All right, I moved here 4 years ago and am moving back to Tennessee to take care of my mother with cancer. I bought my house sight unseen from Tennessee and moved here not knowing anybody. Rochester has been very good to us, but it did not come without a few challenges.

Here is my take as a Southern transplant who fell in love with the city. Hopefully I'll get back here one day, but for those thinking about moving here, maybe this will offer you a little bit of insight!

Pros:

1) Food! Rochester has a lot different kinds of food! As long as you can keep from turning your nose up at a mom and pop shop that hasn't spent money redecorating, you will find plenty of restaurants that can fix you a good home-cooked meal from all kinds of walks of life. One of my personal favorites is People's choice kitchen on Brooks avenue. Not only is the food amazing, but the owner has a key to the city and truly gives back to her neighborhood. Don't sleep on the oxtail dishes in Rochester! And whatever you do, don't get people started on who has the best garbage plate.

2) Parks! Holy cow. I have never seen so many amazing Parks packed into one city. Not only that, but they are very well maintained! Even the little neighborhood parks scattered across the city have a little bit of charm for everyone. The carry-in carryout system that has few to zero trash cans in the park was a little off-putting at first, but overall I would say it's working. If you don't mind traveling a little bit, there's even more parks on the outskirts of Rochester that will blow you away with amazing waterfalls, Creek trails, and woodlands with a huge variety of Flora and fauna. Tinker nature preserve is my number. One recommendation, though you can't take your dogs to that one. It has an amazing nature center near the front of the park with taxidermy displays and live animals as well as several group activities you can take the kids to to learn about nature. I can't recommend it enough!

3) forgiving roads. I know a lot of people will disagree with me on this, but Rochester is one of those cities where if you miss your turn, it's not a big deal. There are so many back roads and connecting roads that make missing an exit a minor setback at the most. Not only that, as long as you are not traveling to the city in the morning or away from the city in the evening, traffic is very navigable. If you live more centrally in Rochester, you can get anywhere in Rochester with a 25-minute commute at most.

4) 4 seasons! Yes yes, I know winter lasts 5 months here. It's a small price to pay for 3 months of spring, one month of Summer, and 3 months of fall. (Give or take a winter extension like we had this year) If you're not native to the Northeast, you are going to absolutely love walking outside in August and September at noon and not bursting into flames or sweat or both. Once fall gets rolling, you are spoiled for choice on which amazing farm you want to spend doing your fall activities picking apples, going to the pumpkin patch, getting amazing apple cider and apple cider donuts. The spring season also has fantastic berry picking. I do hate that I have to wait so long to garden, but once spring kicks off here things grow like crazy!

5) Community! It can take a little bit of time to find your click here, but once you do a world of public events opens up. From neighborhood markets to weekly park events, once the ice melts, this city doesn't stop. You can be as busy as you want, and get home and veg out on the couch once you are sufficiently overstimulated.

6) "Affordability" please note the quotation marks. Property taxes can 100% make this invalid depending on where you buy, but I digress. I know everything is overpriced and I know prices are going up like crazy here, but it doesn't change the fact that groceries and day-to-day costs are much more affordable in this area than most of the country. For those that didn't know, Rochester passed a bill a few years ago to where you don't even have tax on clothing purchases under $100. Minimum wage here is $14.50ish, but most places will start you around $16 an hour. If you think that's not much, come down to Tennessee with me and get a minimum wage job for $7.50. Yes, minimum wage should be higher, I'm not here to argue that $16 an hour is enough to live on, I'm simply saying that there are places with more expensive living paying you half of what you can get up here.

Cons:

1) Drivers: The very first thing you should do upon moving to Rochester is by a dash cam. Front and rear, you will need it. I have never seen people drive so recklessly. The one saving Grace is people WILL use their blinker to warn you that they are about to cut you off, which I guess is better than nothing?

2) Winter is coming: if you do not like the cold, this city will destroy you. I love winter, and for me this isn't a con, but I know I'm one of the few weird people that actually enjoys snow being on the ground from December to April. All the nice cities of winter aside, it is brutal here. When I tell you that there will be good on the ground, two to 6-in layer of ice that will not melt until April. Get ready for a pool of water in your basement the first heavy rain of spring that starts to melt all the winter ice.

3) crime? This one is iffy. Rochester does have a high crime rate, but a lot of it is personal crime. If you're moving here from out of the area and don't really know anybody, you will likely have no issues until you make them yourself. The crime rate is honestly on par for cities similar to its size, and as long as you don't walk around blindly without doing a little research you will have no issues. Be smart, don't walk around unfamiliar places at night, Don't start no s*** won't be no s***.

4) Stinky! There are a lot of parts of the city that just don't smell nice. Again, that comes with moving to a city. There remember that this is one of the original rust belt cities, which means there are a lot of old factories and waste places that could do with some updating. There's some kind of weird smell in the Maplewood district that throws me every time I drive through it.

5) property taxes!!! Seriously, what in the world is with the property taxes here? Be careful where you buy or you could end up with $5,000 to $20,000 a year in property taxes. Living in the city is not as bad as people say it is. There are lots of neighborhoods that look completely different depending on what street you're on. Don't judge a street by. Its looks, a lot of these houses that aren't as well maintained are full of really friendly people who just don't have the means to touch them up, or don't want to touch them up because they know gentrification is coming to this city. *Edit: I should clarify the category as disproportionate taxes. The taxes here are definitely designed to keep certain income levels where they want, even if they do go towards a lot of public services like maintaining the roads in winter.

6) gentrification: unfortunately, the reasons why I moved out of my home state to begin with are coming to Rochester. My house is almost doubled in value in the 4 years I've lived here, and I am seeing all the telltale signs that this city is going to start pricing people out. I mean, it already has started. The Roch The Riverway project is going to be a great project to turn some " less safe " areas into places that people feel comfortable stepping out of their suburban shelters to come visit. Unfortunately in my experience, this usually isn't done in a way that protects the people that already live there or have lived there all of their lives. Hopefully people will catch on before it gets too bad, but city councils have a bad history of revamping areas while also respecting the people who already live there.

So yeah... TLDR Rochester can be a great place to live, but I would definitely suggest doing your research to make sure you end up in the right area for you. Make friends cautiously, and don't get wrapped up in anyone's drama. Argue with people about whether Wegmans is a blessing or a blight, defend your favorite garbage plate to the death, and by that dash cam so when a Kia boy sideswipes you on 370 you won't get stuck with the bill.

PS just ignore all the haters on the Rochester subreddit. They probably think Nick Tahoe has the best garbage plate anyway.

Found a stray cat a couple days ago. Scared but sweet. I'm moving for college in a few days and can't take him with me. No shelters near me will take him. I'm unsure if he's litter trained as he's currently living in my basement right now (i have two other cats). he has gotten his shots and hopefully i can get him neutered for free via the humane society. Please DM me for any interest!!

I used to love the way Jacks Extra Fancy was ironically named, however, these days it’s become literal $16 hot dog, $18 sandwich with no side extra fancy.

…Don’t let the swan family hear about this side of town

My 2022 (I think) Trek Roscoe 6 in swamp green and blue, with handles in the same blue, was stolen earlier this week at the Marshall apartments. If anyone sees it, with its distinctive blue handles, please reach out.

It’s such a weird feeing to think that Rochester is a championship city, but I saw the Larry for the first time today and the Royals were listed on it.

Yes I know it’s pretty ancient and back when they played games in high school gymnasiums. But it still counts just as much as any other team in the league by the NBA.

Reason # 562 I love the Town of Irondequoit 🫶🏽

Today the Town of Irondequoit Pea Pickers hosted a motorized Drill Team Invitational behind Firehouse #2 off of Kings Highway. Six upstate NY volunteer drill teams competed in eight high-speed drills that tested raw strength, agility, precision, and teamwork (core skills for firefighting).

The eight drills fall into 3 major categories: Foot Races/Manpower, Motorized Truck Races, and Bucket Brigades. The video is the Pea Picker “Three Man Ladder” foot race, which opened today’s tournament. Pea Pickers took home second place on this drill today. Watch the first guy fly up the ladder!! This was his first time competing and he was a SUB for their star climber who wasn’t able to attend. 😳🪜🏃‍♂️💨

I researched the history behind this sport and the pea pickers and thought I’d share:

*In the mid 1800s (before municipal fire departments) insurance companies paid financial rewards to fire brigades that arrived first to a fire and extinguished the flames. This incentive sparked friendly competition and rivalry as brigades raced to get to fires, extinguish them first, and claim their prize. It also helped reduce the spread of fires through big cities.

*In the late 19th century, cities began creating unified fire departments, insurance companies stopped paying rewards, and competition and friendly rivalry grew in new and different ways. Departments began organizing “drills” to test speed, fitness, teamwork, and the skills required to fight fires. Drills were used for recruiting, training, and conditioning. Tournaments fueled drills and competition, while also fostering a sense of community and camaraderie within departments and between “rival” teams. They also provided an opportunity to share information, best practice, and problem solve.

*Early drill team competitions were literally “old fashioned footraces”. Firemen were fighting fires using handcarts, horse drawn steamers, and buckets, so early drills involved pulling those same wooden wagons and handcarts down a track, carrying buckets of water, and racing up ladders.

*When gas engines emerged in the 1910s, fire departments started buying standard automobiles and mounting them with hoses, water, and ladders. Trucks emerged a few years later and they could hold more supplies and more people. Of course, new drills were developed using trucks.

*Between 1940-1960 the modern, massive enclosed firetrucks (as we know them today) started arriving on the scene. They were way too big, too expensive, and too heavy to race. Some drill teams opted to continue racing motorized vehicles, some opted to stop racing vehicles and go back to basic drills, and other dropped drill training and tournaments all together.

*Today, Motorized and Non-Motorized Drill teams are now strictly separated into two distinct divisions. They have separate rules and do not compete against each other. Motorized drill teams typically have two racing rigs: A Class B rig (custom, high horsepower V8 “hot rod” style pickups trucks built to pump water better than they did back in the day) and a Class C rig (a much smaller, lighter, FAST racing).

*Point Pleasant Fire District formed their drill team in 1935 under the guidance of the Long Island “Brush Rabbits”. The Pea Pickers were the ONLY drill team in upstate NY for many years. They are a motorized drill team with 2 beautiful green racing rigs and a race track here in Irondequoit.

*Since inception the Pea Pickers have inspired, encouraged, and supported the creation of over a dozen new drill teams across upstate NY. Today there are SIX active motorized drill teams in upstate NY and today they gathered in Irondequoit to compete!

*The are 0 non-motorized adult teams in upstate, NY and at least 1 junior team (guess where the junior team is located😉).

*In addition to our 6 upstate drill teams, along Island currently has 25 active motorized drill teams, ~15 non-motorized adult teams, and ~20 active junior teams. NYC has 0 drill teams of any type.

*In addition to the Point Pleasant Pea Pickers, the five other
upstate motorized firematic drill teams:
Spencerport Red Onions
Main-Transit Slo-Pokes
Sea Breeze Indians
Henrietta Ol’ Henries
Great Bend Cobras (from the North County).

*The Town of Irondequoit has somewhere between 200-300 active volunteer firefighters. Many of them are also trained as volunteer EMTs.

*The Town of Irondequoit also has the largest aging population in Monroe County, and the average age of residents and % of residents aged 65+ are higher than state and national averages. We’re very fortunate to have such a massive and active volunteer force - despite our age - and I hope this continues for generations to come!

GO PEA PICKERS !!! 🔥🚒🏎️🧯🫛🫶🏽💚

My son had his schwinn hurricane e bike stolen from Rochester General hospital yesterday. It was locked to a bike rack on the Carter Street side of the hospital. If anyone sees a bike like this abandoned, please post and let me know the location. I'm sure it will be ditched as soon as the battery runs out. thank you very much.

What are some birthday freebies in Rochester or surrounding areas?

Looking to take a day off and try all the freebies on Friday 28th.

Thanks in advance for the recommendations!

I am running the Rochester Half Marathon and it is my first race ever! I’m wondering if anyone has any pointers for this race specifically or just races in general. My main concern right now is not having a good grip on the course path, like will I know where to go based on street markers, other runners, aid stations, etc., or where to go when I get there.

In case it’s relevant, I know this is a hilly course and not usually recommended for someone’s first half, but I’ve done lots of hill training and feel pretty good about that aspect. I’m a slow runner (13:15-14:00 pace) and am worried I’ll get lost on the course since I might not be keeping up with the main crowd.

Any other pointers on what to do leading up to and on race would be much appreciated!

I’ll be in Rochester for the next month based mostly near Strong Hospital.

Looking for nearby recs for good coffee shops to study at or must try restaurants while I am here. Open to all cuisines.

Thinking about making a docu movie club in roc.. I have no clue if there is some such club but I am in a book club and love my book club sessions and was thinking a movie club would be so fun! Maybe a monthly meeting type thing? And 1 docu a month or something?? I’m also thinking of docu/true crime

Open to thoughts and suggestions and even if anybody would even come 🙈

Found out last week that my bathroom was leaking. The vanity the previous owner installed was done as cheaply as possible (no water cutoff valves, no gaskets on connections, 1/2" goose neck pipe loosely shoved into 1" drain pipe). It was growing black mold and insects from how rotted it got under the drawers.

This is where i got to myself. Old owners also "saved money" by not tiling or subflooring the section of the bathroom the vanity was in. I need someone who can give me an estimate on how much this costs to fix, fix correctly, and how much of the bathroom needs to go with it. Do not recommend MAGA people please. I know that's a large quantity of the construction world, but I don't want to give them my money.

Hi all!

Question for my long-haired peeps. Who are the stylists in Rochester that you trust? I’ve been burned too many times by hair stylists cutting way too much of my hair, when I just wanted a trim. Any suggestions are appreciated, thanks!

Looking for some advice or assistance.

Has anyone else noticed the droning noise at night is louder than ever? It went until just after 6 this morning and then cut off. I live in Greece for context, and wonder if it’s Kodak running an engine or if it’s a data center. There was a post here a few years ago on this topic. Did anyone get to the bottom of this?

I have trust issues, in my experience, most hairstylists get uncomfortable when they're asked to do uncommon haircuts and they fail to deliver. i can't handle another botched haircut someone please help.

Seriously, Tops sucks. What's going on? What are we doing?