Oncesir (Wilmington, Dover, Newark: low income, violent crime, houses)

[James420]

I put your name in the title so you can feel free to post what you want without getting ripped, I put out some facts that I can clearly back up if called upon. Keep it clean and fair please.

If you look at every state forum on citydata at certain times you'll see the same things being said about everystate. Each state has its good and bad points it coul be the weather, crime or schools. Heck in Delaware we rank super high for crooked politicians but Delaware isn't cutting school programs like PA and NJ.

People will defend their home no matter what, I have in the past gone about attacking certain things about this state the wrong way wheter its schools or crime but if you look at the lifelong residents like rdlr or beachliz they will confirm some, if not all of these things. Good and bad.

I through doing much research have found Delaware to have a high poverty problem in the school districts, much higher than I thought and if you look around the country high poverty doesn't mean great schools.
Most of the states districts have over 50% low income students, with the exception being the Indian River School district thats has close to 70% low income but their test scores rank with Appoquinimink school district. They are the exception not the rule. Check Seaford, Laurel Colonial, and Christina and you'll see what effect high percentages of low income students can have on a school district.

Crime wise Delaware didn't become the 7th most dangerous state to live in just because of Wilmington, especially since those numbers come from '09 when Wilmington actually had a good year. Btw I'd hate to see the numbers from '10. Just ask beachliz about Sussex county, especially eastern, Is amazing the things that get covered up or don't make the newspapers.

If I could afford private schools or have my children in the Appo school district I probably still wouldn't stay in Delaware, I've been in the same basic area my whole life, south eastern PA and northern DE. I can't stand 5-6 months a year of what I consider to be crappy weather. There is no reason I should be watching Little League in the middle of April when its 40 degrees outside.

I love the beach areas, I love having a major horse racing track 20 minutes away, I love how Middletown DE became a major relocation point for so many, not just in Delaware but NJ, PA, MD, and all over the eastern U.S. For whatever reason senior citizens have been flocking here for years, all those old people can't be wrong. lol. The festivals all over the state, flower market in Wilmington, the State Fair, Nascar at Dover Downs, hunting and fishing, The fact that we border the DE Bay and River, Bombay Hook. Its amazing that DE is such a small state but you can really get two different cultures from Lower slower to above the canal residents.

I believe Delaware has way more positives than negatives and when I do move away this or next summer, I'm sure that I will miss it. But schools at this point in my childrens life are way to important to not try for better.

btw, our schools don't have a curriculum or teacher problem...Even in Glasgow high, our schools have parent problems or a lack there of.

In closing, feel free to post what your problems are with the state, yes Delaware could be better and it could be alot worse. But as someone wrote on another thread, home is what you make it and how you feel about yourself.

[DelawareLiz]

Wow, everyone is on a roll this morning with the thought-provoking threads!! Good one, James420. I saw my name mentioned--I'm game!!

I agree that Delaware has "low-income" issues and has to face the challenges that come with it. You know, when I first moved to Oak Orchard from Foulk Road, I had never lived around poor people or around so many people who steal and do drugs. My parents had more crap stolen (or attempted to be stolen) in Oak Orchard than I can even recall. I'm not trying to sound haughty, but this kind of crime just didn't exist where I came from. Drugs, stealing, and poverty go hand in hand. However, I am NOT saying that all poor people steal and do drugs. They don't.

And yes, drugs....BIG BIG PROBLEM in this state. I find that drug problems are more isolated in New Castle, but you can't escape it in Sussex--no matter how nice of an area you live in. I live in what would be considered a very nice area, but I still have to deal with the trash. I will say that drugs are a bigger problem in western Sussex than eastern; I believe western Sussex has more drug dealers than eastern Sussex, hence more violent crime. That's one thing we don't have here in Ocean View--violent crime. If an assault occurs around here, it's typically a domestic--not a crime against a stranger.

My husband's family are Seaford natives, and the "issues" we have here in Ocean View pale in comparison to what goes on over there. My in-laws have multiple drug dealers, prostitutes, juvenile "halfway houses", and homes filled with ex-cons all around them. They do not live in a poor community, but it is an older one. I moan and complain constantly (along with my neighbors) about what's going on across the street from me, but honestly...it's nothing compared to what my husband dealt with growing up. I suppose I'm just thankful that the young lad and his buddies across the street are friendly.

I'm sure I'll think of more things to type later, but I must say that the positives outweigh the negatives in this state. I'll end on that note for now....

[Legendof302]

If you make good money, live in a nice area (Pike Creek, Hockessin,Greenville) and send your kids to private school Delaware is great. If not Delaware is mostly bad, (Wilmington, New-Castle and 75% of Newark). Delaware beaches are a nice area, but alot of other downstate parts are trash. Nothing to overanalyze.

[doctorjef]

Originally Posted by Legendof302

If you make good money, live in a nice area (Pike Creek, Hockessin,Greenville) and send your kids to private school Delaware is great. If not Delaware is mostly bad, (Wilmington, New-Castle and 75% of Newark). Delaware beaches are a nice area, but alot of other downstate parts are trash. Nothing to overanalyze.

I think this is a bit over-stated. The City of Wilmington has some nice areas, though mostly on the side of I-95 opposite downtown: neighborhoods like Wawaset Park, the Highlands, Trolley Square, Forty Acres. Most of the M-O-T area seems perfectly decent, even though it's not my personal cup of tea. Saying that 75% of Newark is bad seems to be considerably over-stating things. The public schools aren't all bad; private school isn't a necessity to get a decent education here. What certainly is correct, however, is that without adequate income to live in a safe area you are screwed -- that's true anywhere, not just Delaware.

[doctorjef]

James420, just curious, can you tell us where you are thinking of moving? I assume it's somewhere farther south.

The heat can be as bad as the cold IMO.

[Legendof302]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

The heat can be as bad as the cold IMO.

As a doctor do you think that depends on the persons body chemistry?

[doctorjef]

As a doctor in psychology I'd allow for it partly being a matter of individual personality differences as well as habituation; in terms of physical correlates, I would think that body composition might be more determinative than "chemistry", although metabolism could certainly be a signficant factor.

Did I take the bait?

Were you being sarcastic?

[Legendof302]

Sarcastic? NO

Example, a person who played sports growing up and has sore joints/arthritis might enjoy a constantly warm climate in some cases. Even if thats not an example of body chemistry. IDK

[Gone-2-Beach]

Originally Posted by Legendof302

Sarcastic? NO

Example, a person who played sports growing up and has sore joints/arthritis might enjoy a constantly warm climate in some cases. Even if thats not an example of body chemistry. IDK

I'll help you out here. How about a person with Lymphoma who feels cold faster than a person without the disease or feels cold faster than he did before acquiring the disease? The answer there is a resounding yes!

[doctorjef]

I know I shouldn't...but as a reference point I particularly had in mind the dire summertime heat that you have, for example, in most of Texas. Unremitting temperatures in the triple digits aren't pleasant for most people. In fact, I don't think I knew anyone who enjoyed living all summer in the constant Texas heat. The question becomes more like which poisen do you prefer, six months of blast-furnace heat or six months of deep-freeze. Very few people really like either alternative. The heat in most of Texas is more extreme than the cold in Delaware. Delaware, of course, isn't upstate NY, North Dakota or Minnesota.