Overview

Dear Resident,

Welcome to Rochester Hills!!  On behalf of our entire city staff and your 70,000 fellow residents, I want to congratulate you on a wonderful decision.  No matter where you are coming from, or what brought you here, I am confident you will enjoy your new community.

Rochester Hills is the jewel of Oakland County and is unique in Southeast Michigan.  In fact, just last year Rochester Hills was selected by Money magazine as the 39th best place to live in the entire United States!!  Money magazine spent months looking at criteria like quality of schools, safety, the environment, housing affordability, taxes, weather and the job market to make their much-publicized decision.

We agree with their assessment and take great pride in being a top-notch, family oriented, bedroom community.  Take a drive, or better yet, a bike ride through any of our tree-lined subdivisions and you will see that families are what make our community great.  Whether it's playing ball in the front yard, or talking with neighbors in the back yard, you cannot help but be swept up in our towns' friendliness and charm.  Summer evenings in Rochester Hills are my favorite time of the year, and although it has not been proven, I am confident that calories can actually be inhaled as the smell of BBQ's waft throughout the community.

Rochester Hills is blessed to have a diverse economic base supporting our diverse population. 
We have excellent shopping opportunities for every possible purchase inclination as well as some of the best dining in all of Michigan.  Our businesses are community conscious and often complement our midwestern values.  World-class organizations like the Older Persons Commission and The Rochester Avon Recreation Authority sponsor countless activities for our residents.  We are also home to Oakland University and Rochester College, which offer extensive educational and entertainment opportunities as well.

Rochester Hills is perhaps best known for its parks, trails and recreational offerings.  Once you unpack your fridge, put a to do list up get started.  Take a swim or rent a rowboat in Spencer Park.  Catch a soccer game, use the batting cages or roller blade on our in-line hockey courts in Borden Park.  Enjoy a bike race at Michigan's only Velodrome in Bloomer Park.  Break out your best lures for some great river fishing in the Paint Creek and Clinton Rivers.  Hike or bike down the river trails to view some of the most scenic vistas in Southeast Michigan and all within 4 miles of your new home!! 

Well, with this much to do, I need to let you finish unpacking.  Please feel free to stop by City Hall  (located off Avon, just west of the intersection of Livernois and Avon) and pick up more information on any of the items you are interested in.  After you have experienced some of what our community has to offer, come in and let me know what you think.  We are thrilled to have you as new neighbors and hope you will come to love our city as much as we do.

God Bless,

Bryan K. Barnett, Mayor