Grew up in Rochester, will never return.
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11/12/2008
Rochester was a great place to grow up. Good quality and fairly diverse schools; the town is small enough to bike anywhere in less than 20 minutes.
That said, I will never move back.
Rochester is somewhat culturally stuck in the early 80's. There are 3 classic rock radio stations for a city the size of almost 100,000. Go to any bar (pretty much only sports bars) in the city and all you hear is classic rock as well. It's almost like going back in time in a way. Even the local television station and newspaper don't yet seem to have technology or advertising capabilities past 1985. It's very strange.
Beyond that, it's a very boring town with limited job opportunities. If you can't get a job at Mayo or IBM, you really have no choice but to work at a low paying retail or hospitality job.
But if you can get a job at one of the two places, and your only plans are raising children- it's the best place to be.
Cousey Dee | Minneapolis, MN