Wanting to move to Delaware (Wilmington, Newark: 2014, cheap apartment, rent)

[needachange212]

Hello! I am looking to move to DE and am looking for a nice affordable community that is conducive to raising kids. I have twin 10 year olds and am looking for a place that has a great school system. I hope that I am not asking too much!

[James420]

Originally Posted by needachange212

Hello! I am looking to move to DE and am looking for a nice affordable community that is conducive to raising kids. I have twin 10 year olds and am looking for a place that has a great school system. I hope that I am not asking too much!

If you do a search in the Delaware threads for schools and kids I think that you'll find Middletown and the Appoquinimink School Distrct come up quite often. Nice developments, and good schools I wouldn't hesitate to move there with school aged kids. If I had the money for private schools I might stay in North Wilmington but since I don't, Middletown, Townsend, and Odessa areas in the Appo school distict is the way to go. The area is sometimes called MOT. Of course the beaches have some good schools as well with Delaware's best little town Lewes. (IMO)

It really on where you want to live.

[Mary2014]

Originally Posted by needachange212

Hello! I am looking to move to DE and am looking for a nice affordable community that is conducive to raising kids. I have twin 10 year olds and am looking for a place that has a great school system. I hope that I am not asking too much!

Since you have 10 year olds I expect you are too young to retire. So, unless you work from home you need to be close enough to employment opportunities. Also, "affordable" means different things to different people - can you put a number to what you consider affordable? Are you considering buying a home or renting?

Additional information may help others to be able to respond to your query with more specifics.

Mary2014

[armx]

I second mary's post. Buying a home in the right commuinity for your entire family is best done in person although internet or this forum may be helpfil but is a very poor substitute for the real thing.

This forum has a questionaire that somewhat helps you in providing general information about you and your desires which may help others get a fairly good idea as to what you are looking for, which in turn, may get you some appropriate answers rather than a shot-gun type answers.

[needachange212]

Thank you to everyone who responded. I should have been more specific about exactly what I am looking for! I am conducting internet searches right now so that I can have a map of places that I would like to visit to get a good idea of where I would like to move. I am interested in renting only right now and don't mind commuting to work,I live in the DC Metro area and even with public transportation most things still require a vehicle. Am also interested in taking some classes at a local community college but that depends solely on where I live as my kids education comes first... once again thanks to all who replied and I look forward to hearing more of your advice.... Have a Great Day on Purpose

[KatieNK]

Originally Posted by James420

If you do a search in the Delaware threads for schools and kids I think that you'll find Middletown and the Appoquinimink School Distrct come up quite often. Nice developments, and good schools I wouldn't hesitate to move there with school aged kids. If I had the money for private schools I might stay in North Wilmington but since I don't, Middletown, Townsend, and Odessa areas in the Appo school distict is the way to go. The area is sometimes called MOT. Of course the beaches have some good schools as well with Delaware's best little town Lewes. (IMO)

It really on where you want to live.

I agree with this. Although with a commute to DC, it would be easier and quicker to live in Newark so you could hop on I95. There is not much to do in Middletown. If I wanted to stay in DE, I would live around Newark because there is more to do for kids. I, however, can't get out of DE fast enough!

[gosling357]

I live in Newark and depending on where you live, it can be a really nice place to raise kids. The school system is pretty good (Christiana district, I believe). Just stay away from the cheap apartment complexes and rent from a private owner.

[PANJ]

We just moved to the Newark area (Appo school district). I did all the research on schools/communities before moving here. In fact it took us almost 2 years to research PA, NJ, DE (plus sell our house). My daughter is only 2 but I knew education needed to be factored in now as we didn't want to move again. We are very happy with our choice of the area. I have lots of data / sites if you want them. Too much to go into here but I kept good notes on developments.

[melbanie]

honestly, the public school systems in de get a bad rap, but they are much better than people think! private and catholic schools in de are a tradition with families here and really there are just alot of them. that's all that means. it does not mean that the public schools are bad. the public schools are culturally diverse which is what the real world is!
i have moved here in northern de from pa (garnet valley) and am very pleased with my childrens' education. the key factor is, that i am aware, involved and care about my son and daughter's schooling. volunteer in school when you can(in the classroom, at home, whatever works for you), have open communication with the teachers & staff and talk to your kids!

[armx]

Melbanie, how true .... I am happy to note that your CHILDREN ACTUALLY ATTEND THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, SO YOUR OPINION SHOULD BE VALUED AS A RESULT OF EXPERIENCE and not just parroting others' view based on illicit interpretation of school test scores (without understanding statistical significance of the test score differences).

It is refreshing to see that you have understood how to effectively exploit (in a good way) the public school system for the benefit of your children - thereby using your tax dollars fully and exposing your children to the real, diverse world..