Thinking of moving from md to de. Either Newark area or Dover area. Any advice? (Wilmington: house, good schools)

[Woot21210]

Am tired of md and want to try a new state. Delaware obviously has tax free shopping but never lived there. I know people who have made the move and they love it.i have close friends in Dover so considering there or closer to Wilmington. How are housing prices in these areas? Schools? Md I know has good schools where I am now. Is the col better then md? What about car taxes or inspections? Md has only tag and emmisons every 2 yrs. how is de on that? Does de have car property tax? Any added info is appreciated!

[ArizonaGirl]

There's a lot of drugs here. And it's noisy with Dover Downs, the C17s flying overhead, and the sirens blaring at all hours to alert the volunteer fire dept.

They charge a fee on everything here, including registering your car for the first time. I had to pay a "tax" on a car that is 24 years old. $168 for plates for two years. Ridiculous. I registered 2 cars in AZ for that.

[gibbsnm]

Originally Posted by ArizonaGirl

There's a lot of drugs here. And it's noisy with Dover Downs, the C17s flying overhead, and the sirens blaring at all hours to alert the volunteer fire dept.

They charge a fee on everything here, including registering your car for the first time. I had to pay a "tax" on a car that is 24 years old. $168 for plates for two years. Ridiculous. I registered 2 cars in AZ for that.

Why are you digging up old threads just to bash Delaware? This is the second old thread that you've responded to today where you mention crackheads in Dover. It's just bizarre.

[SarasotaBound1]

Am tired of md and want to try a new state. Delaware obviously has tax free shopping but never lived there. I know people who have made the move and they love it.i have close friends in Dover so considering there or closer to Wilmington. How are housing prices in these areas?

Relatively cheap, a 4 br will go for around 200k

Schools?

Depends where you move. Oppi (middletown) and red clay (wilmington, newark, hockessin) are excellent districts.

Md I know has good schools where I am now. Is the col better then md?

UD is an excellent school. My employer has recruited from there and nothing but great talent.

What about car taxes or inspections? Md has only tag and emmisons every 2 yrs. how is de on that?

Delaware is really expensive in this category, my previous car cost me 800 to register. This is high, but this is more than offset by the lower property taxes, running about 2k annually for the house above.

Does de have car property tax?

Not that i'm aware.

Any added info is appreciated!

Delaware is an excellent state to live and work. People are very friendly, and normally go the extra mile to help you. Just a few days ago went to a local shop, there was one person attending a huge store. After i couldn't find an item she hand held me to the right spot. You seldom forget little things like that.

[hashford]

They may have tax free shopping but they more than make up for it in other ways. Tolls will kill ya! $4.00 to just get into Delaware? come on really? If you take 13 the speed traps and all the timer red lights will get ya. Dot really needs to get car activated red lights! The people I meet for the most part are wonderful. The beaches are great( warm sand, cold water, slight breeze and hot sun= heaven) Close to everything. We go to Philly all the time. I do have to say it is a flat state and the breezes(wind) can get downright horrible.

[Kristin730]

I have to say that I really don't understand all the complaints about the $4 toll. Sure, I dodge it whenever I can (but I live a lot closer to 40 than 95, so that's easy), but considering it costs more than three times as much just to cross a bridge in NYC, it's really not so bad.

[Gone-2-Beach]

Originally Posted by Kristin730

I have to say that I really don't understand all the complaints about the $4 toll. Sure, I dodge it whenever I can (but I live a lot closer to 40 than 95, so that's easy), but considering it costs more than three times as much just to cross a bridge in NYC, it's really not so bad.

Absolutely right. Current tolls on the New York City bridges (including the Lincoln & Holland tunnels, the George Washington, the Bayonne & Goethals bridges, and the Outerbridge Crossing) are $13.00 for cars and up to $72.00 for trucks.

[longnecker]

Somebody needs to get facts straight here. First Delaware car inspections are free. Just drive through the state lane and pass or fail. They don't SELL repairs. Our registrations fees did go up and I believe it's $80.00 for a 2 year tag now. They do charge a fee equal to the state tax on a vehicle when it is first tagged.

[doctorjef]

Tolls on Rt 1 and I-95 don't necessarily even affect one all that much or often, depending on where one lives and works, and one's overall circumstances. We have occasion to cross the toll plazas on Rt 1 a very few times a year. So what?

If you live in northern New Castle County, Delaware in this neck of the woods is NOT flat; quite the contrary.

I've never noticed that cars were especially pricey to register in DE, though we moved here returning to the States from England and were not bringing cars into the state. We've only bought and registered cars here within the state itself. Cost of new tags hasn't seemed especially daunting to me. I thought it wasn't a bad deal for a two year tag, plus that includes your state inspection which in many other jurisdictions you would have to pay separately in the private sector.

My biggest complaint would be that the private service sector in DE tends, IME, to be pretty expensive, though that is also going to be a function of where you are coming from as a basis for comparison. If you are coming from another Mid-Atlantic or Northeastern state I doubt that service/labour costs here would seem any greater than adjacent states.

[rdlr]

Originally Posted by longnecker

Somebody needs to get facts straight here. First Delaware car inspections are free. Just drive through the state lane and pass or fail. They don't SELL repairs. Our registrations fees did go up and I believe it's $80.00 for a 2 year tag now. They do charge a fee equal to the state tax on a vehicle when it is first tagged.

Great post!
And, ALWAYS get your car inspected the first thing in the morning. If the inspection on your car fails, go to your local mechanic on the same day, get the problem fixed on the same day, and go back to DMV on the same day and to the same inspector. Yes, all that is possible in Kent County or Sussex County, Delaware..... if you've developed a repoire with your local mechanic.

I have 56 years of driving experience with that song and dance, and am quite familiar with the routine, and even take cars through inspection for some family members.
Hi, Harry! I'm back and it's all fixed!