Bear/Odessa/Townsend or anywhere in between? (Middletown, New Castle: crime rate, houses)

[carrieJ]

My family and I are planning on relocating to DE this year and will be driving around some neighborhoods this weekend. What are the safest places for a young family in this part of New Castle County. Any hidden gems?
We would specifically like an area where there is more to do for young children and a lot of outdoorsy stuff, we don't care about nightlife, restaurants or anything like that.http://pics3.city-data.com/forum/ima...s/confused.gif

[alexg55]

i would go for townsend. odessa and townsend are basiclly the same city, just with two names. in townsend, they have an excellent school system. appoquinmik school districts which ranks 2nd in delaware. if i were you, i would enroll my child into a red clay school. it is the best in delaware, 49th in the nation. townsend has many child activities. they crime rate is extremely low, which we need these days.

[rdlr]

Originally Posted by alexg55

i would go for townsend. odessa and townsend are basiclly the same city, just with two names.

Sorry to disagree. Townsend is farther south than Odessa and has a different zip code. Townsend is west of U.S.Route 13, while U.S. Route 13 runs right through Odessa, which is a more historic town. I went to grade school right in Townsend, and that school is still operational, and within the Appoquinimink School District. Townsend has maintained its small town atmosphere. Meanwhile, around historic Odessa, there has been an explosion of housing developments, very close to the town, both on east and west sides. Odessa and Middletown are connected by the same road, Route 299, which is heavily developed now. I never really thought of Townsend and Odessa being anything alike. But, that's my opinion. MOT stands for Middletown, Odessa, Townsend. Little League, other sports teams, and clubs/organizations use that to identify their location. I'll stop now

[jdoll]

I agree with Delly; they are two different towns. But now, back to your question carrieJ. Delawareonline.com has an interactive crime report map. They detail the types of crime and police calls for a fairly well defined geographic area. Middletown just started their own police department last summer and the Odessa/Townsend areas are patrolled by the Country Sheriff. Generally crime is low in the MOT (Middletown-Odessa-Townsend) area, but it does exist. The thing we have found in our development ( Rt13 area, just south of Odessa) is the generally fact that people know their neighbors and watch out for each other. It was one of the reasons we chose our development 1-1/2yrs ago when we moved here.

Good luck on your search.

[rdlr]

jdoll........I was noticing your area yesterday, and the subdivisions are very well maintained. My work involves traveling throughout the state, and of course, when I go up your way I always work Willey's into my schedule. I could browse there all day!

[cuff822]

carriej
I currently live in wilmington, moved here last April. I have explored MOT over the last several months. All three areas are what I would consider small towns and really need to be visited. That being said I found a neighborhood called Parkside. It is in Middletown. They are currently building a community center (pool, gym, activity rooms, etc.) in the middle of what will ultimately be a neighborhood of 450+ houses, some big, some huge. We are waiting to see what prices do over the next year, but I really cannot see our family living anywhere else in DE. I think the slow down in the housing market will give the area time catch up as far as infrastructure, but from what I have been reading they have been keeping fairly well.

[OBXJunkie]

ultimately depends on what you're looking for - we are moving this year to middletown and enjoy the fact that it still has a small town feel with all the amenities of being so close to shopping and we also picked it for the schools (we have 3 school aged girls). Estates at St. Annes is fab and we love Ryan Homes - ask for Suzanne she's great to work with. Good luck!