My Hometown – Rochester, NY

Date:October 21, 2008 | Author:Jill Simmons | Category:Hometowns

When I told friends and coworkers in New York that I was moving to Seattle I would hear two things: that Seattle was beautiful and that the weather was horrible. Originally I thought this weather warning was kind of crazy. I mean, I had obviously heard about the gray and the rain, but I had also heard that it doesn’t snow or get really cold. Considering where I grew up, that sounds like pretty good weather to me.

I was born and raised in Rochester, NY which is known for Kodak, Wegmans (Fortune’s #3 best company to work for) and the infamous Rochester delicacy known as “the Garbage Plate“(a combination of home fries, macaroni salad, baked beans, or french fries topped by your choice of meats and dressed with spicy mustard, onions, and hot sauce.)

Rochester has been ranked #6 among 379 U.S. Metro areas in the 25th edition of the Places Rated Almanac for Most Livable Cities. And just this year, Rochester came in at #2 on CNNMoney’s 10 fastest growing real estate markets.

That said, I don’t think I could ever move back. I am permanently scarred by the winters there. Dramatic I know, but growing up it wasn’t unusual for the first snowflakes to fall right before Halloween. And we weren’t in the clear until May. Seriously. I remember brushing snow off my car one Mother’s Day. There is an actual contest between 5 upstate NY cities called the Golden Snow Ball Award, where each city aspires to be the snowiest and whoever wins gets a trophy. The citizens of that city should get a free trip to Mexico or something but..whatever. Syracuse won last year with 109 inches. Rochester only got 106. Rochester is typically regarded as the snowiest city in the U.S with a population over a million. Why I didn’t make a break for it and go to college in California I’m not sure. (I went to Syracuse University, prolonging my snow exposure.)

Of course, it’s not just the amount of snow or the length of the winter season that makes Rochester’s winter brutal. On average, according to weatherbase.com, the temperature drops below 32 degrees Fahrenheit 135 days per year. Try waiting for the school bus in those temperatures. Not fun. So yes, while people in New York City tried to warn me about the Seattle weather, my parents, who still live in Rochester, told me how much I’d love the winter here. As for me, I’m kind of looking forward to my first Seattle winter and seeing what all the hype is about.

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Responses (16)

0 tweets 1 likes 15 comments

GregC 6:03 PM - Oct 21,2008

I always found it wasn’t the amount of snow – Syracuse and Buffalo tend to get a lot more – it’s the grey skies from Lake Ontario’s influence that really were demoralizing. When I go back to visit in winter(living now in CO with 320 days sunshine per year) the grey skies kill me.

That said, Wegman’s is the bestest place in the world and I miss it terribly!

Greg

PS: Why is it windy in Rochester? Because Syracuse sucks and Buffalo blows!
Andrew Knight 12:05 AM - Oct 22,2008

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Patti Smith 8:54 AM - Oct 23,2008

You will be happy to hear that yesterday we had our first snowfall in Syracuse. It melted before hitting the ground, but it was still snow.
Next time I make the trip to eat a Garbage Plate I will have to take a picture for you. Good luck in Seattle.
Cedar Rapids Real Estate 9:40 AM - Oct 23,2008

Jill, I know you are looking forward to your first “West Coast Winter.” I grew up in Iowa, moved away to Texas for 19 years and moved back in 2004 because of family. However, I missed the change of seasons; all four of them. In Texas, it goes from green to brown, and back to green. I’m still enjoying my snow fix up here in Iowa!
kyle 12:56 PM - Mar 23,2009

you’re so full of it. i’ve lived in rochester NY for 20 years and there’s never once been a single day of temperatures at negative 35 degrees. yea our winters are bad but that’s a little over the top. stop crying about cold weather
Cedar Rapids Real Estate 9:21 PM - Jun 10,2009

I lived on the East Coast for over 20 years and I moved to Iowa. I exchanged one colder climate for another.
Jason 7:58 AM - Nov 27,2009

I grew up in Rochacha and I miss it. Living in europe now for 20 years haven´t seen anything like Rochester ever again. Good luck in Seattle but you´ll miss Rochester more than you´ll ever know.
Jerry Hofschneider 1:53 PM - Dec 19,2009

I bailed out of Rochester in the early ’70s.
I grew up in the 11th Ward and in Chili, went to McQuaid,MCC and the U of R.
I was driven out of town for weather-related reasons.
After enduring 26 years at the mercy of my hometown’s ugly winters, push finally came to shove
…I had just bought a new suit for a wedding, and some friends were gathered at a Westside pub for a bachelor’s party. We were at the party for hours, nobody paying any attention to the weather, which had gone from semi-blizzard to an ice storm, and when I stepped out I slipped on ice and tore my $300 suit from zipper to belt and split the shoulders.
Then my car would not start.

That was the last straw.
I was living on the beach in Florida two months later and I’ve had a Florida address since.
I visited Rochester a lot over the years, ( mostly in mid-summer)and the last time I was there– in late April of ’04– it sleeted heavily and froze the locks on my car.

I really liked living in Rochester–it was a great place to grow up in, but you can’t beat Florida for the 330 days of sunshine we get every year.
Mary 3:49 PM - Jan 15,2010

Hi Jill,

I was actually researching Seattle as a possible city I’d like to move to after grad school and found your post. I, too, am currently in good old Rochester, NY! Needless to say, your post was perfect!

I wanted to follow up to see how the winter is going over there? That is the main thing I am looking into right now while trying to make my decision. I am a total outdoors/mountain girl and am sure I’d love the summers out there. But I’m so sick of these ROC winters (darkness, cold, snow, wind, blah blah blah), I’m hoping things are better out there??

Thanks!

PS- WEGMANS RULES!!!
Barb 9:06 AM - Jun 10,2010

Born and raised in Rochester. I have lived in 5 other states and if it weren’t for the high taxes, I would move right back there. I adore the winter weather. Because I am a Baby Boomer, I WALKED or rode a bike during my Brighton childhood. And I walked OFTEN from Brighton to Lake Riley (Cobbs Hill) for ice skating after school or to the little ice rink behind the town hall. As an adult, I have embraced cross country skiing. If one engages in winter sports, winter is not a drag.
You can have Seattle. Talk about grey skies…and a suicide watch…I know the city pretty well and turned down a job offer there. Give me the East Coast anyday. And nothing can beat a Rochester accent. I still can’t get rid of mine!
Mike 12:22 AM - Jul 12,2010

I live in Los Angeles and miss Rochester all the time. The seasons…the summers…Red Wings games.
So to keep connect I started “Flour City Post.”
I collect, restored and reissue vintage images of Rochester. Check it out!
Mike 6:35 AM - Aug 1,2010

This is hilarious. I grew up in Rochester on the west side in Gates. I joined the Army 3 years ago and ended up in El Paso, Tx where its just hot. Now I’m deployed in the middle east, it is 128 degrees outside today. I hate the heat more than anything Rochester had to throw at me. Though I was home for christmas last year, and realized that I am no longer conditioned to the cold. I was unable to finish filling up my gas tank because my hands were stinging in the cold.

I still miss sliding around in my car, the adventure of late night trips to Tahoe’s in winter… Good times. And wegman’s there is no other place like it.
David Luckin 8:29 PM - Sep 6,2010

Barb on June 10, 2010 9:06 am
What She said!!! Well, I change it just a little.
Raised in Rochester. I have lived in 1 other state and if it weren’t for the high taxes, and my career in FLA, I would move right back there. I adore the winter weather. Because I am a Baby Boomer, I WALKED or rode a bike during my Monroe/Park childhood. And I walked OFTEN from Richard St up Canterbury Rd to Lake Riley (Cobbs Hill) for ice skating every Sat & Sun. If one engages in winter, winter is not a drag.
You can have Seattle. Give me the East Coast anyday. And nothing can beat a Rochester accent. I still can’t get rid of mine!
ben 7:41 AM - Oct 7,2010

If you could see Rochester right now, you’d probably be missing it. The leaves are just starting to turn, and my wife and I are planning a road trip through the Finger Lakes to hit up some wineries. It’s perfect… That being said, I will probably wish I was in Austin by the time February rolls around. Admittedly, winter does drag on a bit longer than one should have to endure
Ned Wright 8:28 AM - Oct 19,2010

I lived in Rochester for 21 years (’80-’01) and enjoyed my time there while working for Gleason. The summers are mild and the winters relatively tough but the area is very beautiful. The rolling hills just south of town on routes 64 and 65 are fantatsic and the slow change into the higher Bristol Mtn’s is really worth a late Oct. drive.

Rochester is not the friendliest town I’ve ever lived in. It definitely has an “east coast” shiver for newcomers and as a result it takes a considerable length of time to develop friends and merge into the lifestyle. Rochester has a unique local ambiance which includes such items as red potatoes at HS football games, the previously mentioned garbage plate, numerous apple cider mills and farms, nice horse country, the finger lakes, etc.

I left Rochester to return to my beloved Toledo, Oh where my heart has always been. but I still have fond memories of my 21 years in Ra Cha Cha. My conections still run deep since one of my two daughters still resides in Smug Town USA (see the book of the same name).

I love the “port” towns on the New York state/ Erie canal such as Fairport, gasport, Middleport, Spencerport, Brockport, and my former hometown Pittsford. These little towns on the canal will win over any newcomer to want to stay and put roots down in Monroe Cty. There is a special charm to these unique canal towns. if you open your heart to Rochester it can be a very special place to visit and live.

Go Irondequoit Indians (they’ll never be the eagles to me!)