Niagara Falls and the sophisticated city of Toronto are both easily accessible by car. The rugged Adirondack Mountains are about a four-hour drive away. In the summer, lovers of the performing arts head for Artpark and Chautauqua in New York State, or to the Stratford Festival and the Shaw Festival in Canada. But for busy graduate students, the most valuable aspect of life in Rochester may simply be its convenience. There's no time to worry about transportation, goods, and services.
Convenience is really important.
Here, the cost of living is moderate. Because of its reasonable size, the Rochester area is easy to negotiate by car or by public transportation. And housing is affordable, generally of high quality, and readily available.