Jobs..Moving to Delaware (Wilmington, Dover: sales, real estate, crime)

[missbia]

Hi Everyone,
I currently live in Chicago and I am thinking about moving to the east coast (Delaware) area where most of my family is.Anyone tips on finding websites or referral services for finding a job before relocating to Delaware?I am in the banking industry and my husband is in the technology field.

Thanks In Advance

[enviroman]

Define "in the banking industry" please.

Do you have a degree in finance? Delaware is the home of banking corporate offices, so there are jobs to be found, for sure.

[dotdot42]

I would not recommend moving to Delaware I lived here all my life. Its over crowded home prices are high the school suck! people are rude .

[sleeplessinpa]

I have relatives in Lewes- I am told not much in jobs down there but up in Willmington that is mecca in the Banking Industry..

[Tralfaz]

Originally Posted by dotdot42

I would not recommend moving to Delaware I lived here all my life. Its over crowded home prices are high the school suck! people are rude .

If you think Delaware people are rude, you really haven't lived anywhere else.

Anyway, there seem to be a good # of jobs in finance in Wilmington and its surrounding area (even with some recent mergers), business law in DE is highly favorable to business (thus the Delaware corporation).

Also, I'm in technology and at least my own company is looking for a number of folks to fill empty positions in Windows, networking, storage and security. Lots of stuff from NYC has relocated to DE to take advantage of lower labor costs (even with comparable salaries to NYC, housing and powering workers and gear is cheaper) and any new system builds are happening in DE, not NYC. IMO this will continue apace, and with NJ raising its taxes DE will start eating NJ's lunch too.

Granted, there isn't much to do in DE, it's claim to fame is that it's not to far from Philadelphia. The mass transit system (buses) don't run after 7:30pm on weekends, and bars close at midnight. Also, Comcast owns a monopoly on high-speed net access, so cable rates are higher than in NYC.

[winnie]

Dotdot- Delaware is by far the nicest and cheapest state I have been in on the east coast. And I have been from VA to ME.

As far as crowding goes, it does not compare to its neighboring states. Even the beach towns I found to be quite bearable in the summers we went down. No waits for resturants on a Fri night (in Dover) and we could even park down near the water at Rehoboth beach in July!

If you think life is bad where you are I would hate to see the wakeup call you get if you move!

Sometimes the grass isn't really greener..ya know?

[RodFarlee]

Originally Posted by Tralfaz

If you think Delaware people are rude, you really haven't lived anywhere else.

Let me guess... you're from NYC, and haven't really lived anyplace else?

(Apologies, but that was just far too obvious to let pass. Only a NYer would say that.)

Originally Posted by winnie

If you think life is bad where you are I would hate to see the wakeup call you get if you move!
Sometimes the grass isn't really greener..ya know?

And sometimes it sure is, in every way! Moving out of DE was the best thing I ever did.
I agree, Winnie, life in DE may be less unpleasant overall than in neighboring states.
But is that a ringing endorsement? I think not!
If you have a choice, look further!

[jetjockey75]

Originally Posted by RodFarlee

Let me guess... you're from NYC, and haven't really lived anyplace else?
And sometimes it sure is, in every way! Moving out of DE was the best thing I ever did.
I agree, Winnie, life in DE may be less unpleasant overall than in neighboring states.
But is that a ringing endorsement? I think not!
If you have a choice, look further!

I lived in Delaware during the 80s and 90s when I was in the military. Maybe it has changed, I don't know, but I thought it was a WONDERFUL place to live. We always found plenty to do within an hour's drive, and the people were among the nicest I have ever encountered (and I have lived all over these United States). Mosquitoes and flies were bad in the summer (as was the beach traffic) but otherwise I have no complaints.

[jskirwin]

Positives:
Jobs are plentiful in both banking and IT thanks to Delaware's credit card industry. Being a suburb of Philly gets you access to one of the largest job markets in the country (use Dice.com for IT jobs). Being business friendly does tend to help keep the jobs coming, although recently there has been significant losses after MBNA/BoA merger. Some jobs have been made up by foreign banks (Barclays, ING) building a US presence, and JP Morgan-Chase is well established here.

It's very close to Philly, and within driving distance of DC, Baltimore, and NYC. Crime isn't bad for the most part, and taxes aren't nearly as bad as elsewhere (no sales tax but higher state income tax - overall I think taxes are lower than PA, NJ, MD and most other states in the region).

The weather isn't very extreme.

Within driving distance of the Delaware shore - some of the most underrated vacation spots around IMO.

Negatives
I-95 congestion is second only to I-5 in LA as being country's worst IMO. Lots of congestion on the other main arteries (202). The state feels more densely populated than it is.

Delaware isn't the prettiest place to live, and real estate values don't seem to reflect that (although they are coming down).

There is an East Coast "in your face" attitude that does take some getting used to for newcomers from the West, and aggressive driving is necessary to survive.

The public schools are spotty, although the private are quite good. The public schools seem to be improving, but you have to take an active role in your kid's education (hmm... Probably not a bad thing to do even if the schools are great...)

Overall I think that it's a good place for some but not for others. I don't understand how anyone can state "this place stinks". No, Delaware may not be for everyone and even may not be right for someone depending on their circumstances, but to say flatly that it sucks is not helpful. When I consider people's opinions I tend to ignore the "THIS PLACE IS GREAT!" along with "THIS PLACE SUX" because honestly, every place has it's charms and it's troubles.

Who am I?
11 years in DE (lived abroad, CA, and from Midwest) and same amount of time in IT, currently employed at one of the banks in DE.

[anniebleu]

All sorts of opinions. Of course!

I grew up in NJ, and have never stopped missing some things about my natal state, but went to college elsewhere. My husband and I have lived in Dover for the past 30-some years. Obviously, we found that we could pursue our careers here, though we were lucky in this respect. A number of our friends have been less fortunate in terms of work, and have had to move on. Our children grew up here, were happy until high school, but didn't like it, I'm sorry to report, from then on.

Thirty years were enough for us, time for a change, and we were poised to move around a year ago, though hadn't decided where except for closer to family, but the housing market problems have discouraged us for now. We're getting the house ready, so we can launch ourselves quickly when the time comes, but that may not be for a a year or two. More?

What we don't like now that we're nearly seniors: not convenient to get to major airports. We don't like to drive to Philadelphia--as someone said, the northern DE traffic is reminiscent of the worst of LA, at times--and reliable airport shuttle / limo services don't seem to last here in Dover. We'll use one, kind of like it, and then it's gone. We drive to and fly out of BWI, but in summer that means figuring out whether we'll be able to get across the Bay Bridges, going and returning, with all the beach traffic. This has been a common complaint among our friends.

If you're young, you may not mind driving to cities a couple hours distant, for whatever it is you seek, but my husband and I both advise you to give this some thought if you want somewhere to settle as you get older, and especially if most or all the family you want to spend time with are far away. This is one of the main criticisms I've heard over and over again from many here in Delaware. They do feel isolated, at least in central and southern Delaware, and those still living in northern Delaware are finding some aspects of their situation more difficult to cope with.

On the other hand, we've found an abundance of pleasant places and people, friendly people , in this state. It may not, quoting jskirwin, be the prettiest place to live, but some of it is beautiful. You have to open your eyes to find treasure! I'm hoping to see some photos posted here. If not, I'm going to have figure out how to post a few of my own.