it has it's pros and cons...
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1/30/2007
i have been a college student in rochester for the last four and a half years, and i'm looking forward to leaving, not because rochester is horrible, but because it doesn't really suit me. lots of people are happy here, lots of people hate it. i grew up in buffalo, so i'm tired of the winters in this region, and rochester is especially windy, and it can be painful, so if you don't like cold temperatures, i wouldn't reccomend any city in the great lakes region. there isn't a ton of culture, but i work in a lebonese restaurant with the best middle-eastern food i've ever had [it's called sinbads, by the way]. the amount of museums is unimpressive, the childrens museum and the science museum are decent, but the Memorial Art Gallery kinda stinks, being an artist/illustrator, I am not happy with the amount of support in the arts around here. the crime is bad, it has one of the highest murder rates per capita in the nation, almost everyone i know has either personally witnessed a crime, or been a victim of one. myself- i watched a car get broken into,, and also a house. the good and bad neighborhoods bleed into one another, a friend of mine in the ritzy park ave area has his car stereo stolen. i never walk around at night alone. there are things to do, there are a half a dozen or so popular cafe's, several bars and clubs in east ave if you're into that, and a few eclectic outlets as well. cost of living is very good. the high falls area is nice, neat little restaurants and bars, BUT, you have to drive there...and pretty much everywhere else. thats one of my least favorite things about this city, it's not for walkers. to get most places, you need a car. some of the suburbs are nice for raising families and are very safe and affordable, and also have good school sytems. the city schools are horrible, unfortunately. i'm a graduate art education major at RIT, and i've been observing at schools all over the county, and while the kids in the city schools are great, the system is sad and depressing. even in one of the "best" city high schools [east high- i observed here] less than 50% of the students graduate, and an avg. of 75% of the students attend summer school. a few weeks ago, two city schools were declared to be dangerous and unfit for schooling. something needs to be done about this system but i have no idea what. the racial tension is very obvious, and it's sad. the city is decently diverse, but definetly segreted for the most part. this is probably true of mso
katrine | Rochester, NY