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I've seen quite a few New Yorkers moving Upstate to Western, NY. Rochester has been having quite a renaissance in the last 5-6 years. Especially in the food/cocktail scene. Outside of NYC, it's probably the best in the Northeast as far as I'm concerned. RIT, University of Rochester, and other top schools. Easy commutes, short rush hours, Fingerlakes, Great Lakes. There's multiple festivals nearly every week during the summer months. The Public Market is the second oldest in the entire country, and amazing. Far, and away the best grocery chain in the country (Wegmans). Also recently received $600 million in funds for photonics research.

Also cost of living is LOW, any decent wage here, especially in tech. You'll live like a king.

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I went to RIT and Rochester is definitely a city trying to recreate itself, but it runs into the same problem that most every other north eastern city outside of NYC and Boston do. The weather sucks 6-8 months a year and there's not enough there to make up for that fact. I think it's a much more attractive option for families because it's so cheap and the schools are good. Still I think for a lot of personality types the lack of nightlife and comparatively small demo of post grad but pre middle aged people (what do we even call that age range) kills it.

Anecdotal obviously but after graduation everyone I know left, and those who couldn't still mostly want to. And to me that's the difference between say a city like Philly that's growing because people want to stay there after graduating.

Regarding the nightlife, that has done a total 180 in the last five years. Seriously, if you're into killer craft cocktails, seasonal farm to market type food. It's here, in droves. Yes, the weather sucks sometimes, but welcome to the Northeast. I'll take seasons over the same day over, and over.

I still wouldn't classify the nightlife as great. There is a lot for the college scene but Rochester is really missing that in between stage. I'd say even Buffalo's nightlife is better. And it helps that stuff is open til 4 there.

Side note Rochester is the same day over and over. And that day is cold, dreary and probably snowing. The 4-5 months of Spring/Summer/Fall though is amazing though.

Venture out past East and Alexander then. There is TONS of nightlife for adults. Revelry, Nosh, Cure, Branca, Cub Room, Lento, Roux, Nox, Goodluck, Daily Refresher, Lux, and the general park ave area are all a good start. Buffalo's college scene is MUCH bigger.

4-5 months of amazing is fine with me, spend the rest working on projects, and making money.

I live in the SE and from the opposite end it's not that great. A/C bill is high and only getting higher. And some days the trip outside leaves you drenched in sweat. Our "good" weather is really only from Nov-March and then it's a humid inferno.

I have a few friends that are looking to move north. Georgia seems to be absorbing a lot of Florida residents.

Most of NY state is amazing, beautiful, great outdoors and scenery, lakes, rivers, tons of nice little towns and smaller cities. And aside from NYC, it's also dirt cheap.

We call it Western NY. Upstate NY is the Adirondacks.

I left Rochester in 2004, before the Kodak plane completely augered into the ground next to the Xerox, B&L, etc.

I'd moved there after college because it seemed to be the last Upstate place with any life in it but that all drained away.

What's changed in the intervening time? What's drawing people there, specifically for jobs?

Everyone I know who has moved upstate has done it because they can work remotely as a software engineer, and they are either from there, or just like the quality of life / cost of living balance. So, I would say the availability of remote work rather than industry.

There's obviously a significant sample bias in the above.

A lot of research has come here, especially with University of Rochester, and RIT getting a research program. UofR is a HUGE employer, Paychex, Rochester General Health, Wegmans, and like I said previously the food, and drink scene has just exploded. There are quite a few restaurateurs, chefs , and bartenders that have moved upstate from downstate. I'm directly involved with that stuff, so I hear/eat/drink quite a bit.

I'll second the endorsement of Rochester. The quality of life for the cost can't be beat. I have (affordable) gigabit fiber running to my house thanks to a local ISP. Rochester punches above its weight for culture, thanks to the philanthropic history of Eastman, Bausch & Lomb, etc. The orchestra is world-class and affordable, and the music scene in general is quite good, perhaps owing to the Eastman School of Music at UofR, which alternates with Juilliard as one of the best conservatories in the country. Geva, the local stage theater is enjoyable, and the independent movie theater, The Little is great ($3 student tickets, anyone?), and there are fun museums. It takes 20 minutes to drive anywhere. But you can bike if you don't want to drive, most of the year. Housing is actually affordable. Imagine beautiful Victorian homes for <$250k, or even <$150k. I rented a single room in the Boston area last year, and the cost for a month was 150% of my monthly mortgage in Rochester for 10% of the space. The UofR Medical Center is a heavyweight research hospital.

Rochester and Monroe County have an amazing system of public parks and green space, and they're always well-kept. If you golf, there are many nice public courses. Bike trails abound for transit, and you can hop on the Erie Canal towpath trail and ride from Buffalo to Albany. Irondequoit Bay has sailing, and people row on the Erie canal and Genesee river. Club sports take advantage of the parks. Parks nearby have hiking, though not tall mountains.

The Public Market is an amazing resource as you mention. Vendors at "farmers' markets" in big cities have realized they can charge inflated yuppie prices, while the Public Market has farmers from the local area selling directly at wholesale rates, as well as third-party vendors selling overstock/ugly produce from local supermarkets. Wegmans is the best, for consumers and their employees.

The Rochester city government is (mostly) functional and well-meaning, and citizens generally have a sense of civic pride and interest in their communities. The tax base is not what it once was, but the city makes the most of what it can, with new experimental initiatives and impeccable maintenance of public services. Rochester weathered the recession well.

A downside is of course the grey skys of winter, but that is counterbalanced by four distinct seasons with a beautiful summer. When I lived in California I missed having four seasons.

It's a fairly future-proof place to live; Western NY is not prone to natural disasters like earthquakes, droughts, wildfires, volcanos, tornados, or hurricanes. Most areas are high enough where flooding is not a concern. Climate change will have less of an impact than many other areas. Blizzards are likely the most probable "natural disaster", but you can wait them out: snow melts.

If VCs were willing to take more risk, they could bankroll startups in cheaper areas like Rochester and spread their resources across larger portfolios.

Buffalo is having a similar resurgence, or so I've heard. Western NY is cheap enough to take risks, and people are. New restaurants; cocktail joints; art, dance, meditation, and yoga studios are opening all the time. Startups could be next; take a look at Rochester for your next company and lower your burn rate.

That's a good point about the VC money, and I wish there were more looking this way. There is a relatively decent sized tech culture, having regular meetups, sharing what we're all working on. With the cost of living, and access to RIT/UoR grads, it would encourage more people to make this a tech base in the Northeast. It wouldn't take more than a few higher profile companies, to get the ball really rolling. People are looking for excuses to get out of the overpriced city grind.

I could never understand why Poughkeepsie isn't thriving as a tech hub. You've got IBM hiring & firing employees in droves, good universities nearby, and NYC as a client/talent pool. I can only assume government incompetence or shortsightedness.

The growth in tech over the past decade had some clear winners, but any city that is just mobilizing now is entering a crowded pool. Anyone thinking ahead should consider how remote work will change businesses in 5 - 10 years, and start planning from there (schmooze freelancers instead of VCs and prepare legislation that would benefit the employee, rather than the business).

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