Is There a Good Family Area in Northern DE? (Wilmington: crime, loans)

[cnote]

We are relocating to DE next week but we do not have a place to live yet.

My husband changed jobs and he will be working from home with a territory mostly in the Wilmington Area but includes ALL of DE.

We currently live in Moon Twp which is West of Pittsburgh, PA and LOVED it here. We have a 30 year old 4 bedroom that is mostly updated with a great 1/4 acre tree lined yard and big trees throughout the neighborhood. Our neighborhood is amazing with everyone having each others phone numbers, leaving doors unlocked, kids and dogs playing in everyones yards, strollers and joggers on the sidewalks, block parties and we only lived here for 2 years and felt incredible welcome the first day we moved to Moon Twp.

We have 6 month old twins and we are looking to buy a ready-to-move in home or new construction up to $310,000. We can live in WILMINGTON, NEWARK, NEW CASTLE, BEAR, MIDDLETOWN, TOWNSEND or anywhere in that vicinity.

We looked at about 25 houses with a realtor last weekend in Bear, Newark and Wilmington. We were VERY disapointed.

Can anyone tell me an area where we should look??? Our realtor doesn't help much because of "red lining" issues or whatever it's called.

Thanks!!!

[SXMGirl]

What developments did you look at in Bear, New Castle, and Newark? I know the area fairly well and can give you my point of view.

[isis297]

Just my opinion but if your realtor won't give you advice on the areas, I'd get a new realtor. When we moved here to upstate NY, we didn't know anything about the areas or the schools or anything. While we are looking to leave, it is because of the cost of living and allergies. Were it not for that, we feel very fortunate to be in the area we are and it is all thanks to our realtor who gave us a lot of wonderful advice along the way...what schools were best or should be stayed away from, what neighborhoods were best, she even knew that there was something going on with the water in one of the areas we had been told by others to look into!

[SXMGirl]

Realtors cannot give too much info on schools and the areas. You need to do your own research. Realtors can lose their licenses. I know New Castle County quite well, as do many others on this forum. Use our expertise to your advantage.

[elizamary]

Realtors cannot give too much info on schools and the areas. You need to do your own research. Realtors can lose their licenses>>>

Why is that?

[SXMGirl]

It is illegal for realtors to give their opinions on school districts. That info is public and can easily be found. Just last week Delaware published DSTP scores. My opinion about a school district might be different than yours. That goes for neighborhoods also. Even police departments are reluctant today to give crime info. Read the paper, do your research, and visit the communities on weekends, especially in the evening. Look around and be proactive. I am a firm believer that if your child wants to get a good education that he or she can do that at almost any school. However, I have preferences about where to send children to school. My development is split between Colonial and Christina. Most of the neighbors send their children to Colonial, but not all.

BTW, a realtor cannot tell a client the average age of the homeowners, race, etc. It is a buyer's market today, so no one should jump in to a house without checking carefully.

[mistyseaocean]

Just putting in my 2 cents worth......I have lived in Delaware almost my entire life and am finally getting out of here. People here tend to want to keep to themselves (good luck with block parties, etc.) which may be due in part to the crowding issue. While taxes are low, you will pay dearly in housing prices. Jobs pay pretty well, but are not as plentiful as they used to be. Schools? I have had my children in private schools because I would never put them through what I went through in public. I think the most attractive parts of the state are Greenville (if you are a millionaire), Kent County, and Sussex County. I have lived in all three counties and know the state like the back of my hand. Honestly, I would not move here if I had other choices. Sussex is very expensive and no longer the charming farm/beach community it once was. New Jersey and New Yorkers are moving in like crazy due to the low taxes. Farms are disappearing. Kent County is where I now live and is the best "bang for your buck" in the state. There are things to do here and Silver Lake is one of Delaware's rare places to find a little beauty. I have had it with the traffic, deafening booms coming from cars around here, and a general sense that this is NOT a great place to raise a family. In a few weeks, we are packing up our things and heading to the Midwest. My husband landed a great job in a wonderful small town in Wisconsin where everyone walks to school and work, you know your neighbors, and beauty abounds. Yes, it is cold there, but I will take that a million times to have the safe and secure feeling that we made the right decision to get away from here.

[elizamary]

[quote=mistyseaocean;1159892]Just putting in my 2 cents worth......I have lived in Delaware almost my entire life and am finally getting out of here. People here tend to want to keep to themselves (good luck with block parties, etc.) which may be due in part to the crowding issue. While taxes are low, you will pay dearly in housing prices. Jobs pay pretty well, but are not as plentiful as they used to be. Schools? I have had my children in private schools because I would never put them through what I went through in public. I think the most attractive parts of the state are Greenville (if you are a millionaire), Kent County, and Sussex County. I have lived in all three counties and know the state like the back of my hand. Honestly, I would not move here if I had other choices. Sussex is very expensive and no longer the charming farm/beach community it once was. New Jersey and New Yorkers are moving in like crazy due to the low taxes. Farms are disappearing. >>

Our home was a lot cheaper than homes in NY, NJ or PA. That si why people from other states are moving here like crazy..............Especially seniors. DE is becoming the new Florida.
We live in Kent County too. I agree it is a better choice than Sussex for the traffic reason. We almost bought a place in Sussex West which was not expensive. I think it was only $109. But I knew I could not deal with the traffic in the summer. Would go absolutely nuts for 3 months.

As far as farm disappearing..........makes me a little heart sick. but then again, you can't blame the farmers. Farming is a ton of back breaking work and they are loosing money. Farmers do not get much help from the goverment. Sure......They get loans with low interest but year and year loosing any profit or crops, it is impossible to get caught up. They just go deeper and deeper in debt with more back breaking work to tend to.
If I was a farmer and someone offered me a good penny for my land, I may sell too.

[mistyseaocean]

Yes, Elizamary, I definitely agree with you. I think Kent county is the best I've lived in inside of this state. I just don't feel "at home" here and I've lived here my whole life (aside from 1 year in Florida). My husband and I have tried to be friendly with neighbors wherever we have lived and everyone seems to want to just keep to themselves. I was listening to a local talk radio show (WGMD) and was disheartened to hear a discussion between Jared Morris(show host) and locals who were calling in. They were all saying how they hate having neighbors and don't want to even have to wave to them. Jared said he covers his face with his grocery bags so he can avoid contact with neigbors. I'm sorry, but my husband and I are completely the opposite. We would love to welcome kids to our yard, to have barbecues with neighbors, to have block parties, to feel a sense of community. My husband is from Wisconsin and had to move here years ago for family reasons and we met here. He has never liked it and now we are getting a chance to go back to where he considers home. He can't wait for friendly neighbors and snowmobiling. Cheeseheads, here we come!

[mikandmari]

For $310,000 you should be able to find a decent family neighborhood in New Castle County. The housing market is at a standstill, so you can bid low... and remember, although home prices are a little higher, property taxes are lower.

Red Clay is a pretty decent school district, so is Brandywine.