I know about all of that stuff, having lived in Rochester 7 years - the politicians had to have some project to make it look like they were doing something worthwhile. The Toronto ferry didn't have enough people from Toronto taking it, it was almost all Rochesterians going over there. So the private company operating it failed, the city took it over, and then the city had to stop it anyway after spending all that money buying the ship. What about the expensive Charlotte Beach renovations including the big port building, or the city building the soccer stadium?
So did they ever build the big underground bus station (somehow safely venting all those gasoline fumes right onto the Main Street sidewalks) in downtown Rochester after demolishing a whole block of historic buildings including a perfectly functioning city-owned parking garage, which forced most of the operating small businesses on Main Street with sidewalk access to close or relocate, and making the transfers take even longer in the downtown? It was still in planning when I left Rochester in 2006. I thought bus stations made sense but for a lot less money they could have built several on vacant land on the edges of downtown and had free shuttles (oops I assumed the city had any money) through downtown to connect them, maybe even looping around the Inner Loop (unless they threw away a bunch of money on taking up that convenient freeway-like road under the philosophy that the Inner Loop dividing the city was what caused all the poverty and crime outside of the loop, as some people were discussing back in 2006). Maybe you aren't a bus rider and don't know about this.
You're right to want to get out of there, as beautiful as it is. I loved certain things about it and had a small emotional joyful moment (the only one from my recent NH trip that wasn't in NH or about freedom) on the flight from Manchester to Detroit when I could recognize enough lake, highway, and river detail that I was 100% sure we were flying over Rochester. Still, freedom is worth a small sacrifice.
So, back to the thread topic. If you are delaying your move to have enough money in the bank, that seems like a good reason. If you just want to move with other people, it seems likely there will be another carpool thing for Porcfest next year. You are close enough to get there in 1 day of driving - I get tired easily but I think even I could get to southern NH from Rochester in one day.
After saying that, if you still want to do the caravan in September, welcome aboard!