Rochester, NY, anyone?

NurseyBaby'05, BSN, RN · May 4, 2005

Not sure about the hospitals, but I did live there for awhile. If you can afford it, Pittsford School District has some of the best schools in the country. Nearly all of the school districts in the area are far above par. I found it easy to navigate in unfamiliar territory. I would move there again in a heartbeat. The only drawbacks were the loooooooong winter (October to May. I had snow the weekend before Mother's Day) and lack of decent pizza that wasn't from a national chain. I'm in Pittsburgh now and there are neighborhoods that are pockets of the "old country" for nearly all ethnicities. I guess I'm spoiled foodwise. Hope this helps and good luck to you.

casper1 · May 18, 2005

I live in Rochester . I've lived here 30 years. The city is constantly changing. I think Rochester is getting better year after year. I can tell you many places to get great pizza, Pontillos, Tony peperoni,s, Marks, Salvatores the list is endless I don,t like chain store pizza I don't hink it can compare to the small privately owned shops. Ethnic food abounds, In fact in the area surrounding the Uof R you'll find a multitude of choices, from Indian to Korean, Pakistani, Chinese, Italian, Mexican the food is all good and resonable priced. It's true the winters are long and cold, it's not that bad the snowfalls are beautiful, several ski resorts in the area. The plus of the long winters are the beautiful springtimes. Rochester comes alive in the spring all of us having been isolated all winter really enjoy Spring. Each year Rochester holds a Lilac festival to celebrate spring and to bring attention to our beautiful parks. The Lilac festival is a week long celebration of flowers, food crafts, entertainment. We have many festivals all summer long. Loads of fun. Rochester has it's own world famous dance company Garth Fagan, as well as an opera company, and multiple theater company's. Geva theater in the city is beautiful. Your also within driving distance of NYC and Toronto.

The city will be starting a High speed ferry system which will

travel betwwen Toronto and Rochester this summer.

Nursing jobs are plentiful, All the hospitals are experiencing shortages., You won't have a problem finding a great position in critical care.

Welcome to the city. I hope you will like it here.

donsterRN, ASN, BSN · Jun 6, 2005

I live in Rochester . I've lived here 30 years. The city is constantly changing. I think Rochester is getting better year after year. I can tell you many places to get great pizza, Pontillos, Tony peperoni,s, Marks, Salvatores the list is endless I don,t like chain store pizza I don't hink it can compare to the small privately owned shops. Ethnic food abounds, In fact in the area surrounding the Uof R you'll find a multitude of choices, from Indian to Korean, Pakistani, Chinese, Italian, Mexican the food is all good and resonable priced. It's true the winters are long and cold, it's not that bad the snowfalls are beautiful, several ski resorts in the area. The plus of the long winters are the beautiful springtimes. Rochester comes alive in the spring all of us having been isolated all winter really enjoy Spring. Each year Rochester holds a Lilac festival to celebrate spring and to bring attention to our beautiful parks. The Lilac festival is a week long celebration of flowers, food crafts, entertainment. We have many festivals all summer long. Loads of fun. Rochester has it's own world famous dance company Garth Fagan, as well as an opera company, and multiple theater company's. Geva theater in the city is beautiful. Your also within driving distance of NYC and Toronto.
The city will be starting a High speed ferry system which will
travel betwwen Toronto and Rochester this summer.
Nursing jobs are plentiful, All the hospitals are experiencing shortages., You won't have a problem finding a great position in critical care.
Welcome to the city. I hope you will like it here.

I hear you...I LOVE Rochester! Your post is an excellent reminder of the wonderful things to see and do. We moved away 7 years ago, but are now back in the southern Tier (Elmira).

I love the festivals; the Lilac Festival was within walking distance for me, since I lived on Highland Avenue. I also loved Corn Hill and Park Avenue Festivals; do they still happen? We'd go for no other reason than to have the food, especially a Nick Tahou's garbage plate! We used to go to a place called Proietti's (I think that's spelled correctly) for pizza. You used to be able to get a large one with the works and a pitcher of beer for less than $10 on Tuesday nights. They were on the northside (Norton Street, maybe?), but they closed some time ago; an insurance agency moved in. I remember Rochester to be very easy to navigate. When we left, the High Falls area was just starting to be active, bringing lots of business to the downtown area.

To the OP: There are several hospitals in the city, and more in the suburbs and surrounding communites. You'd have your pick of them.

I hope you enjoy Rochester as much as I do. And shopping at Wegman's (the one at Pittsford Plaza is the only one I'm familiar with) is an event! :chuckle

giginy · Jul 12, 2005

Hi. I am a new grad moving to Rochester in August (from Oregon) and I would love any information and/or comparisons as to the different hospitals and the Rochester area in general. I am looking for a position in the critical care setting and have been in contact with RGH and Strong Memorial. Are there any other hospitals with CCU/ICU's? Can anyone give input on these 2 hospitals? So far my only contact in Rochester has been with nurse recruiters, so I would love to hear from actual nurses!

I have lived in Rochester about 2 yrs, and love it. I worry when someone says they are a new grad and are planning on going right to critical care. Number one, you have to remember those two hospitals are teaching hospitals. Meaning you are usually dealing with residents, many of whom are, well suffice to say don't know a whole lot. They depend on the nurses to tell them what to order etc. I worked in Strong's ED for about 1 1/2 years, with 10 years of experience behind me and was overwhelmed with the responsibility of knowing more than the docs. LOL. There are many other hospitals, park ridge, highland and than many that are not right in the metro area, say maybe a 1/2 hr to 45 minute drive. I highly recommend you do a year at least on a medsurg floor, not exciting I know, but you will gain a wealth of knowledge and build your confidence and your skills immensely. I have known nurses that went directly into CCU right out of school (the managers will take you in a heartbeat) one almost lost her license because she was in way over her head. I just hate to see people set themselves up like that.

The other important thing is the NY nursing license. I'm sure you've looked into that already. I have been looking into travel nursing and I know it takes at least 6 wks to obtain. Anyway, Rochester is a great place if you can take the cold winters, always lots to do! As previous posters have noted there are alot of different festivals during summer, every ethnic group imaginable is represented! Good Luck, sorry I'm so wordy, my coffee kicked in !!!

PaSsIoN_4_NuRsInG · Jul 24, 2005

Hi. I am a new grad moving to Rochester in August (from Oregon) and I would love any information and/or comparisons as to the different hospitals and the Rochester area in general. I am looking for a position in the critical care setting and have been in contact with RGH and Strong Memorial. Are there any other hospitals with CCU/ICU's? Can anyone give input on these 2 hospitals? So far my only contact in Rochester has been with nurse recruiters, so I would love to hear from actual nurses!

Hey there! I lived in Rochester 19 years of my life. l now live in Arizona and gosh l miss NY SOOOOOO bad. The food is wonderful, basically what l miss most. Very very green and lots to do. I worked at Park Ridge for 2 and a half years and loved it. They have an ICU there. Good luck with what you do and make sure you get a garbage plate!!

huadring · Aug 3, 2005

Thanks for all the replies. I'm still on my extended honeymoon but will be back in the states very soon and heading out to Rochester. All of the posts are making me excited about the new adventures ahead, in both life and nursing. I'm also glad to hear about the ethnic diversity and of course, the great food!!!

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Aug 3, 2005

Congratulations upon graduating, good luck to you and hope you have a smooth transition :)

MarkRN · Apr 30, 2006

Hope you are enjoying Rochester!