Welcome to Rochester – AKA the ROC, the best hometown in the Midwest

Just 40 miles north of Detroit, Michigan lies a wealthier, small city named Rochester, otherwise known as “The ROC” to some who reside there. It’s home to three high schools, where it may seem like almost half of the graduating classes each year attend Michigan State.  So, if you’re from Rochester, you understand that it’s not anything too remarkable to see people you went to high school with when walking to class at a school with 50 thousand students.

Some may argue that there is never anything to do there. However, throughout the year many events take place and there are many different things to do where you don’t have to break your budget for some entertainment.

Rochester food is great

Food may be considered a plausible source of entertainment for some. After a long day of school, work, or whatever it is you may be doing, you can stop by at the local Chipotle located within The Village, an outdoor mall in Rochester. You’re almost always guaranteed to see at least one person you know; it’s almost like a local watering hole. Other places such as Lipumas, Buffalo Wild Wings, or the slice special from Georgio’s are also a few of the many food options located around Rochester. Regardless of where you choose to eat at, plan on driving an extra few minutes due to all the construction and road closings there.

What’s better: bowls or burritos?

You actually get real seasons

During the holiday season, Downtown Rochester is decked from ground up with lights. Each year, thousands of people gather to see this annual lighting. As spring time comes a long, the spacious park downtown gets a lot of action from prom pictures along with others who want to go out and enjoy the nice Michigan weather. Also, the annual Arts and Apples festival is held here. Throughout the summer, many people bike, walk, or even ride horses in certain areas on the Paint Creek Trail that runs through multiple cities including Rochester. After a long bike ride you can stop into Dairy Queen and eat ice cream while watching young kids who just came from their rec baseball or softball game stand up and try to get cars to honk for them.

Downtown Rochester during the holiday season

Detroit is just a stone’s throw away

If you’re a sports fan in Rochester, going to a Tigers, Red Wings, or a Lions game doesn’t have to be an all day trek. Being a suburb of Detroit, all the events, facilities such as the DIA, and famous landmarks can easily be accessed. Each year concerts such as DEMF, The Hoedown, and other big name performers bring large crowds to The Motor City. Also, in the winter time, Campus Martius Park opens up its ice rink for anyone to enjoy. There’s also a plethora of famous and cool restaurants that’d be worth your while to stop by and check out that are hidden throughout Detroit. You can enjoy all these awesome opportunities with a nice view Canada, just across Detroit River.

Woodward Avenue running through Downtown Detroit

It’s a bit of a bubble

Even though Rochester provides a clean and safe living environment to raise a family, it tends to portray an inaccurate model of society. Growing up in a small, affluent community for so long, it can be easy to be blindsided by outside occurrences or issues that may be regularly experienced by others. People tend to complain about the “bubble environment” that living in this type of community casts. A lot of social issues that occur in many other communities are not as acknowledged in Rochester. It’s weird how you can drive 40 minutes South starting from one of the wealthiest cities in Michigan, and find yourself in one of the poorest cities in America.

But we wouldn’t change it for the world

Regardless, when growing up in Rochester, you grow up with a group of people who you get to know pretty well. Not only do the people grow, but the community grows as well. Throughout the years, many new neighborhoods and businesses have been established constantly bringing in a new crowd. Everyone knows everyone for the most part, which makes it easier for the community to come together when need be. To witness something like this happen, is a unique thing that could only come from a small community such as Rochester. After leaving Rochester, you see how many luxuries really came from living there. That’s one thing that many people should be able to appreciate when coming from Rochester. If you lived there for one year or even 21 years, you should be able to take and appreciate all the benefits that the City of Rochester has to offer.