Optimism - Rochester Wiki

Add to this page things you appreciate about Rochester, New York and things that make you feel optimistic about its future

Rochester is the best place in the U.S. to raise a family. This 3-minute video - Build Myself in Rochester NY shows over 60 reasons why.
We're a lakeside city with a river, a canal, and more ponds/streams than you can shake a paddle at. A boater's paradise!
The fact this city has an Abandoned Subway is enough for us to declare it awesome.
Related to the above fact, there is a website, RochesterSubway.com, that focuses on making the city more awesome.
The James P Wilmot Cancer Center just announced a $65 million dollar expansion, expected to bring over 1,000 new jobs to the area.
Our Music Scene. We have like eight record labels in town, and a lot of music school people (who seem to get no press or attention they deserve).
Every day the sky is bright blue and sunny.¹
We have some cool parks and woodlands in biking/walking distance.
We have an unflagging spirit of self criticism.² See Also Fix Buffalo
The Rochester Wiki makes colors brighter and sadness more tolerable.
There are many great local restaurants that have yet to be displaced by national chains. The suburb of Henrietta is used as a herding grounds for those chains, keeping Rochester safe.
Coopervision has announced a $20 million expansion, bringing a new distribution center and 218 new jobs to the local economy.
Recent city and business development announcements suggest things may finally be on the upswing for our area.
There is an ongoing housing boom in the downtown area.³ ⁴
This study rates Rochester as the 7th cleanest city out of our nation's 50 largest metro areas.
Plenty of parking!
USA TODAY: In Rochester, serendipity smiles
Sometimes the U of R makes neat things.
Mayor Bob Duffy got rid of the cash-eating Fast Ferry, put the citizens of Rochester at the top of his organization chart, believes in strong communication, and seems to be hiring some damn good people so far.
While a large portion of Rochester's traditional big-companies are in decline (or at least partial decline) there are a lot of smaller, dynamic companies throughout the area that are doing well. Optics are especially strong as a high tech industry!
It is still very possible to buy a home with an actual yard and maybe even a garage for less than $100k in most areas, less than $75k in several very nice areas.
You can hardly sneeze without hitting a good diner where you can get a great meal at a reasonable price.
Short drive to Niagara Falls - 1 hour.
Three decent malls and 2 very large malls are only a short drive away (Syracuse's Carousel Mall & Buffalo's Walden Galleria).
Traffic is very good compared to most cities. Rush hour rarely produces any major slowdowns.
Rochester has rescue trucks that patrol the highways to help people with vehicle problems.
You can get anywhere in 20 minutes or less. Spending some quality time in the DC/MD/VA area will make you even more grateful for this.
There are more Optimism bullet points than Pessimism :)
A whole lot to do outdoors - in any season! (plug for one of my favorites - the Rochester Orienteering Club)
Name another large city with such a beautiful waterfall at its center.
Rochester is a great movie town: the Little Theater shows foreign and art house movies, which some of the suburban large multiplexes also pick up, the Dryden Theatre has one of the best archives of old films in the world, and you can see movies for very little money at the The Cinema or Movies 10.
The High Falls Laser Light Shows every weekend in the summer.
Our public market is among the largest in the country.
Some of the best grocery stores anywhere. People have openly wept when they move to new areas without Wegmans.
Rochester is an urban forest with beautiful leafy trees, big and small.
Suburban deer wandering around on my lawn. Oh wait, maybe that's not so good a thing? :P
It's possible to be famous in Rochester without almost no effort whatsoever.
Nationally known artist Jay Lincoln lives here.
Despite fewer than four decent swimming months a year, people here still have pools.
Plenty of good schools, exciting corporations, and affordable (and not-imploding) real estate, according to weroc.org.
Rochester has been repeatedly recognized as a good place to do business, get an education, receive health care, work, live and raise a family. See the Rankings with sources.
In 2008, CNN/Money ranked Rochester as one of the fastest growing real estate markets in the nation in opposition to the national trends of booming foreclosures and collapsing property values.

Rochester is seemingly isolated from the housing debacle.
The often overcast and cloudy weather makes for excellent outdoor photography.