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Hi - My husband has been offered a relocation to Rochester, NY. I know nothing of the area and have not visited at all. Can any one give me advice about "good" areas to live and great schools (our kids are 8 year old (boy) and 11 year old (girl).
It is a fantastic promotion for my husband and although very scared, as long as the four of us are together I know we will be fine. Initally we will probably rent a property, any suggestions?
Company he works for will be paying for the rental until our UK home sold, so the main priority will be getting a great family area with good schools. Any suggestions on actual school names would be helpful too.
For the best schools...you'd want Brighton or Pittsford probably. Some of the best, and nationally ranked, schools around. But really all of the suburban school districts are pretty good. The schools in the inner city are overall pretty bad, so although there are some very nice neighborhoods in the city; you wouldn't want to live there and send your kids to school there Do you know where your husband will be working? You'd want to take that into consideration so he doesn't have too much of a commute time (though commutes in Rochester are much more reasonable overall than in many other areas of the country). Welcome to Rochester and the US!
Thank you for your response. Any school names you know or sites I can find them on (ranking them, etc). His office I think is in Rochester, but when visiting there he stays in Pittsford - so I think he knows the commute a bit already.
www.bcsd.org and www.pittsfordschools.org are what you are looking for. As mentioned above, these school districts are superb, among the best in the US. You should also find housing very reasonably priced in comparison to the UK, even in Pittsford which is generally viewed as the most exclusive town in the metropolitan area.
Can you tell us what kind of neighborhood you are looking for? More city...or more rural? Or maybe how much you approximately want to spend on a rental home, when you are planning on moving??
Here is a link to some homes for rent in the Pittsford school district right now:
There are many great school districts in the suburbs of Rochester. Some others to mention may be Fairport Schools, Honeoye Falls-Lima Schools. If your husband is familiar with the east side of Rochester, maybe that is where you should move. There are also many beautiful homes on the west side of town as well. Spencerport and Brockport are also quaint villages with many nice homes, but more of a commute possibly for your husband (although commutes in Rochester are from most places 20 minutes!)
Congratulations to your husband....you will find Rochester to be a very welcoming city with much to do and see! Keep us up to date on your progress here and you will get many replies!
Also editing to put this link...here is a link for which there are many similar links to rating schools:
thank you so much for loads of information - it is a starting point - hopefully I will be accompanying him on a visit in a week or so to have a good look around. The final move will take place over the summer holidays so that the kids can finish their school year in the UK at the end of the summer term.
Now i have a bit more info, I am starting to feel a little excited about it - my main concerns is the kids and getting them settled, but they are young enough to make new friends.
With everyone being made redundant in the UK, the fact that my husband is being offered a massive promotion, it is unheard of in the UK at the moment!
Thanks for the weblinks they have been most useful.
Towns like Fairport and Brighton seem to be what you're looking for. Try venturing out a bit too if you don't mind a commute, this will also help you find your way around the city. Brockport and Spencerport also have very nice schools. Best of luck and we are happy to have you
Good luck on your relocation! And congratulations to your husband on his promotion. Redundancies (called layoffs in the States) are affecting us as well. You will find that people from Upstate NY are extremely friendly and welcoming. It may seem a little overwhelming at first. The experience of moving should definitely bring your family closer. There are several things to do that will make nice day trips. The lake is beautiful, the zoo is nice, museums, race tracks, etc. Renting is a nice way to get to know the area before committing to buying a house, but if you'd like to see what is available try zillow.com or realtor.com or rentals.com. Another source is the online version of the local newpaper, the Democrat & Chronicle.
We moved here from overseas (Europe) last year and made the move to Pittsford and we have never been sorry. The schools are great and you will find the structure of education similiar to England. The folks are great and very welcoming and the high schools are rating as some of the best in the US. Let me know if you want any information of thre different areas of Pittsford I would be happy to help. Since we are so new here I would not feel comfortable in commenting on the towns around us but on the other hand I haven't heard anything bad about the other East side cities and I think they are all very similiar.
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