Posted by I’ve been paying so much attention to photographic experiences in other places. The truth of the matter is, I really do love my hometown of Rochester, NY. It’s been a tremendous place to live, play work and grow a successful business. We have so many exciting things happening in this city, but often we need a reminder of just how great a place this is.
On March 29th, the sun shined brightly on my latest adventure… armed with my typical implements (my camera and electric scooter) I traveled all over Rochester and asked 37 different people/groups one simple question… “what do you love about Rochester?” From Monroe Ave. to State Street, from Magnolias to Spot Coffee, from dog walkers to visitors from 3,000 miles away, many of the answers were as colorful and diverse as the wonderful people that make this city great.
Some answers were short. Some folks were happy to share more. Either way, I left it all in the final cut. If there was more than one person in a particular interview, I gave them one voice… I felt this was important.
I call it #Luv4Roc. Wanna meet your neighbors in Rochester? Want some reminders of what makes our community so great? Click the first picture below and follow me on my journey. Share with your Roc friends if you agree this is a great place to live. 🙂
It’s a great place to live. The Lilacs, the parks, it’s just beautiful. Cocoa Puff loves it too!
I love how active Rochester is. Everyone’s always outside, especially in the two months of summer we have. All the races they have around here, I’m a big runner so there’s always a race going on.
They got the Jazz fest, they got all that good stuff downtown. It’s just a pretty neat place, a lot of little stuff for people to enjoy.
The culture of Monroe Ave is a good representation of what I love about the city. The avenue has been here for me at all points in my life, from being homeless to having money and a job. I’ve been able to rely on this avenue from panhandling to employment. It’s a city that does care about it’s residents.
Rochester? I love that the cold makes you appreciate the summer and the spring.
It’s a big and small city at the same time. Everything’s connected. People are pretty chill… as much as you find some a-holes out there, there are so many people that are completely respectful of what people are about and try to understand them.
I love the city because it has that small town feel, but then in an area like this, like Park Ave you can walk to everything. There are so many things happening all the time, and everyone is so freakin’ friendly here. I’m just so happy. I didn’t realize how great it was here until I moved here from Denver.
If we’re talking about food, Garbage Plates! Also, in the summer time, the festivals, especially around the Park Ave area. There’s the Corn Hill Arts Festival… there’s always something going on in the summer. I went to college here at the U of R, so I love the academic opportunities we have here. For a city this size, there’s always something new. There’s always a new restaurant, a new buffet, a new bar, it’s awesome. We love the sports scene too!
I stopped into Magnolias for a warmup and a delicious breakfast sandwich… the lovely hostess was kind enough to let me take her picture and ask her about Rochester. “I like all the festivals and stuff, there’s always something going on in Rochester.”
I have a great apartment here, it overlooks the city skyline. I can go up there and barbecue, watch the 4th of July fireworks… and it’s all the little shops, the great atmosphere and the overall friendliness of the area and the community.
I love the trees right here on Oxford Street on the first week of May. The energy of Park Ave too, it’s a lot of fun.
The public Market, I love the High Falls, I love the abandoned subway system, I love Wall Therapy… my favorite thing about Rochester, being a recent transplant would have to be how bike friendly the city is. I’m from Seattle which is all hills, but I can ride my bike anywhere here. Actually I am selling my car because I can commute on my bike every day.
We’ve been here since before the invasion of Iraq, for most of 10 years. We do it all year round for an hour as a peace vigil because we feel that war should not be the first option. We’re not a functioning Democracy if we don’t speak out in some way. We think people in Rochester, and across the country are beginning to embrace that message.
The biggest thing that sticks out to me about Rochester is it’s character. I think it’s a very colorful city, it’s got a lot of a appreciation for a lot of different kinds, of art, different mediums.. And just a pride for it’s own history and it’s own strengths. I’m honestly not a huge fan of the weather though, I’m from California (laughing) so I wouldn’t say Rochester is the place to be if you’re all for warm weather! But I hear that in the summer it’s really beautiful.
I came here for college and stuck around… I came from a small town so this is like a sizable city for me. I like that I have access to so much stuff… George Eastman House, the museums, and lots of great food… all within 5 minutes. There’s also an awesome live music scene. Lots of great people there! There’s also a great comedy scene… they’re sort of behind everyone, there’s not a lot of backstabby type of stuff. So there’s a good feeling that people are coming together to support these different things.
I love the convenience of the coffee shops, the music and the cultural places to hang out. The arts are my thing, this is my gallery!
The festivals, the coffee shops, all the different kinds of people… no one judges anyone. I like the weather (laughter!!) . No really, I like all four seasons, even winter and fall.
I love the cocktail revival! In the summer it’s nice people are really happy then. I think it’s a very relaxed city, relaxed people.
I just came back from Hawaii, so I don’t know if I really like this (weather) right now! But, I think the thing that I love most about the city is that there are so many ways to reinvent yourself. You can be almost anything you want to be in this city. And I think that’s really something special about this city. I feel like there are so many different types of people and so many different ways of living in Rochester that you can learn to see the best in people. You can reinvent yourself for sure, but you can really learn a lot about who you are as a person. Maybe it’s because there’s a lot of tolerance here, there’s a lot of different cultural groups, there are so many universities, and all of that kind of compiles itself into a great community. I think Rochester is also a fantastic city where you can show up on a doorstep and say “I’m ready to change” and someone will be like “OK, let’s do this, here’s step one…” I think that’s pretty awesome.
The restaurant scene is not like it was in ’82 when I was here in college! So I’m enjoying the food! When I was here for grad school, there was this brown liquid they called coffee, and this yellow liquid that they tried to pretend was beer… and now look where you’ve come, the town is great now! The arts scene here is extraordinary too, really enjoyable.
We love Jazz Fast. Not only that, there be a lot of concerts coming here you know? As long as they keep the jazz, I’m gonna be jazzin’ with Rochester! The people are cool, everybody’s just trying to enjoy life!
The weather in May is really wonderful, with all the Lilacs. I would also say that the music scene in Rochester is very good considering how the city really isn’t that big.
The skate spots downtown are awesome. A lot of history. The people are very homey, if that makes any sense. I think we as people in Rochester are more comfortable around each other, just feels like home.
I like how people treat one another. Very friendly, loving and caring and understanding. I like the scenery around Park Avenue and Monroe Avenue. If I had a choice I would move over there.
It’s very family oriented… there’s a lot of things you can do here as a family like the beach, we have an amusement park, we have the museums, there’s so many parks we can go to… it’s just family oriented. I came from down south and I didn’t know anybody here and I was in Warsaw NY, and they all said “we’re going back to Florida.” I said I don’t wanna go back. They asked “where you wanna go then?” I said “wherever they got jobs!” And that’s why I’m here, they said Rochester, and I’ve been here ever since 1983!
We just coming from Church… we do some praisin’ let me tell you!!!!
I live down here in downtown. It’s diverse, everybody gets along, it’s just exciting to be downtown. I like the little restaurants. I grew up here, and all this wasn’t here when I was little. No that I’m experiencing it as an adult, I’m having a pretty good time (points to his stomach)
After this next go I’ll answer…. OK, it’s a great place for riding BMX… not many people know that, so it doesn’t get to overpopulated with BMX riders and skareboarders. We have great food here, awesome friends, I think just good people in general.
We’re from Oregon… he’s checking out school here. It’s really historic, it’s got a lot of cool buildings. I love the Erie Canal cuz I’m a history buff. That’s fascinating.
I live here because of the Amerks. I came here 18 years ago to go to school at RIT, and started doing this and just stayed. I work downtown because the Amerks are right across the street, so I live right here in this building next door. We’re here every game. The people in our section are awesome. The best part about Rochester is you can go anywhere you want, then you can come back to a great city that doesn’t want to kill you every day.
I love the MAG (Memorial Art Gallery). I love that it’s quiet, I love that I can go there and draw.
((At Spot Coffee)) I love how easy it is to get around, and the arts and entertainment here.
The culture and the arts. I love that you can do whatever you want within a short distance. The walkability is awesome, we’re walking to Park Ave. right now.
Let me just formulate my thoughts here… this is traditionally a conservative city, not withstanding. At the very core of this conservative city, there dwells a very charming component… there’s a cosmic quality, a liberal cosmic quality that’s irresistible!!
There’s a strong talent pool here from a business standpoint. The people are friendlier, like a lot friendlier than in New York City.
We’re pretty new here! Just moved from California. It’s my first day here actually. So far I would say the pubic market, I like the lounges and bars here… the nightlife seems to be pretty cool. I like that there’s a river running through the town.
Rochester has given me my life, we own Schubers liquor store over there. It’s not bad, it’s been in the family for 70 years! Love the sunshine, people walking around, doing what you’re doing! That’s what great about the city man!
When I busk and stuff I go to Time’s Square and write songs about anyone on the street. I think Rochester is the biggest small town. Living on Park Ave. is the best decision I’ve ever made. It’s like, these people right here, I’m gonna write a song about them.
You guys want a song? Why are you in love with this woman? Tell me what you love, tell me those ways! I’m gonna make these two fall in love all over again!
“Sittin’ on my Porch looking out on Park Ave. , I got a guy rollin’ up on a scooter! I see this couple, they’re runnin’ on a Sunday Afternoon. And Julia loves Ben, with all her heart, just like the Sun loves the Moon.”
((He just kept going. It was awesome.))
“Because they’re passionate about the way they love their lives when they look into each other’s eyes.”