Rochester is a beautiful and charming city based in Upstate New York. It’s a destination steeped in culture featuring museums, art galleries, performance arts, jazz music, and education, and is known as the “birthplace of amateur photography.” Rochester is also fondly known as the city of flowers because it’s home to magnificently beautiful lilac flowers, with the first bush planted in the 1890s. Today, Rochester also celebrates the much-anticipated annual Lilac Festival.
If you’re looking to move, today’s article discusses some things to know before relocating to Rochester, New York.
1. It’s an Easy Driving City
Rochester is known for its easy-to-commute roads with exceptionally well-maintained highway systems. The roads here are considered safe, but weather changes can make situations riskier while commuting. It’s estimated that on a nationwide level, there are approximately 700,000 hit-and-run accidents each year in the USA.
2. Education Hub
Rochester is known as an education hub, and it’s home to many top educational institutions like the Rochester Institute of Technology, the University of Rochester, Nazareth University, Monroe Community College, and many more.
3. Multiple Eateries and Shopping Facilities
If you move to Rochester and you’re a foodie, you’d be pleased to know that there are many eateries, shopping centers, and malls to enjoy and choose from. It’s said that 45% of diners go out to eat multiple times a week, with 20% going out to eat once a week.
4. Higher Crime Rate
Rochester has a higher crime rate, and in 2022, the homicide rate was estimated as 36 to 100,000 and ranked the fifth highest, with New Orleans at first place. These statistics are according to Rochester Beacon.
5. Employment and Steel Resource Industry
The steel industry is big in Rochester, with several companies operating in steel works. There are other industries in the region, but Rochester is considered to have a higher unemployment rate compared to other cities. Still, if you are working in another city, the commute from here is easy, and many people work outside the city. According to the World Steel Association, the industry is expected to increase by 20% by the year 2050.
6. Extreme Winters
If you’re looking to move to the flower city, the weather can become quite harsh in winter, with lots of snow and temperatures that drop below freezing. Summers are often milder compared to other states. So, if you can deal with colder weather, then you might find Rochester to be okay as your new home.
7. Real Estate Is Fast Paced
The city of flowers’ property market sells and rents homes faster. Many people find this region appealing, and so when looking for a new home to relocate to, you’ll notice that the property market moves quickly, with homes selling and renting like hotcakes. Real estate here is also lower than in other places so it’s often a great choice for those looking to start out with their first home or just looking for affordable property in New York.
Other Interesting Facts
If you’re looking to relocate to this beautiful cultural hub of New York, then here are some interesting facts about the city that you might not have known.
Many underground tunnels previously served as transportation routes as early as the 1900s. There is a local ghost story of “the white lady” who is said to haunt the Durand Eastman Park. There are subway cars in the Genesee River, which are said to have been part of a flood control strategy in the 1950s, but the cars can be seen in low-tied. Erie Canal is said to have many hidden trinkets like locks, keys, and other structures that trace back to the canal’s construction in the 1800s.
With so many things to see, learn, and be part of, Rochester has become the ideal and affordable home destination for families and local entrepreneurs to date.
If you are planning on visiting Rochester soon, there are three shops that you will want to make sure that you visit. Rochester is a great place to visit and there is a lot to do. There are plenty of shops to visit while you are on your weekend getaway but there are three that you must visit.
For homeowners living in and around the Rochester area, there are plenty of options available when plants, lawn, and garden care needs arise. Local landscaping professionals, greenhouses, and nurseries can provide not only access to appropriate plants but also access to valuable professional insight and guidance. Enjoying plants and working them into your daily life is easy when you know where and how to get started. Rochester residents are fortunate to have an abundant supply of plant experts right in their local area.
Helping Rochester small businesses is an easy way to give back to your community. During the cold winter, many families struggle to heat their homes and put good food on the table. Read along to find the best ways to support these local companies.
There is some unfortunate news regarding driving in Rochester, New York. The police and media have reported an increase in carjackings, and if you’re a driver you know that’s trouble. Carjackers are often armed, violent, and desperate to get away from the scene of a crime, making the situation very volatile if you’re unprepared or choose to fight back. Even though carjackings are on the rise, there is evidence that suggests that it’s still safe to drive in Rochester, so long as you know what you’re doing.
Since I’ve lived downtown I’ve had my eyes on this building. Not for much good reason except that it was there, and waiting. But despite being so close, it always stayed locked up and out of reach. In fact, over the years it seemed to defy everyone’s best efforts to occupy it – including those of its many owners…
Gallina Development , with the help of the Rochester Model Railroad Club , has restored a favorite old model railroad display for the holiday season. The model trains, which have sat in storage for a decade, will be in the lobby of The Metropolitan (formerly Chase Tower) at One Chase Square in Downtown Rochester through the holidays…
Searching for the perfect stocking stuffer this holiday season? How about an itty bitty version of Kodak tower? ReplicaBuildings.com manufactures replica scale models of famous buildings from around the globe. And two of them have been plucked right from Rochester’s skyline…
Last week Justin Schmidt sent us this incredible old illustration of Rochester Savings Bank. Justin writes, “I thought you would enjoy this; in my collection of Rochester ephemera, I came across this page in The American Architect (Sept. 20, 1928 issue) that shows the ‘complete’ design for the old Rochester Savings and Loan building. I never knew it was incomplete!”
Here is a neat view I came across while rummaging around in the Local History Department at the Rochester Public Library. The image is of State Street with downtown Rochester in the background, taken from one of the top floors of Kodak tower…
On my almost daily walk along State and Main streets I’ve often noticed this boom lift blocking the sidewalks around the Powers Building . I’ve never given it much thought. I just figured Daniel Powers liked his windows really clean.
Then, last week while at the Fringe, my RocSubway teammate Joanne Brokaw got introduced to Scott Grove. As it turns out, Scott is that guy hanging high up over Rochester’s sidewalks—and he’s not cleaning windows…
Have you ever done something so crazy you started to question your own sanity? A few weeks ago a little voice inside my head said, “DUDE, you should totally organize a flash mob!” Most sane people would have chuckled to themselves and ignored the voice. Not me. I listened to it.
So now here I am, asking you to join me for what could be the most insane (yet wildly entertaining) 5 minutes that downtown Rochester has seen in quite a while. If you’re feeling a little bit crazy, the details are after the jump…
The City of Rochester has issued a Request For Proposals (RFP) to adaptively reuse, redevelop, and operate five former bus shelters on Main Street in downtown Rochester, NY. The deadline to respond is June 26 and successful proposals are expected to be announced by July 31…
As some of you may or may not know, the city recently released a Request For Proposals (RFP) for the redevelopment of another piece of the Midtown site. Parcel 5 , the site in question, is the very long block from Main St to Elm St and between the Windstream building to the west and 1 East Avenue (Bank of America) to the east. Let’s go back to our trusty Midtown site plan for a visual…
Several years ago the west end of Rochester’s abandoned subway tunnel was filled as part of the Broad Street Improvement Project. Now a planned downtown development could permanently close off one of the last remaining entry points to Rochester’s old subway tunnel. Morgan Management is waiting for approvals to build a five-story luxury apartment complex at Court Street and South Avenue, right smack on top of the subway’s east entrance and the former site of the Court Street subway platform…
The abandoned subway tunnel beneath Rochester’s Broad Street has become one of the most popular sites for students of architecture and design to test their creative chops. You may remember the ROC Low Line; an underground park designed by a team of RIT students. Soon after that we reviewed a more serious plan to install an underground shopping mall and entertainment venue called Broad Street Underground.
Yet another thought-provoking concept and set of renderings have been shared with us. This one elaborates on the idea of using the interior space as a nightclub, with various (wet and wild) public spaces…
Last week I grabbed lunch at Pizza Stop – one of my absolute, hands down, favorite food joints in Rochester. After placing my order and (stepping promptly to the right) I noticed a petition* taped to the countertop. It was asking the City of Rochester to provide compensation to downtown merchants who lost business during a lunchtime food truck/cart event the week before. The petition argued that the City’s promotion of the food trucks caused nearby brick & mortar shops to lose money…
On Facebook last week I shared an old photo of Rochester’s iconic Mercury statue as it was being removed from its original perch atop the Kimball Tobacco Factory in 1951. The factory was demolished to make way for the War Memorial and the statue sat in storage until the Lawyers Cooperative (Aqueduct Building) became his new home in 1973.
Fast forward to June 2011; the 21 foot tall, 700 pound statue gets a thorough inspection for signs of wear and a good restoration. The following photos were taken by Wes Plant during that checkup. And they show Mercury in detail you’ve probably never seen before…
With all of the recent flooding in our area, RocSubway reader Michael Delaney wrote in and suggested, “a great idea for an article would be about the history of flooding in Rochester and the civil engineering that has gone into solving the issue. Beyond the dams, I’ve heard that there are huge storm sewer tunnels underneath the city. It would be very interesting to know more about it.”
Situated at the intersection of the Genesee River and Erie Canal, Rochester’s geography has blessed—or cursed—us with a long long history of great floods. Before the construction of the Mount Morris Dam (1948-1952) records indicate the City of Rochester had experienced severe flooding about every seven years between 1865 and 1950. Talk about a pesky problem.
Digging into all of the engineering marvels that have spared modern Rochesterians from most of these high waters could easily span many pages. And I promise to dedicate future posts on the subject. But for now, I want to show just how bad this problem was by highlighting just one flooding disaster that occurred in late March, 1913…
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After the Erie Canal was rerouted south of downtown Rochester, the Rochester
Industrial & Rapid Transit Railway (the subway) was built in
its place as a link between the five different railroads and interurban trolley
lines that served the Rochester area. As the industrial landscape of Rochester
changed, and highways replaced the railroads, the Rochester subway gradually
became a relic of a bygone era. In 1956 the subway was abandoned and much of
its route was converted into Interstate 490 built to connect Rochester
with the New York State Thruway (I-90). Read more about the history of the Rochester Subway.
RochesterSubway.com exists to help spark
public dialogue around how we can better connect the neighborhoods of Rochester
NY, surrounding communities, and their cultural offerings. Rochesters
future is written in her past. Let's rediscover it.