Rochester's Browncroft Neighborhood & Suggestions for Other Neighborhoods

[del]

Hi

My family is relocating to Rochester from Los Angeles. We're looking for a home. In a quick visit, I fell in love with the Park Ave area - mostly due to the walkability and beauty of the old streets. We have been watching the area for a while, waiting for homes to pop up, but we havent found anything we liked so far.

We extended our search to the Browncroft area. I haven't explored this area in person yet. The homes are gorgeous - online anyway. Can any residents tell me a bit about the area? Mainly -

(1) is it a walkable area, where residents can walk to coffee shops, book stores, etc (similar to park ave)?
(2) character of the neighborhood?
(3) safety?
(4) I saw an old story stating the area puts on a large Christmas show every year. Does this still go on? I'm assuming this could back up area traffic a lot.


Also, are there any additional neighborhoods you would recommend we check out? I am mainly looking for old homes (3K - 4K sqare feet), pretty neighborhoods with tree-lined streets, very walkable, safe, no strip-malls, and a somewhat city vibe.

We are going to check out villages the next time we are out there. We don't have these on the west coast, so I'm not sure what they are like, but our realtor suggested we at least take a look.

We have alreay eliminated the neighborhoods of - Corn Hill, 12 corners, Cobb Hill, and the most of the suburbs.

thx in advance for the help.