By Sara Turnball Lester

My parents went to high school together in Bloomfield and built a house here when I was born. My husband and I both attended Bloomfield Central School and decided to move back home together after college to start our own home and family. Here are my top seven reasons why I chose to live in Bloomfield.

1. The rural atmosphere. The number one reason my husband and I chose to stay in Bloomfield was for the atmosphere. When we were house hunting, we really wanted land to raise animals, as we had both studied agriculture in college. We found a variety of property types and sizes in Bloomfield and settled on an old farmhouse that my husband renovated.
2. Nearby amenities. Growing up I participated in multiple musical groups and classes up in Rochester. I had access to world-class teachers without having to live in a major city. On a smaller scale, I love having Wegmans 10 minutes away and a mall 15 minutes away, but I wouldn’t want to live closer than that. It’s nice to be able to leave the big box stores behind when I get home.
3. My family. Of course not everyone who lives in Bloomfield has family here, but my husband and I both do. We both went to Bloomfield schools from Kindergarten through 12th grade and our parents still live in the school district. At the time we chose to move back home I also had grandparents in some of the fantastic nearby senior living facilities, which allowed me to visit them more frequently than if we had lived farther away. And we’re lucky enough to have siblings and nieces and nephews in the area too!
4. Great school. When I was in high school I was heavily involved in music. At one time my family explored the option of sending me to a private school so I could focus more fully on music. After touring and applying to different schools we realized something unusual: Even though Bloomfield is a very small school, it has a phenomenal music program. We literally couldn’t pay for a better school. Bloomfield also has great teachers in all subjects and updated facilities. And even though we don’t have certain sports due to our school size, our students are able to participate in those sports through larger area schools like Canandaigua and Victor.
5. Small town size = bigger voice. As an adult I’ve realized the importance of local politics as opposed to national politics. This past year my husband, Steve Lester, ran for town supervisor and managed to knock on every door in town. In a town larger than this, he wouldn’t have been able to do that. When you have a small town (we’re about 5,000 residents) you have a bigger voice. If you see something that matters to you, you can speak up about it and change it.
6. The people. Bloomfield certainly has some lifers and families that have been here for generations, but we’re not a snobby bunch. Unlike in some places where you’re not truly a resident until your family’s lived there for at least a generation, in Bloomfield we welcome and embrace new people right away.
7. Sense of ownership & pride. I’m proud of Bloomfield, and the way it’s grown and changed over the past three decades that I’ve been here. I’m also proud that it’s stayed rural and that we’ve stuck to our farming roots and tried to keep farmers and farms at the forefront of our minds when planning for the future. Other towns in the area have built up and sprawled out, but I hope Bloomfield works to keep its growth centralized so we can preserve our rural character for future generations.