agree that the local attitude can be a problem. The down-to-earth feel is nice, but the negativity is an issue. On the other hand, almost everyone we have met from New York City, Toronto, D.C., etc. note the beauty of living here.
I think Rochester has the bones and the tools to aim high! There is absolutely zero reason we can't be a premier mid-sized destination.
We "chose" to settle in Pittsford. We have school age children, and we didn't want to experiment with their education. That said, we make every possible effort to spend time and money within city limits.
In terms of research, believe it or not we used Wikipedia, RocWiki, and the D&C (online.) This forum was also quite helpful. We visited once and saw Lake Ontario, the Public Market, and Seneca Lake. I completely agree that the local attitude can be a problem. The down-to-earth feel is nice, but the negativity is an issue. On the other hand, almost everyone we have met from New York City, Toronto, D.C., etc. note the beauty of living here.
I think Rochester has the bones and the tools to aim high! There is absolutely zero reason we can't be a premier mid-sized destination.
Besides schools, was there anything else that made Pittsford stand out in comparison to other communities?
I think Rochester has the bones and the tools to aim high! There is absolutely zero reason we can't be a premier mid-sized destination.
There's just something about the ROC isn't there? There are so many in this city that have the same outlook and attitude as you. I can't put my finger exactly on what it is about the city, but once a person is willing to get past the initial beliefs about the city, and integrates in, it ends up sucking you in. We definitely have our haters that leave, but even for most who do leave, they still have fantastic things to say about the town. It might be because of the history we have here with innovators and human rights, being perhaps the first "boomtown" in early American, and because of that I think we tend to start channel our historical citizens!
But yes, I think Rochester just has so much potential too, and even from a tourist perspective too. We have the Strong musuem downtown that attracts 600,000 people a year. So we already have a world class family destination. I think we need an attraction that capitalizes more on that and gets families to stay a few more days. Maybe with the inner loop transformation we can get a developer who wants build another attraction there. And now with the innovation district, and more people wanting to work downtown, it should even get more busy. I think those two things will be catalysts for the next wave. If people visit, see a vibrant downtown, they'll want to live and work here.
Besides schools, was there anything else that made Pittsford stand out in comparison to other communities?
To be honest, not much. Schools are just huge for us. A couple other minor factors might have been:
1. Being of Indian origin (although as American as American gets), we didn't want our kids to feel "different"
2. Newer houses are nice because I barely know how to change a light bulb
3. Not knowing anyone here prior to moving, it was nice to be around other transplants
Pittsford can be a bit bland. It's not socioeconomically diverse. It's also not particularly artistic or creative. I still have to look at my mailbox number to make sure I'm pulling into the right driveway. It does serve its purpose though for now.
I don't think anyone can blame you for wanting to get your kids in the Pittsford school system. Downtown living will always be there down the road when your kids are done with school should you want to explore that route, if anything most of us believe your options will be even better in the future.
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