Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So I'm sure the safety question is asked all the time. I recently moved to the West Side from a small town in New England. I work outside of the City. Some of the "older" people at work have basically indicated "there's no reason to go into the City" and that it's "very dangerous."
I'm sure like any City there are places you should be and places you shouldn't be. I would like to explore what the City has to offer, but I haven't ventured too far because of the "safety" factor.
I have been to a couple of events at the Blue Cross Arena and drove around downtown a little bit. I did find some areas that seemed "a little unsafe" but I wasn't terrified for my life or anything.
Basically I'm looking for a set of rules that say where one should be and where one shouldn't be. So far I have found the whole area a great change from New England and I'm thrilled to be here - yes I know that may sound shocking to some, but there does appear to be a lot to offer in Rochester!
Downtown Rochester is DEFINITELY safer than the west side! Unless you are talkig about the west side suburbs. You will find that it is mostly the older folks who have the whole "Fear the city" mentality. Most people under 50 around here know better. Downtown and the city as a whole are fine for the most part. The excpetion is heavy crime in a few neighborhoods in the Northeast and southwest corners of the city...places you wouldn't go anyways. Also, the crime that does take place there isn't random. It's basically lowlifes killing lowlifes over ridiculous personal conflicts. Sad but true. A typical suburbanite going to the city to enjoy nightlife and culture really doesn't have much to worry about....despite what some of the older folks (many of whome grew up in the city back before suburbanitation and view it as the place that "used" to be liveable and decent until they left; but should now be avoided).
Downtown Rochester is DEFINITELY safer than the west side! Unless you are talkig about the west side suburbs. You will find that it is mostly the older folks who have the whole "Fear the city" mentality. Most people under 50 around here know better. Downtown and the city as a whole are fine for the most part. The excpetion is heavy crime in a few neighborhoods in the Northeast and southwest corners of the city...places you wouldn't go anyways. Also, the crime that does take place there isn't random. It's basically lowlifes killing lowlifes over ridiculous personal conflicts. Sad but true. A typical suburbanite going to the city to enjoy nightlife and culture really doesn't have much to worry about....despite what some of the older folks (many of whome grew up in the city back before suburbanitation and view it as the place that "used" to be liveable and decent until they left; but should now be avoided).
Informed - yes I should've been more specific. By West Side I mean the suburbs. I have not seen any crime related issues in the suburbs as of yet.
The safest area of the city is by far the southeast quadrant, especially along East Avenue and Park Avenue. The Park Avenue between Alexander and Culver strip offers a lot of choices for eating, drinking, shopping, people-watching, etc. The residential areas in this quarter of the city (elwanger-barry, highland, upper monroe, swillburg, park avenue, cobbs hill tend to be as safe as any suburb. There are rougher areas in parts of the southwedge (west of South Avenue) and along Monroe Avenue and immediately to its south. In general you are fine.
You are also fine in the neighborhoods in the northeast quadrant that run east of Culver Road (North Winton Village, etc). This is a more solid working class area in general, though the Browncroft neighborhood is very upscale. West of Culver and north of Main and south of Titus is the hard area in the northeast I'minformed writes about. Some streets are better than others here and a few are actually ok but in general this is an area best to avoid.
I don't know the west side of the city well except for the ok neighborhood immediately surrounding the airport so I will leave the description to others.
Downtown has no more crime than any other downtown in the US. The people that think its dangerous are sheltered suburbanites with no lives. Just don't leave things visable in your car when you leave it.
Downtown has no more crime than any other downtown in the US. The people that think its dangerous are sheltered suburbanites with no lives. Just don't leave things visable in your car when you leave it.
So now that we've conquered the "fear" factor of ending up in the wrong part of town - what are some good things to do Downtown? I drove by the Science Museum and saw signs for the Eastman Theatre. What are the "must do" things Downtown this time of year?
So now that we've conquered the "fear" factor of ending up in the wrong part of town - what are some good things to do Downtown? I drove by the Science Museum and saw signs for the Eastman Theatre. What are the "must do" things Downtown this time of year?
What are you interested in? Family events -- I'd go to Strong Museum of Play if you have kids younger than their teens. A night drinking -- I'd hit the East End (East Ave. at Alexander and heading towards downtown). Love music -- Check out the Bop Shop in Village Gate. Dinner and Theater -- Check out one of the small restaurants on Park and get tickets for Geva. If something else interests you, I'm sure someone has a suggestion.
Yes, a lot depends on your interests--the Eastman Theatre has wonderful concerts all season with the Rochester Philharmonic and other groups. I go there by myself all the time and park across the street in the lot--no problems (I believe there is also free parking in one of the garages, but it's kind of a pain to get in and out, so I pay the $5 to park in the lot. I come from the NYC area so that seems incredibly cheap to me) :-)
I also love the Geva theater and have been to several shows there. They have very professional, high quality productions. There's also the Auditorium Theater which has touring Broadway shows.
We also love to go to the George Eastman house, both for the photography exhibits and to tour his mansion and learn about his life.
My husband likes to go to Amerks games although they have not been doing well lately :-( And there are the Red Wings baseball games in the summer, which often have fireworks, music, etc. included.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Things to do
