Reasons for Rochester

Like a lot of my peers, when I was in high school and looking to college, one of the things that was in the fore of my mind was "How the heck am I going to get out of Rochester, NY?" I don't know what it was, but it seemed an unspoken rule accepted amongst several of my classmates: Getting out of Rochester meant you had made it. Sticking around - well, it was for some people, but if you could avoid it, it was preferable.

I honestly couldn't tell you where this idea entered my head. Likely as not it was simple adolescent rebellion. Still, futile teenage angst or not, it did make some sense logically: Rochester was - and is - a rust belt city. Young people were leaving because the jobs were leaving. The crime rate in the city was atrocious. Why on earth would anyone want to stick around? I went away to college, as I swore I would. "I got out," I thought, "and I'm gonna stay out."

Still, when I was away and people asked about my hometown, I found myself describing it with a grudging sort of pride. When people made fun of it, I defended it bitterly and bragged about its cultural and historical highlights. Without meaning to, I found myself championing Rochester.

When I graduated, moved back in with my parents, and started grad school locally, I did find myself reverting back to that adolescent stage: "Ugh, I'm back in Rochester. I can't believe this crap. Where do I go from here?" Yet at the same time, I showed out-of-town friends the sights and boasted about the city's history. It wasn't until around 2007 when I finally admitted to myself, "You know what? Rochester really isn't so bad after all."

In that spirit, I decided to take this little corner of the Internet to set up my virtual soapbox and spread the good word. I hope this page will be helpful both to natives such as myself and also to potential transplants considering relocating. I plan to focus mainly on the good stuff - but I don't want to gloss over the negatives either.

Why is this blog called Lilacs and Snowflakes? Because that encompasses both extremes of Rochester, both the positives and negatives. It's not a perfect city - far from it. But for some of us, it's just right.