Poll: In Which DE County Do You Live (Or Plan to Live)?

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by Charley

When RDLR speaks of Kent County, she does so with 29+ years of knowledge and experience. When you try to present knowledge of an area with which you are clearly unfamiliar, it's a good thing that RDLR can come along and correct any incorrect impressions.

Connie & Chuck - I agree. I grew up south of the canal and lived and worked in Wilmington twice as an adult. After living over 25 years in different parts of the country we've retired to Center City, and I occasionally check into the DE forums. DJ is knowledgeable about his neighborhood, but less so once you get south of the canal, despite his sometimes professed knowledge. This is where RDLR shines. Suggest you balance his views with hers as I find he often exhibits a bias against the southern part of the state.

My guess, however, is that you are less interested in the internal p***ing matches of the DE forum posters than in finding a great place to live. You say you want to be midway between Philadelphia and the shore. Northern Delaware, while charming once you get out of the suburbs, is still the southern reach of the Philly metro area. One place that hasn't been mentioned is Middletown. From a distance, I've watched this sleeping and charming town take off. It's been a while since I've been there, but it might be a good fit for what you're looking for. I recall the old residential area almost having the feel of some of those more charming Bucks and Chester County towns. It's location, just south of the canal, gives you easy access to the amenities of both northern and southern Delaware.

There are lots of postings on Middletown you can search to learn more. Best of luck on your move.

[doctorjef]

Charley, I think if you'll read my posts carefully you'll see that I'm not talking about affluence or lack of it but about differences in geography (piedmont vs coastal plain and marshland), population density (northern New Castle Co. vs DE below the C&D Canal), commercial amenities (ditto). I could just as well tell you that I prefer the geography of the Central Texas Hill Country to the South Texas Coastal Plain (where I was born BTW) -- would you then think I was merely expressing snobbery?

[doctorjef]

Middletown and other small DE towns have a very different aesthetic than the towns of eastern PA. Note: aesthetic is a neutral term, not a value judgement. PA towns show a predominance of brick construction and "Queen Anne" Victorian style along with American Gothic. DE towns show a predominance of frame construction with relatively less ornate Victorian features, and a simpler iteration of American Gothic. This isn't to say that the latter elements don't exist to some extent but they're much less pronounced than in PA towns of similar size.

[Pine to Vine]

^^^ Agree, but "feel" is more than architecture. I should have elaborated: I'm talking about well-maintained historical homes within walking distance of local businesses.

Connie & Chuck - Given you live so close, I'm sure you'd enjoy a day trip to get your own impressions.

[doctorjef]

Given that "one picture is worth a thousand words", here's a rather incredible photographic journey through Delaware that has been in progress for several years now: xzmattzx's daily Delaware photo - SkyscraperCity

I haven't looked back at some of the earlier pages of the above thread in a while, but some of the earlier photos may have disappeared and be in need of Matt - the photographer/poster - refreshing them. In any case, it's a remarkably diverse collection of photography that illustrates some of the variety to be seen across the state.

[cgerlach1]

Dear Doctorjef, Thank you front the bottom of my heart.

[cgerlach1]

Thanks so much!