<p>BIG SMILE to Magnetron. :)</p>
<p>I have a child at U of Rochester. It’s safe. The area around Eastman, being obviously right downtown, is of course less safe. </p>
<p>I get crime reports for Rochester from crimereports.com. Crime is centered in the bad area NW of downtown and the area just south of downtown but across the river - the “Mayor’s Heights” area. The area kids go in - like South Wedge - is more dangerous than Back Bay, Boston but it’s not bad. Lots of kids live off campus right across the river. There isn’t much crime in that neighborhood. </p>
<p>If your kid is going to UR and will be new there, he won’t be going off campus much except on shopping trips. Those are mostly by car or shuttle bus because the mall area is about 10 minutes to the south. Campus social life is centered on campus; the school has 5k undergrads, which is certainly enough for a social world. If he goes off campus, he’ll likely be with others, so there is almost no risk. His biggest worry should be getting used to snow and cloudy days. Upstate has lots of cloudy days in winter.</p>
<p>The biggest concern I would have with a southern kid heading to Rochester is he has plenty of warm clothes and good snow boots!</p>
<p>
Great line, magnetron. Agree that Rochester is perfectly safe. FRIGGIN’ COLD, but very safe.</p>
<p>Well, I’m sorry, Mamaof1. I was attempting not to reveal the city in question, in accordance with your wishes–as one would think the substitution of asterisks would indicate–but apparently that was to subtle for some. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Regarding region, Try looking at a table of crime rates, and you will find that most of the southern states lead the way in murders per capita and other violent crimes.</p>
<p><a href=“mailto:Smile@Consolation”>Smile@Consolation</a>. :)</p>
<p>I think I must of had a bad dream or something. It’s all I could think about this morning. Someone posted a link on crime a few posts up and I followed up on it. It had very detailed information. </p>
<p>I’m almost sure he will be fine, it’s just me being a mama bear.</p>
<p>In addition to the above, also keep in mind that crime…including potentially violent ones aren’t limited to large cities. </p>
<p>I’ve had a few uncomfortable incidents as an undergrad at a college located in the rural midwest in the late '90s ranging from female classmates being openly catcalled/stalked by cars, some locals staring at inter-racial dating couples, some locals trying to give me grief for speaking Mandarin Chinese in public…especially after I gave them a short lecture about how the first amendment included the right to use whatever language I damned well feel like using, and having a local ne’er do well yell racial epithets at me and nearly starting a fight after I gave him a NYC style one-fingered salute in response. </p>
<p>As for Rochester, it’s very safe from what an older cousin, HS classmate, and some college classmates who went to Eastman for grad school experienced.</p>
<p>Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, but your son may find that people up north don’t seem as “friendly” or “polite” as they do in his home town. It is just northern vs. southern culture. And urban vs. rural. (I have gone back and forth between major metros in the north/midwest, and rural and small town south–where I lived for over a decade.)
Stereotypes are true, imo. People may seem “cold.” They don’t mean to, but there are cultural differences. He should just be prepared for that slightly “unfriendly” feeling and not read too much into it.</p>
<p>I went to college in Flint, Michigan … as far as I am concerned, Rochester, NY is a cake walk! Seriously, though, he will be absolutely fine.</p>
<p>I’m sure the university will teach them about how to stay safe as part of freshman orientation. And it will sink in better hearing it from someone other than a parent :-)</p>
<p>But I understand your concerns, suburban kids aren’t even experienced at crossing city streets! We tried to do some “street smarts” training when we were in cities on vacations over the past few summers, without making our son totally paranoid.</p>
<p>That part of NY State is culturally more like the Midwest. Different from NYC, Boston, Philadelphia. People will take their time and talk with you more than they would in NYC.</p>
<p>Towns like Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo are essentially Rust Belt, in my opinion, and if there are dangers, they are probably rooted more in the antagonism that can arise when young, conspicuous “haves” come in briefly from elsewhere to attend college, and find themselves in the wrong neighborhood, situated in front of local “have nots” who are stuck in the area without a lot of economic opportunity or options. And yet most locals understand that the universities bring money and jobs into the area, and are needed.</p>
<p>When I first read the original post, and saw the word “city”, I assumed Chicago, Boston, NYC. I see Rochester as a big town, not a city. My concern would not be that it’s so urban, but simply that the area does not offer much outside of the campus. The student’s experience will probably be more like living on a rural campus of 5,000 – largely dependent upon the university for a social life and entertainment. It will not offer the opportunities or distractions of Chicago, Boston, NYC. But Rochester would have its share of crime, if you go to the wrong areas.</p>
<p>About NYC, for whatever it’s worth – I always tell people from other parts of the country that New Yorkers are not mean, they’re just in a hurry. And they live in such a densely populated area, that the constant stimulation and presence of other people can become too much. So they filter it by keeping their eyes down, tuning out, keeping many interactions to a minimum. Getting your daily tasks done may take a little more dogged effort in NYC, so there is a certain quality that might seem aggressive, but they are generally fair-minded, very live-and-let-live, and they tend not to make demands on others. They try not to slow other people down, knowing that others are trying to get things done, too. That’s my (local) take on it.</p>
<p>One thing your son – and all new college students – need to learn is whether they’re on a theft-prone campus or one where their possessions are likely to remain untouched if left unattended.</p>
<p>There are campuses where you can leave a pile of unattended stuff next to the car on move-in day, where you do not need to lock your bike, where you can leave your dorm room unlocked when you go to the bathroom, and where you can save a seat in the dining hall by putting your laptop on the table. And there are campuses where no experienced student would consider doing any of these things because they know that their possessions would vanish if they did. It’s important to figure out which type of campus you’re on.</p>
<p>Moms worry about everything. Comes with the territory. For many years one worry I had was that the kids would choke on a grape. Sounds funny, doesn’t it? But it happens.</p>
<p>So take a deep breath.</p>
<p>The worrying is the only way we know to protect them when they’re away from us, but the reality is, we can’t.</p>
<p>And the vast majority of them survive quite well.</p>
<p>One of my least favorite phone calls:</p>
<p>“Mom, I can walk on Broadway (NYC between Barnard and Columbia) by myself at 2 a.m. because there are so many other people out. You don’t have to worry.”</p>
<p>Haha. Until that phone call, I didn’t know she was doing this!!! </p>
<p>The other scary thing that happened was S got lost in Hopkins Forest (very near Williams) with no cell phone service, or something like that. He finally found his way out.</p>
<p>One urban, one rural. </p>
<p>They both graduated. I worried. I still do!</p>