Rochester, New York is a place that is called home by nearly 211,000 people. Whether you leave to move to a new city to start a job, a new school or for whatever your reason is, you always will have a sweet spot in your heart for Rochester. Yes, you may think I am crazy and you may disagree, but Rochester will forever be your hometown and will always be there when you come back. You may think Rochester is only filled with crime, poverty and troubles, but it is home to some of the nicest spots that you'll miss tremendously, you won't get anywhere else and will always keep you coming back.
There are a great number of food choices.
Rochester may be a big city that holds many chain restaurants and stores, but if you go to the right places, Rochester contains some of the best food choices that may be considered authentic: Mexican, Chinese, Indian, American, you name it. It's almost guaranteed to be good. Some of your favorite restaurants and stores may include Salena's on Goodman Street, Jay's Diner on West Henrietta Road, Stever's Candies on Park Avenue and Abbott's, which is almost placed in every town. You won't get any of these in any other city. Another favorite food everyone in Rochester enjoys is...
Garbage Plates.
Oh, garbage plates. Every place that is not in Rochester pretty much fails at making the famous plates. You may go to Nick Tahou's, Henrietta Hots or even Bill Gray's and Tom Wahl's when you need a cheaper fix on plates. They will not be the same as if they were made in Rochester.
The only grocery store anyone likes to shop at is Wegmans.
There is not a single person in Rochester who hasn't been to Wegmans. It trumps all other grocery stores and thankfully, it is spreading across the country, even though it's growing slowly. Going to a college in a very small town, I am lucky to have a Wegmans close to me (even if it is 45 minutes away). Some may not be as lucky as I am, but I sure am happy to have the chance to go if need be. When I go home on breaks or weekends, I always go to Wegmans to grab great food instead of poorly-made campus food.
The music and festival scenes rock.
Rochester is home to some of the greatest music venues and festivals in the world. CMAC, Eastman, Blue Cross Arena and Water Street Music Hall are just a few venues Rochester has that artists have come to perform in. Also, Rochester is surrounded by cities that have other bigger venues like First Niagara Center and Darien Lake in Buffalo, Times Union Center in Albany and Saratoga Springs Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs. All are close enough to drive for a night or two to see your favorite artists perform if they aren't performing in Rochester. The festivals Rochester holds all year round are super fun to go to and have great musical concerts with them. The Lilac Festival, Park Ave Fest and Jazz Fest are a few that hold concerts that features local and big name artists. These especially keep people coming back for the fun events.
Art is everywhere.
Museums, theaters, galleries—we have them all. The arts are one of the most prominent things Rochester is known for. We have theaters like Geva Theatre and Rochester Broadway Theatre League that feature off-Broadway professional shows throughout a season that lasts from October to May. Rochester has a big community of musical theater and has a plethora of companies like RAPA, Roberts Wesleyan Community Theatre, Blackfriar's Theatre and Stages. All of these companies have played huge roles in our community. There are also museums like the Rochester Museum and Science Center and the Strong Museum that cater to kids for educational purposes, or if you are like me and like to be a 5-year-old kid in a 20-year-old's body and play around for fun. Art also fills the streets with sculptures and murals painted on sides of the buildings. Rochester has many artists that love to put their artwork out for everyone to see, and most of the time only gets good feedback from the community as people take artsy pictures with it and post them on Instagram.
There is a sport for everyone to enjoy.
For all of the athletic people, Rochester has a team for almost every single sport. Really, the only sport there isn't a team for is football, but we have the Buffalo Bills 80 miles away or so from us. There is a team for lacrosse, soccer, baseball, basketball and hockey that are all professional and are liked by people. Many people like to go and support their local teams. I, personally, like to go and support our soccer and baseball teams.
Rochester may not be the prettiest, the nicest or the best place to live in, but there are so many reasons why I will always come back. It is the city I grew up in, and for this I am forever grateful to have been raised here. If I ever am in a time of trouble, I can always come back to where I am lucky enough to call home, which is the Flower City: Rochester.
