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I don't want to say where exactly, but I'm looking a job in the area just southwest of where 490 crosses the Genesee river. I mean just, by less than a quarter mile.
I'm not from Rochester, so I don't know about the neighborhoods. Is this a decent area, or would I be looking over my shoulder constantly?
So, are you looking in downtown Rochester I'm guessing? I will say many people commute to downtown from the suburbs. Our downtown is a true downtown which is why they now call it 'Center City'; it is quite literally in the middle of all the true Rochester 'burbs. With that said, the suburbs are as safe as you would expect elsewhere I'm sure. I mean, I won't say where we live but we definitely feel safe. We don't leave the doors unlocked at nights, but I think that's just common sense. If you like an urban setting then you would feel perfectly safe, I would assume not knowing you, in the Park Ave area, down by the U of R, in the Culver Ave and University/Winton region, etc. The South Wedge is nice and is currently undergoing revitalization... that's more on target to where you are describing. There are some notably "bad" areas and streets but not to the point of looking over your shoulder constantly. Those areas are not even relegated to a whole neighborhood, but more of certain streets and parts of streets within a said neighborhood. For instance, Hollenbeck has a really bad part (on the East side of the city) but then it gets better and better and ends right near Irondequoit. Same thing with Joseph Ave; it has a few 'bad' streets off of it and in the middle but then turns to Seneca in a very nice neighborhood and ends actually IN the suburb of Irondequoit at the very esteemed Titus Ave. I'm a visiting nurse and I serve many clients in the inner city without ever fearing for my life (or the safety of my vehicle). I must also emphasize that as a community health nurse I care for the truly underserved in the most desecrated parts of the city so I'm not just speaking figuratively here. So, with that long-winded spiel over, I would say, if it's a job you are seriously considering, don't let the area of the job alone stop you from pursing it further.
Well, that's where I'm working. As far s living, that's for another thread.
So long as the area I'm describing isn't a notoriously 'bad' part of the city is all that matters to me. I'm from a fairly urban environment (I'm a downstater) so I don't think there would be anything weird. I just don't want to feel like I'm in a shady part of Brooklyn while I'm at work and hoping I don't get shot or mugged if I go to a nearby coffee shop.
Thanks for all of your help so far, incidentally. I appreciate it.
Do yourself a favor and stay in the suburbs. I live in Greece and I work in the HSBC building right next to Xerox, and it takes me a measly 25 minutes to get from my driveway to my desk, and that includes a 5 minute walk from the parking garage to the building itself. Hell, today I left at 8:07 and was in a parking spot in the garage at 8:24, not too shabby. Granted I drive a tad aggressively, but we're talking maybe 2 minutes more for a more normal driver lol.
Once winter comes, you appreciate living in a suburb for their better plowing schedule alone. There are times when I'll go from a snow dusted road in Greece to 3" of snow and slush as soon as I cross in to city limits on the same road.
Unless I am missing something, it sounds like your job is in the Corn Hill area. Most of the area encircled by Ford Street and the river is either fully gentrified or is goingthrough a gentrification process. Last I was there some time ago, the outer edges of this general area still got pretty rough, especially the streets west of Clarissa Street.
The areas outside this "ring" are absolutely terrible.
I don't want to say where exactly, but I'm looking a job in the area just southwest of where 490 crosses the Genesee river. I mean just, by less than a quarter mile.
I'm not from Rochester, so I don't know about the neighborhoods. Is this a decent area, or would I be looking over my shoulder constantly?
No, it's not all necesarilly bad. Genesee St, Plymouth Ave, Jefferson Ave are all starting to come back. I rode my motorcycle from Genesee Valley park, north on S. Plymouth Ave at twilight the other nite and was very impressed.
If you like urban living, look in the Park Ave and Corn Hill areas. Those areas have an eclectic mix of people and are in close proximity of the city. If you have kids, stick with the suburbs, unless you're sending your kids to private schools. The city schools are pretty bad.
Downtown Rochester becomes pretty much a ghost town at night.
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