Reviews & Comments
Rochester, NY
No joy, no glamor, no class -
12/31/2006Rochester reminded us of a person who once had a lot going for them but slipped into destructive behaviors and decline. There is a serious problem with corruption on all sectors of the city. Public transport spends most of its energies building false pictures of the city bus system. Our direct experience found the system badly managed and in decline. It was difficult to travel anywhere in any sort of a timely manner at nights, weekends or during holidays.
The area is considered one of the most empoverished cities in the state of New York. We relocated to Rochester based on the advice of a former resident and without doing sufficient background research. We were relieved to escape after just under two years.
Most of the schools are pretty bad. They have a serious abaitment problem with lead paint in housing stock.
The winters are not as bad as predicted. One does become very skilled at snow shoveling.
As with many declining cities, groceries access, social and cultural activities are dispersing to suburbs and in decline generally.
Las Vegas, NV
mixed reviews, no long term plans to stay -
12/31/2006After growing up here, I moved away to see the world. I returned in February, 2006 and am working here.
One of this area's weak points is its water. Water is extremely polluted. It is not advised to drink tap water, so everyone must purchase water in bottles, dispensers or add a filtration system to their homes. So much ground water is being taken that the aquiffers are collapsing and not renewing. The water problem continues to intensify and may prove insurmountable for development.
Schools are below average for performance. Word has it the school district won't hire experienced teachers because they cost more in health and salary benefits.
Public transport tries to serve the area. Public transport could benefit from an increase in frequency of bus transit. The usual is half an hour and some routes run every hour or slower. A few, in what people say represent down troden areas, run every twenty minutes or at fastest, every twelve to fifteen minutes.
It is true there is no sense of community in as Vegas. Crime is high and people exhibit suspicion of newcomers.
Grocery costs seem higher and variety seems limited, in comparison to other places.
Employment is getable, but may consist of service sector jobs. Families with disabled members should think twice about relocating here. Services are spotty and health care is very substandard.
Summers are extremely hot. If you have to be outside or on foot, the heat and dryness will be a serious problem and will adversely affect pets.
Hartford, CT
Example of urban blight, flight and destructive po -
12/31/2006We lived in Hartford for 24 years and happily no longer reside there. Schools have become very ghettoized with standards as low as possible to include as many as possible. Public transit keeps being cut back with service very difficult to use and transit drivers very customer aversive. Evenings, holidays and weekends cannot be considered culturally enriched unless one drives to the outlying suburbs. Grocery stores have closed in many Hartford neighborhoods and getting groceries means either a long slog on public transport or use of a car to go outside.
There are certainly pockets of prosperity. However, the northern half of CT is run differently than the southern half. CT boasts three of the most empoverished cities in the U.S.: Hartford, Bridgeport and New Haven. Because of the dirty work of a previous Republican governor and his dastardly appointees, the state has been eviscerated of much that used to recommend it and will probably not recover in a generation.