Quality of life in Rochester? (Greece, Irondequoit: apartment complexes, for rent, houses)
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My husband and I are considering a move from the west coast. He is from Ithaca, but has been out here for over 20 years. I'm from here (Pacific Northwest). The main draw to Rochester specifically is a Masters Program I'm interested in (not offered many places). We make well over $80k per year now, but the Portland,OR metro area is insanely expensive (single family homes rent for over $2k and entry level homes under $350k in safe neighborhoods are non-existent). We can't afford to save, go on vacation, etc- we pay bills and that's it.
We have 3 kids, so schools are important to us- so is safety, availability of reasonably priced housing, and jobs. I would be a student, my husband can work in the restaurant business (exec chef/general manager level) or computers. Our 14 year old has special needs, so special Ed and services are important to us as well.
Is it reasonable for a family of 5 to have a decent quality of life for somewhere in the $40-60k per year income range? We are ok with renting, when I finish school our income will go back up significantly (my earning potential will double what it is now). What I mean by quality of life- is that we can pay rent, eat, and take the occasional weekend trip to the coast or something.
eastern Suburbs have great schools. Housing is cheap even in great districts. (Such as Pittsfield). everything is close here, crossing the metro is like 18 miles from Farms south of town to Lake Ontario. Median housing cost is under 150k.
The city itself offers anything you would want (even beaches) besides pro sports, but every conceivable minor league plays in Rochester.
COL is low so 40-60k a year will get you along fine.
I agree with btownboss4, you should definitely be able to live fairly well on that salary. For renting and being in a great school district, I would look at Brighton or Fairport. Brighton especially has a fantastic school. Rochester is also very family friendly. There are many public parks, great places for water activities and to walk, farms all over the place that have family events, and many family attractions.
I lived in a suburb of Rochester (Fairport) for over 10 years. I also attended high school and college there. There is no such suburb called Pittsfield in Rochester that the guy above said The town has a lot to offer, museums, theatres, sports, many outdoor activities, such camping, hiking, fishing. There really many many things that you can do if you are into outdoors. The winters are not fun, as it gets a lot of snow. But the municipalities stay on top of it with cleaning. You really get the 4 distinct seasons out there.
40k might be a little tight with 3 kids, but close to 60k should be ok. The southern and eastern suburbs are the more affluent areas, are very safe and the schools are very good. For example, Pittsford Mendon and Brighton High are consistently rates very high in national averages. On the east side look into Fairport, Penfield, Webster (2 high schools in Webster, both good). On the south side look into Pittsford (2 high schools in Pittsford, both very good) and Brighton. On the southwest look into Henrietta. Henrietta is very large, more commercial, but is a cheaper area. I'd suggest that you stay away from the city of Rochester, Gates, Irondequoit (even though East-Irondequoit is fine) and Greece. The northern parts of Greece are safe and schools seem to be fine, but it is so damn far away.
I lived in a suburb of Rochester (Fairport) for over 10 years. I also attended high school and college there. There is no such suburb called Pittsfield in Rochester that the guy above said The town has a lot to offer, museums, theatres, sports, many outdoor activities, such camping, hiking, fishing. There really many many things that you can do if you are into outdoors. The winters are not fun, as it gets a lot of snow. But the municipalities stay on top of it with cleaning. You really get the 4 distinct seasons out there.
40k might be a little tight with 3 kids, but close to 60k should be ok. The southern and eastern suburbs are the more affluent areas, are very safe and the schools are very good. For example, Pittsford Mendon and Brighton High are consistently rates very high in national averages. On the east side look into Fairport, Penfield, Webster (2 high schools in Webster, both good). On the south side look into Pittsford (2 high schools in Pittsford, both very good) and Brighton. On the southwest look into Henrietta. Henrietta is very large, more commercial, but is a cheaper area. I'd suggest that you stay away from the city of Rochester, Gates, Irondequoit (even though East-Irondequoit is fine) and Greece. The northern parts of Greece are safe and schools seem to be fine, but it is so damn far away.
Where will you be going to school?
Ya I guess I just combined Pittsford and Penfield.
I agree with btownboss4, you should definitely be able to live fairly well on that salary. For renting and being in a great school district, I would look at Brighton or Fairport. Brighton especially has a fantastic school. Rochester is also very family friendly. There are many public parks, great places for water activities and to walk, farms all over the place that have family events, and many family attractions.
Came to mind immediately also due to its proximity to area colleges/universities, hospitals and the SE Quadrant of the city. It also has some degree of walkability for a suburb that doesn't have a village within the town.
Thank you for the replies! I would be attending U of R.
Can someone explain the village concept to me? Things are much different out here I guess. We have small towns with downtown business districts and houses on smaller lots surrounding- and our cities have distinct neighborhoods with the same. Is that what you would consider a village? My husband has never explained any of this to me, at least not in a way that I could grasp!
Thank you for the replies! I would be attending U of R.
Can someone explain the village concept to me? Things are much different out here I guess. We have small towns with downtown business districts and houses on smaller lots surrounding- and our cities have distinct neighborhoods with the same. Is that what you would consider a village? My husband has never explained any of this to me, at least not in a way that I could grasp!
Will you be driving? I'd probabely look into Brighton or Henrietta, as you will be very close to UR. Pittsford, Fairport and Penfield will be 15-30 min ride. Do some research on Henrietta schools though, as I am not sure how they stack up against the others that I mentioned. Henrietta is going to be cheaper and you will be very close to shopping areas, etc. Henrietta houses two colleges, RIT and MCC, and UR is practically on the border, so you may see a lot of college kids in the apartment complexes close to schools.
The city of Rochester is surrounded by different towns (I.e. Henrietta, Pittsford, etc). Very often when one says village of Pittsford, they refer to the town center of Pittsford. In a way, these town centers (villages) are business centers, but the businesses are small family owned shops, pharmacy chains, small branch of a bank, etc. There are sidewalks to walk around. But be aware, outside of these centers, there are usually no sidewalks and people just get around using a car.
Gotcha. Thanks for the explanation! My husband and I will both be driving, so I'm not concerned about walk ability to amenities. We are in our mid-30's and are used to being homeowners, so ideally we would like to avoid college housing. We are ok with a commute of up to 30 minutes. We may consider buying after looking at prices!
Either Brighton or Henrietta should work out great for you it sounds like then. But are very close to the UofR with Brighton being the closest. Only about a 5 minute drive to the campus. If you rent starting with Brighton might be a good choice. If you stay in the area after graduating, I would look in Henrietta for a home. It has relatively low taxes for the area and there are many new affordable builds there, along with very affordable 70-90's homes.
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The town has a lot to offer, museums, theatres, sports, many outdoor activities, such camping, hiking, fishing. There really many many things that you can do if you are into outdoors. The winters are not fun, as it gets a lot of snow. But the municipalities stay on top of it with cleaning. You really get the 4 distinct seasons out there.
