Good places to live in/around Wilmington DE (Newark, Hockessin: apartment complexes, rentals)

[gadrx]

I will be moving to Wilmington (DE) in another two months because of a new job. Me and my wife are in our late twenties-early thirties. Since my job is in downtown Wilmington, could you suggest any good upscale, safe places to live around Wilmington or in Wilmington.

1) Are there good places (luxury apartments) to live in the city or near to the city?

2) I am also open to suggestions outside the city but I preferably do not want to commute for more than 20-30 mins.

3) Does anyone have opinions on Christina Landing apartments on the riverside? The community looks great but I have no idea about the safety in that area. The area on the other side away from the downtown looks a bit shady. Will appreciate some comments/opinions about living in that community?

[doctorjef]

For clarification, are you interested strictly in renting rather than buying (like a condo or townhouse)? Are you wanting to avoid driving to work or is that not a big consideration? Wilmington and its immediately surrounding 'burbs comprise such a small area that one can live outside downtown and outside the very small city limits and still be only a 10 minute drive to downtown.

[gadrx]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

For clarification, are you interested strictly in renting rather than buying (like a condo or townhouse)? Are you wanting to avoid driving to work or is that not a big consideration? Wilmington and its immediately surrounding 'burbs comprise such a small area that one can live outside downtown and outside the very small city limits and still be only a 10 minute drive to downtown.

I am interested in renting. I was initially looking to walk to work but if I get a good place (economical than living in the city) in a good neighborhood outside the city I dont mind driving at all. So to answer your question it is not a big consideration. Thanks!

[doctorjef]

Others here will be able to advise you better than I. There are a lot of sketchy characters around downtown and most amenities are outside the downtown area. That may change in a few years -- the amenities, I mean; I'm afraid the sketchy characters will continue to lurk there. I'd suggest going to look at some of the apartment complexes you're interested in -- there aren't that many downtown. There are some new rental lofts BTW on Market Street, I believe -- just saw them advertised in the paper last weekend. Apart from that, you might consider trying to find a rental in the Trolley Square area, close to downtown but on the other side of I-95. Trolley would really be suited to your age demographic and as an area to live is very walkable, has restaurants and bars, is generally safe and has other stuff like drug stores, a not very good supermarket, dry cleaners, wine and liquor stores, etc.

[gadrx]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

Others here will be able to advise you better than I. There are a lot of sketchy characters around downtown and most amenities are outside the downtown area. That may change in a few years -- the amenities, I mean; I'm afraid the sketchy characters will continue to lurk there. I'd suggest going to look at some of the apartment complexes you're interested in -- there aren't that many downtown. There are some new rental lofts BTW on Market Street, I believe -- just saw them advertised in the paper last weekend. Apart from that, you might consider trying to find a rental in the Trolley Square area, close to downtown but on the other side of I-95. Trolley would really be suited to your age demographic and as an area to live is very walkable, has restaurants and bars, is generally safe and has other stuff like drug stores, a not very good supermarket, dry cleaners, wine and liquor stores, etc.

Thanks! That gives me a good start

[Redredblondie]

Do you know the names of those small cities? Thank you

[doctorjef]

When I said "small city", I was speaking of the small area covered by the Wilmington city limits -- they don't enclose a very big area at all. People mean two different things when they say "Wilmington" -- they may be referring to the actual City of Wilmington proper, which is really a quite small area in comparison to its burbs that cover a much larger area and have a much larger aggregate population; or they may be referring broadly to the contiguous area of suburbs and City of Wilmington. So, I may have phrased what I meant poorly. If you are interested in "small cities" close to Wilmington, most of the suburbs are unincorporated areas that in some instances are quite pricey, including Greenville, Centreville, Hockessin, and Elsmere (the last of these is actually an incorporated city - small town really - and isn't pricey at all, very working class, but basically a Wilmington suburb). The closest incorporated "city" of any significant size is Newark, home to the University of Delaware.

[krizz]

My husband and I are moving from Buffalo, NY to Wilmington, DE later this year. Are there any house rentals available near water? I've found a bunch of vacation homes, but we're looking for something we can rent year to year.

[doctorjef]

Start a new thread. This old thread concerns Wilmington and locations near water are an entirely different matter mostly involving the southern part of the state, certainly not the Wilmimgton area.