Following is an answer to "life in Rochester" from Hua Liu, and I shamelessly copied here, hoping it help newbie@Rochester. Pls go to http://rocwiki.org/Grocery_Stores and scroll down to "East Asian", you'll find local Chinese grocery stores. Speaking from my personal experience, I like Asia Market the best; Ocean Garden has the worst shopping environment; Hikari is very small and does not have too many choices; West Lake is good ----- If I couldn't find something I need in Asia Market, I'ill try West Lake. The best Chinese restaurant in town, I would say, is Formosa Breeze (http://rocwiki.org/Formosa_Breeze). The dim sum in Cantonese house (http://rocwiki.org/Cantonese_House) is good but my friends and I think the waitresses/waiters are not accommodating at all. Well, the best Chinese food is in Toronto, 3 hrs drive from Rochester. I use TimeWarner's digital package, which includes road runner for internet connection and hundreds of digital channels for $99/month. Basic and standard ones provide less channels with lower prices. I use RGE for electricity supplies. I don't think there are other electicity suppliers, but I might be wrong. There are two big malls in Rochester, EastView (www.eastviewmall.com) and MarketPlace (www.themarketplacemall.com). There is an outlet on route 90 but I've never been there. Rochester has a very good public market (http://www.cityofrochester.gov/PRHS/PublicMarket/index.cfm). Local farmers sell fresh veges and fruits. The price is absolutely lower than that in grocery stores. If you like skiing, you've come to the right place. You may want to check out Bristol mountain (http://www.bristolmountain.com/). They have good deals on Saturdays. There is a group of skiing lovers on this DL and we went skiing twice since Chirstmas. We may go skiing again when it's getting colder and the snow accumulates. Feel free to join us if this interests you. There are a lot of gorgeous parks (pls check out http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/). They are open in summer and fall. I have to say there is no spring in Rochester. It's like, one day we wear sweaters&jackets and the next day we walk around with shorts. My favorite parks are Stony Brook (http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/info.asp?parkID=102), Watkins Glen (http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/info.asp?parkID=105), Letchworth (http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/info.asp?parkID=12). Finger lakes area has the best foliage scenery and wonderful wineries. Wine tasting trips are offered in falls. You can buy cheap but tasty wines. You may already know that finger lakes area have some medal winning wines. You may have heard a lot about Niagara Falls and thousand islands, which are two you-don't-want-to-miss places. 5 hrs away from Rochester, Adirondack (http://visitadirondacks.com/) provides a great get-away resort for campers and rafting lovers. A bunch of friends and I went there last summer. We tried rafting for beginners and had a great time. I would like to try a little bit more challenging rafting this summer. If anyone on this list organizes such an event, I would like to join. I took horseback riding courses last year and enjoyed it very much. There are a lot of stables close by. Just google "stables rochester" and you will find dozens. Some parks in finger lake area provide horseback riding sightseeing trip -- very entertaining, especially in foliage season. There are several places for indoor archery. What makes it appealing in winter is the harsh weather outside. Besides, it's not expensive. The one I went to (http://archerysolutionsusa.com/) charges $8 for one day pass and $4 for rental. The staff can teach you basic techniques for free. I think there is one in Irondequoit, but not sure. You can enjoy old (but not too old) movies for $2 at Movies 10 (http://www.cinemark.com/theater_showtimes.asp?theater_id=201). Usually Movies 10 shows movies 2 or 3 months after their open shows. The Little theatre (www.little-theatre.com) has good independent movies. Park Ave and Cornhill are two unique areas in Rochester. I love Sunday brunch with friends at Park Ave, my best summer memory. The last but definitely not the least wonderful things you can do in Rochester are festivals. There are Lilac festival in May, Fairport canal days in June, Cornhill festival in July, Park Ave festival in Aug, and Naples grape festival in Sept. Pls goole them for locations and dates. I've been in Rochester for 2 years and enjoyed the life here. Rochester keeps amazing me with wonderful things to do in the neighborhood.