Syd Chase - Why invest in Rochester? Proximity to major markets and talented workforce among reasons

Well, for starters, Rochester has been a busy little bee attracting more than $115 million in new capital investments from the likes of several great stable companies such as, General Motors, General Electric, Natcore Technology, and Alpina Foods just to name a few, those who have recently announced expansion projects in the Greater Rochester, N.Y. region. "Why is this" you're asking? Well, let me give you some insight. Maybe it's because of our region's proximity to major markets without major market expenses. Perhaps it's because of our talented and highly skilled workforce. Or it could be the number of innovations and patents generated by our workforce. Forbes, Kiplinger, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and Brookings Institution all have taken notice of Rochester, and given our area high marks for our short commute, patents per capita, and economic recovery. With a workforce that produces more patents and the 2nd most renewable energy patents in the world. Rochester is in the top 5 in patents per capita (Forbes). Did you know we have one of the fastest commutes in the nation? Twenty minutes in every direction, 25% shorter than the rest of the country. If you have ever sat in traffic in NYC, LA, Atlanta, or Chicago, to name just a few, twenty minutes is a dream commute. Also with the Rochester International Airport you can be in NYC, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cleveland within two hours or less. Rochester housing is more affordable by 32% compared to the national average. Oh yeah, if you didn't know, Forbes said Rochester is the number one place to buy a home and they also said Rochester is the seventh fastest recovering city in the country. Bloomberg and Business Week say Rochester has the 15th strongest job market in the country. Bookings says Rochester is in the top 20 for the strongest performing metro areas economic recovery. Wow! The private sector in Rochester and the 5 county regions surrounding it is adding jobs faster than any time over the last twenty years according to the state labor department, from construction, healthcare and education. After all that being said, if you didn't know, Rochester is the 10th smartest city according to the numbers being crunched at the Daily Beast behind: 1. Boston 2. Hartford- New Haven 3. San Fran - Oakland - San Jose 4. Raleigh - Durham 5. Denver 6. Seattle - Tacoma 7. Austin 8. Minneapolis - St. Paul 9. Washington D.C. OK, OK let's be realistic the pasture is a lot greener over here. But we do have a few brown patches too. Like other cities behind us or in front of us in the above list of cities, with great people and great companies coming into the Rochester region and three of the top media outlets talking about us, it's only a matter of time before the brown patches start turning green. You, being one of the smart ones, because you're reading this great paper, will want to be a part of it as well. So if you're not here in the Rochester area yet, get packing! Syd Chase is the founder and CEO of Syd Chase Group LLC, Sodus, N.Y.