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Thank you for this great tip. I didn't even look into this region before! I just checked out their school system and it ranks really high! My hubby will be in Rochester downtown area so the commute would be just fine. I'll definitely look into this area more. You are right that Pittsford seems to be the most expensive place in the whole region of Rochester. I checked out Gate's real estate and it seems like the houses there are at least 50000 dollars cheaper. Thank you for the advice.
Carlabunga is correct. There are a lot of top notch schools all around Rochester, not just Pittsford. If your husband is working downtown, you could pretty much move anywhere in the Greater Rochester area and he could be to work in 20-30 minutes. Yes there is some sort of presitge with having a 'Pittsford' zip code but if you can get the same sized house/lot for thousands less and it be in a decent school district why not consider it.
Leave your options open...don't just concentrate on one zip code.
I would stick with either Pittsford or Fairport/Perinton...but I grew up in that area also, so I'm very biased that way. Coming from LA, on the really plus side, there is very little traffic but you will be in for a huge culture shock.
I also like Henrietta, just because there is pretty much everything that you need there and the schools are still good. Brighton, which is nice and very much old money, is just north of Henrietta and has good schools too.
West Irondequoit schools are good and is somewhat of an old money area too.
If you want diverse suburbs, look at the Western suburbs like Greece and the Gates Chili area. Henrietta and Brighton are as well. Irondequoit is too, but it seems like West Irondequoit has a better rep. than East Irondequoit.
I will say that the Rochester area has diversity in pretty much all of it's suburbs to a varying degree. All of the schools are pretty much good, for the most part too.
Hi,
I have lived in Gates which is on the west side of town for 14 years and love it. The school system is wonderful, i have a 13 year old girl and an 11 year old boy who are both high honor roll. Their sports programs are great. It is a smaller district so the class sizes range around 18 to a classroom. As far as Pittsford goes, if you have a lot of money, go for it. It is the most expensive area in Rochester. Other areas for education are just as good and don't cost as much. Penfield is a good area, but the commute is terrible. Gates is right off of 490 and 390 with easy access to Sams clubs, BJ's, 2 malls and many grocery stores. Unless your husbands work is on the east side, don't be afraid to check out all your options. You can go on homesteadnet.com for viewing houses.
I agree. The west side is very underrated and much more affordable. We settled in Ogden and Spencerport schools, which are very good, as are Churchville-Chili and Hilton as well on this side of the city. The only down side is that most of the really high end stores are on the east side, as most of the people I work with live over there because of the reputation. However, after moving to the west, I don't think I'll ever move back to the east side of the city. Now if they would just finish the construction on 490...
Thank you guys so much for these inputs! I really appreciate this. Sounds like there is a east-side/ west-side dichotomy/mentality to the city. What I may end up doing is renting first before I buy a home and scout out these different areas. I saw that Henrietta schools don't rank as highly as the Gates Chili schools, but still are pretty good.
Quote:
Originally Posted by loveautumn
Coming from LA, on the really plus side, there is very little traffic but you will be in for a huge culture shock.
Really? I just assumed that the diversity is similar to LA because it's New York.
Rochester is NOTHING like New York City. Common misconception from people of other areas of the country. Rochester is about 8 hours from NYC and might as well be 800 lightyears. We are part of the same state only by government drawn borders that are 300 years old. We are fairly diverse for Upstate NY; but Upstate NY in general is overwhelmingly white. There are very few hispanics here so I can't imagine the diversity being similar to that of LA at all; but many white people still hold their ethnic identiy (i.e. Italians, Polish, even German). East Rochester, Gates, Irondeqouit and many areas of Greece have very large Italian-American populations, many of the east side suburbs have strong Irish roots, Brighton has a large Jewish population, Henrietta has a large asian and east indian populaiton.
Rochester is NOTHING like New York City. Common misconception from people of other areas of the country. Rochester is about 8 hours from NYC and might as well be 800 lightyears. We are part of the same state only by government drawn borders that are 300 years old. We are fairly diverse for Upstate NY; but Upstate NY in general is overwhelmingly white. There are very few hispanics here so I can't imagine the diversity being similar to that of LA at all; but many white people still hold their ethnic identiy (i.e. Italians, Polish, even German). East Rochester, Gates, Irondeqouit and many areas of Greece have very large Italian-American populations, many of the east side suburbs have strong Irish roots, Brighton has a large Jewish population, Henrietta has a large asian and east indian populaiton.
Thank you for clearing up my misconception. I should know better than to ball up New York (or any state for that matter) like that. I've never lived on the East coast before though I haved lived on the West and Midwest. Thanks, I'minformed2, for your insight into the different populations in the different areas. Does Rochester have a Midwestern feel to it then?
Thank you for clearing up my misconception. I should know better than to ball up New York (or any state for that matter) like that. I've never lived on the East coast before though I haved lived on the West and Midwest. Thanks, I'minformed2, for your insight into the different populations in the different areas. Does Rochester have a Midwestern feel to it then?
I would say that Rochester has a more Midwestern feel than a NYC feel. I am sure most would agree with that.
No problem, happens all the time! lol. Well that's a debate going on in the Buffalo forum; but I would have to say yes, Rochester probably has more in common with other cities in the midwest/ great lakes than the Northeast; eventhough being part of NYS we are technically the "northeast". Rochester is more similar to Cleveland and Milwaukee than it is to Boston, NYC, or Philadelphia. Heavy German influence, more single-family homes in the city (vs. mostly apartments or rowhouses in the central cities on the east coast). I would call Rochester and Buffalo "Great Lakes" cities. Not really "midwestern" like Iowa or Nebraska are midwestern, but more similar to other midwestern cities on the great lakes than like the cities in the BosWash corridor.
Yea, don't expect the diversity of NYC. Nothing like it. Don't expect the midwest either. The city is more diverse than many midwesten cities having a larger hispanic population (nothing compared to what you'd be used to in LA though). More of an Italian influence. Expect a northeast vibe (excluding NYC).
Lots of northeastern cities have more of an Italian vibe to them.
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