In Rochester at the moment Jim79. If you want the name of a lawyer just PM me. I'm leaving for NY in the morning but have a few good contacts here who can organise it for you if you wish. If you haven't visited I'd suggest you do so though. Like anywhere else, there's good and bad and it's very difficult to tell which is which unless you've seen the area. A return trip with Aer Lingus and JetBlue will cost you about €700, not a lot if you're considering investing here for the long term.
Slappy - I don't think Rochester is particularly worse than any other US city. It's not New York city but then you're not paying New York city prices so I think there could well be a place for it in the portfolio of a smaller investor. If you stick within a couple of blocks of the corridor close to East Ave. then I think there is some good product here which can be picked up at reasonable prices and will rent well.
If you want to be critical, property taxes are a bit high here, but in general that tends to keep up the quality of both the property and the tenants. It would generally be seen as a pretty desirable location in upstate NY, particularly the area around Pittsford (home to which hosted the Ryder Cup in 1995). It also benefits greatly from the fact that the University of Rochester was bequeathed much of the Eastman Kodak fortune by
George Eastman, which means that the schools in the area are quite sought after for academic, rather than sporting, reasons. Always a good marker for property.
Like any other city it's got its rough areas but if you're careful I think you can do ok here.