I was saddened, then appreciative :)

 

I was away this past weekend in Rochester , NY with my two daughters at a cheerleading competition. My girls have both been doing competitive cheerleading for 5 years now. The oldest, Mary, is on the Senior All-Girl Team, and my youngest, Helen is on the Youth Team.

It was a successful weekend for the girls, with one team placing 2nd and one team placing 3rd, in their divisions. :)

While we were there, we witnessed the sadness of downtown Rochester. We went for a walk on Friday evening after dinner, on a hunt for a store that sold junk food. Any store, a grocery store, a drug store, a dollar store...nothing. The downtown of Rochester is sadly very empty. It has the potential to be a lovely spot for businesses, with the river running through the centre. I could imagine all kinds of pubs and cafes with sunny patios filled with visitors, enjoying a beverage in the hot, hot sun.

There are no businesses like that in downtown Rochester. Yes, our hotel was gorgeous, but other than that, nothing! The woman in the hotel gift shop says they are trying to rebuild the downtown area, but it's taking a long time to raise the funds. She says it used to be lovely down there, but the socio-economic circumstances of the people who live downtown has caused the businesses to move to the outer edges of the city. I was saddened by this.

We had to resort to buying the girls' junk food in the hotel gift shop...very little choice for very high prices :(

Had we wanted to find an actual store, we were told we would have to get in our car and drive for 10-15 minutes to find one!

As saddened as I was, it made me appreciate what I have right here in "the dirty Shwa". Like any larger city, yes, we have our seedier sections of town, but by and large, Oshawa really IS a nice place to live. I will admit, as a kid growing up in Ajax, we had a snotty view of those from Oshawa ("noses in the air.."ew! you live THERE?!?!") I want to take that back now. I'm sorry I let the reputation of Oshawa decide for me about those who lived here back then.

I LOVE living in Oshawa now. I love how everything I need is closeby. I love all of the Recreation Facilities we have. I love the parks and Lakefront. I love the mall and shopping areas. I love the variety of restaurants. I love my kids' schools, and I love my neighbourhood.

Most of all, I love all of my Oshawa friends. :)

That's all from me for now. I'll be back here soon.

xoxo

Comments

[Gillian]

Well said.
You know how much is happening here right now? This city is poised for so much growth it's fantastic.
Our downtown has grown tremendously, with people investing in new business the last few years (ahem.) and....the UOIT purchased the empty factory on Athol street, they are putting a faculty in there. (Not sure what, but none-the-less....)
Oshawa has gorgeous lakefront, on one of the GREAT Lakes for Pete's sakes! There's only five of them, you know! lol
Jill I share your enthusiasm for this city. I've travelled a bit in recent years and I have to say our city is top notch. Still room for improvement but it certainly doesn't deserve the reputation the few pessimists have given it.
xoxo

[MAT]

To be fair, you probably didn't venture up St Paul St to the St Paul Quarter, down East Ave to the East End, or down Exchange Boulevard to Corn Hill. Yes, the district in which the hotels are located is sadly lacking because of some megaprojects that are tied up in political bickering, but trust me, there is plenty to do in Downtown Rochester - just not on Main Street.

I'm sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy your stay in our fair city, but hey, at least the hotel was nice.

[Jill]

MAT, you are absolutley correct. Due to time constrainst we were not able to venture around Rochester very much during this trip. We went last year as well, and yes we found a cute little pub to eat lunch at, just south of the Blue Cross Centre (Corn Hill area I think?), and we found the malls were very nice. I was saddened by the lack of things right downtown for those that work and live there. I do understand that Rochester is in a period of rebuilding that area and it will take time and money to get there. I hope it happens. Rochester downtown has so much potential and in the long run it will be fabulous for everyone....residents and visitors.

Probably part of the problem for me, is that both times I have been there, it has been winter, which limits how far I was willing to walk around in the cold.

I will say every person I dealt with was lovely, friendly and very helpful.

THanks for posting, Mat.

Cheers :)

Jill