Rochester, NY

Rochester is New York State's third largest city. The City of Rochester has approximately 219,000 residents, while Rochester's metropolitan population exceeds one million.

Festivals are popular in Rochester. The Corn Hill Arts Festival and the Lilac Festival are the two biggest draws. The Rochester International Jazz Festival has turned into a internationally acclaimed event that has a few free stages and numerous club stages throughout the city, while its biggest acts are hosted in the Eastman Theatre. Finally, virtually every town has a festival, with the canal celebrations being the bigger draws.

The University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music makes the East End a haven for musicians. The Little Theatre is an independent movie theatre that's also in the East End. Major plays can be seen at the Auditorium Theatre, while smaller theatres like Geva, the Downstairs Cabaret, and Blackfriars host plays and musicals throughout the year. Art is also prominent thanks to small galleries and artistic outlets such as Village Gate, Artisan Works, and Gallery R, among others.

Rochester boasts seven professional sports teams. The Rochester Americans (hockey), Knighthawks (indoor lacrosse), and Razorsharks (basketball) call the Blue Cross Arena home. The Rochester Red Wings (baseball) play at Frontier Field. The Rochester Rhinos (soccer) and Rattlers (outdoor lacrosse) play at new PAETEC Park. Finally, the Rochester Raiders, who won the 2007 CIFL championship, play in the Blue Cross Arena and are moving to the AIFA. Also, the RIT Tigers moved to division one in hockey and won the Atlantic Hockey Association regular season title in their first season.

Museums are also a significant local asset. The Strong Museum of Play is the most noteworthy, as it's one of the largest children's museums in the world. The Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester Museum and Science Center, and the George Eastman House are particularly strong draws. The Susan B. Anthony House is a great small museum to visit.

Finally, for those looking to shop, Eastview Mall is the region's fastest growing center. However, the Greece Ridge Mall and Marketplace Mall are also successful. Irondequoit's Medley Centre was recently purchased and there are rumors that it's going to converted into more of a mixed-use space--there are plans to put a movie theatre in the mall. Independent shops can be found in many villages and on Park and Monroe Avenue in the city. Finally, Wegmans is a unique local supermarket chain that's enjoying significant growth.

I'm going to keep this one brief. Rocwiki.org is a great resource for restaurant reviews. However, I'll post some noteworthy ones for those who may be planning to visit downtown. The Dinosaur Barbecue is a renowned BBQ joint. It's busy seven days a week, but they tend to overstate the waiting time. If they say an hour, expect 30-45 minutes. If you don't want to wait quite that long, Sticky Lips BBQ on Culver and Beale Street in the South Wedge are very competitive.

Corn Hill also has a handful of good restaurant options. Nathaniel's caters to the arena crowd and they let people park free in their lot as long as you eat there before the event. Panzari's Italian Bistro is also very good. Virtu and Siam have also received positive reviews.

J&K Cafe is a fast casual restaurant on Main Street that is open for breakfast and lunch and they offer some great wraps and burritos. There is also a Subway that Main Street that maintains fairly broad hours. A significant number of additional unique restaurants can be found in the East End, South Wedge, Monroe Avenue, Park Avenue, and the St. Paul Quarter. That's just a quick overview of what can be found in and around downtown.

Monroe County has a wide variety of different living options. Rochester is an area with very affordable homes, as most range from $80,000 to $250,000. The City of Rochester has some outstanding values in areas that are enjoying a resurgence, including downtown, the South Wedge, Corn Hill, Park Avenue, and the Winton Neighborhood, to name a few.

The suburbs range significantly in size. Greece has nearly 100,000 residents, while towns like Pittsford, Brockport, and Fairport have a small "main street" that residents continue to patronize. Along with modest home prices, short commutes are another great asset. While it has enabled some suburban sprawl, most residents can get almost anywhere within metropolitan Rochester in 15 minutes.

Rochester's economy used to be driven by the "big three" companies: Kodak, Xerox, and Bausch & Lomb. While those three companies maintain a strong presence, and Bausch & Lomb recently expanded its manufacturing facility, Rochester's economy has diversified significantly. The University of Rochester is the area's largest employer, while companies like PAETEC, Paychex, and a host of smaller companies have emerged as significant players in the local employment scene.

Rochester has a wealth of universities, including the U of R and Rochester Institute of Technology, and they've been key players in driving new entrepreneurial activity. While New York State's tax burden can be challenging to businesses, the county, state, and city have incentives that have leveled the playing field. Carestream, formerly Kodak Health Imaging, has announced hundreds of new jobs due to the strength of the local work force and tax incentives provided by the government.

Looking forward, optics and imaging, printing & publishing, alternative energy, biotechnology, and telecommunications are among Rochester's strongest clusters. Greater Rochester Enterprise is working to capitalize on those strengths by attracting additional new companies. While Kodak's transition to digital has strained the local economy in recent years, the economy has shown consecutive months of growth and the future looks bright.