Let's start with traffic: I've lived in the "big city" and had a one-hour car commute each way. That's two hours out of every day spent crawling down an expressway jammed with thousands of anxious, pissed-off people. The cliche is right: in Rochester, everything is 20 minutes away, and the traffic runs smoothly most of the time. Spending 25 low-stress minutes per day driving to and from work, rather than 120 white-knuckle soul-sapping minutes in the big city, is reason enough to love Rochester. I don't have to change my schedule to accomodate the traffic, dwell on alternate routes or listen to traffic reports.
Unlike some big cities, Rochester's people and government go out of their way to make the city and surrounding towns look nice. During the spring and summer, there are tons of flower plantings maintained by the city and towns, and most people have planted a few flowers in their yard or maintain some flowering trees or shrubs. The net result is that there's something beautiful on every block, which just adds a little bit to my day.
Finally, the people in Rochester are generally courteous and friendly. In stores, there's usually a smile on the clerk's face as well as a friendly word. Service in restaurants is pleasant. People will return your greeting on the street. Most people in Rochester aren't so hung up on themselves that they've forgotten basic human courtesy.
So, on this Memorial Day weekend, go out and enjoy this town. Smell the flowers, smile and nod when someone passes you on the street, and appreciate the time you're not spending sitting in a car in traffic.
