Rochester is Awesome!

As I am sure some of you have heard, Rochester was voted the #2 place to live in America!

This needs no further explanation other than the fact that we are awesome, but just for funsies I’ll tell you why we were voted so highly anyways.

First and foremost, Rochester is growing . . . fast. The youth and vibrancy around downtown has expanded, thanks to new bars and restaurants, as well as the popular Thursdays on First during the spring and summer. Other community amenities include the Farmer’s Market, Rochesterfest and the Rochester Civic Theater.

Rochester is just a short hour drive to the Twin Cities, which offers even more amenities and activities. The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is located a few miles away from the famous Mall of America. There is also the Science Museum, Excel Energy Center, The Walker Art Center and The Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

The biggest thing that is happening in Rochester right now is the expansion of the Mayo Clinic. The Clinic will build the “Destination Medical Center” here.  Of course the Clinic itself is what makes Rochester an ideal place to live. However with the expansion of the clinic, comes the expansion of the city. The population is on track to nearly double once the expansion is finished and could offer up to 40,000 jobs.

The University of Minnesota – Rochester, is expanding which will bring even more younger people to town. There are plans to build more housing for students in downtown Rochester. The expansion of the Clinic coupled with that of the University, means a whole lot more people to house, a multi-use development called Metropolitan Marketplace sold out before it was completed and has a lengthy waiting list.

Rochester has a whole lot of work cut out for it, but Mayor Brede is facing the challenge head-on.

“I think 98 percent of the cities in the U.S. would love to have this challenge”