Rochester, MI

Now if you’ll remember the last town post, I left with an overall good feeling about Michigan in general and that continues to extend to Rochester. My first impressions of Rochester were very good. We worked from its Municipal Park during the day, and then meandered around downtown and it’s surrounding neighborhoods in the evening.

The heat wave was still abundant, but tons of people were out walking, biking, and enjoying a bachelorette party (that’s got to be a good sign, right?). We were there on a Wednesday, yet many restaurants were full, which makes me wonder what it would be like on a weekend (too crowded?). There were ample maps posted to help visitors find their way and to see that Rochester is connected to a handful of other towns via a 10 mile river trail. Along said river trail, we saw an otter catch a fish and a deer who was far to comfortable with our close proximity.

For dinner, we went to Chomp, a place that was rated as one of the top for vegetarians and vegans in the greater Detroit area (I had a vegetarian Ruben but Cameron had a full-meat chicken and waffles with bacon). It seemed like every type of person who could be there was: young families, a group of women about my age, some college kids, a middle-age man working on his tablet while he waited, and a rotating line of folks coming in to pickup pre-ordered meals. 

The Good

• Race, age, and socioeconomic diversity. Looking around at the people and houses, this felt like a community I could fit into and would be happy to be a part of. 
• Great outdoor spaces that extend around the town, plus a handful of state parks and nature preserves in the nearby surrounding areas.
• A large and local downtown that had character and largely brick and Tudor architecture.
• Very nice looking schools – the high school we passed was a very impressive building and Rochester University seems like a nice small liberal arts school (although it is religiously affiliated).
• Lots of community events that were being advertised, ranging from a weekly farmers’ market to “Junk in the Trunk,” whatever that is!

The Bad

• Skiing is still a concern, but potentially easier to overlook here than at the other Michigan stop since Rochester is closer to other water-related outdoor activities. That said, looking at a map there’s not much wildness in the greater area.
• The heat also continues to be a concern for me. I also tend to assume if it gets really hot in the summer, it probably also gets really cold in the winter.
• The downtown, although lovely in almost every way, is on a big road and doesn’t feel as pedestrian-focused as my ideal town would have. 

The Verdict

Probably no. Although I think I would be perfectly happy here, I wasn’t wowed. I’m glad to see that my qualifying metrics seem to be producing good places, but when I compare Rochester to other towns we’ve already visited, it doesn’t make the top of the list.

The town really prided themselves on their nature-focus and art, both of which help rank it high on my list.

I also like a town that is welcoming enough to provide you a map, and big enough to warrant said map.

The restaurants and shops in downtown were cute, but the main road doubled as a highway, which made it a little less cozy than my ideal downtown would be.

Rochester's roster of events was pretty expansive. Despite it's proximity to Detroit, I don't think I would need to go into the big city to get my fix for community entertainment.

All of the restaurants seemed busy despite the day of the week we visited. I wonder if they get a lot of visitors from the other nearby towns which may not be nearly as comprehensive. 

The downtown neighborhoods were really stinking cute...

...and I found my dream house style. What is this architecture called? Queen Anne? Victorian? Regardless, I want there to be artistic flourishes to my final home.

There was a really nice river train paralleling town. Based on the Paint Creek Trail map, it seemed likely that bicyclists use this trail system for commuting. 

We spent most of the day working from the Municipal Park. There were a wide range of parkgoers throughout the day.

Although most people were enjoying a walk through the park, a handful of kids were splashing in the river. 

A nice overview of Rochester's history. In short, it was the first permeant settlement in the county, it was named after Rochester, NY where many of its first settlers were from, and is now the home for a dog school for the blind.