It's like I know you all already! (Dover, Milford: renters, townhouse)

[LFitz381]

Hi there!

If you want to live within 20 minutes of the beach, I would suggest living at the beach. Millsboro is a cute and quaint little town, but in the middle of the summer is a traffic nightmare. With tourists using their GPS even the back roads get crowded.

Like the suggestions above, I would recommend Lewes/Rehoboth. Both are nice, offer ample shopping and more grocery store choices than living inland. Rehoboth just got a Fresh Market last summer which you will appreciate, being from NY, I imagine. I grew up in Sussex County but currently live in Kent, your guess is correct; Milford is right on the Sussex/Kent line and is about 40 minutes from Rehoboth beaches....with no traffic.

Lewes is really very nice with lots of local shops and an adorable downtown area with places to eat. Rehoboth is just south and offers a little more shopping but is also busier and tends to be crowded during the summer. Bethany Beach is another area you may enjoy. Family oriented, small beach boardwalk and is a little less hectic than Rehoboth or Dewey. Dewey has lots of bars and nightlife.

Now - if beach living is just not an option then you could look a little east of Millsboro in Longneck. Milford and Milton are also other areas that are slowly growing. The highways are currently being improved(exit ramps being built and removal of some traffic lights) along route 1 just north of Milford and it should help the traffic problem immensely. I commuted for a very short time from Dover to Millsboro and during the summer it would take me TWO HOURS to get home from work, a drive that normally takes an hour. I decided to just move to Dover and not deal with the beach traffic.

Harbeson is right outside of Rehoboth and would take you approximately 10 or so minutes to get to a grocery store(depending on where you live) but they do have a Harris Teeter and a Giant in Longneck.

If you can afford beach living, then I would suggest Lewes, Rehoboth or Bethany Beach as my top suggestions. If you don't want to be right in the mix, then look outside of Milford, Milton, Millsboro, Longneck or Ocean View.

Cape Henlopen is such a nice beach to visit and does not get quite as crowded during the summer. Buy a season pass once you get your Delaware tags. I would recommend coming down both during the summer and then in the off season(say January/February) to get a feel of how different the seasons will be with traffic and without it.

If you are a church goer, try to check out Sussex County Bible in Harbeson. I cannot say enough good things about the teaching, the leadership and the people that go there.

This reply was much longer than I anticipated, hopefully you did not fall asleep! Best of luck as you look to possibly move![CENTER]Save[/CENTER]

[nuts2uiam]

Even though I can't answer this the answer from others might help.

I am assuming that being a "North South" state that borders the Atlantic, that there are beaches other than the lower Sussex County beaches. I have seen signs for Fowler Beach and Slaughter Beach to name just 2. So, my question for those who would like the "beach" but not the Lower Delaware beaches, where are the "other" beaches? Are they nice?

By the way, thanks to all the usual suspects who will answer this, as this is an education for me too.

[longneckone]

Originally Posted by nuts2uiam

Even though I can't answer this the answer from others might help.

I am assuming that being a "North South" state that borders the Atlantic, that there are beaches other than the lower Sussex County beaches. I have seen signs for Fowler Beach and Slaughter Beach to name just 2. So, my question for those who would like the "beach" but not the Lower Delaware beaches, where are the "other" beaches? Are they nice?

By the way, thanks to all the usual suspects who will answer this, as this is an education for me too.

The Ocean beaches are from The mouth of the Delaware Bay (Cape Henlopen) to the Maryland state line south of Fenwick Island. The beaches named above are Delaware Bay beaches. There are various beaches along the Delaware from the C&D Canal south. Many folks put up their noses at these because the water up river is not considered clean. Also there are various bay beaches along Indian River , Rehoboth Bay . I know there is also a bay in the area of Fenwick Island but I am not familiar with it.

[pete lynch]

From Kitts Hummock south, you have these beaches along the bay:
North and South Bowers, divided by the Murderkill River. People live there.

Bennetts Pier is just a dead end road.

Big Stone Beach is a small village.

Slaughter Beach is a town with two roads to get in or out. There's a fire hall, too.

Fowlers Beach is part of Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Big with birders and fishing. No crabs though, so don't bother. This is where the famous "Breach" was that the Feds repaired last winter. It was also known as a under-age drinkin' n Partyin' site till they put up a couple gates.
Nobody lives here but the wildlife.

Prime Hook Beach is a nice little town who's lone road in and out got flooded out alot. A new bridge quickening the flow of water from one side of the road to the other is supposed to fix that. We'll see.

Broadkill Beach is the last bay-side town before you reach Lewes( pronounced Lewis - not Lou's BTW) It's a fairly big town (read long) as is Slaughter B. when compared to the others.

I left out Woodland Beach because it's more a river town and you can see the Nuclear power plant across the water.
Hope that helps.

[nuts2uiam]

See, Where else could I get this education.....No where, but the best of CD. Thanks to all of you I am here today.

[elliedeee]

Does anyone know if Lewes beach is on the bay or the ocean? When i look at the map it looks to be the bay but I'm not positive. Does Cape Henlopen have a beach and if so, what is the name of it? It would help me to know when I mapquest directions from different addresses.

Aside from Lewes, Rehoboth and Bethany do you know if any of those other beaches have boardwalks or touristy stores? I think I'd like to avoid those dang tourists and their huge beach canopies.


I got to wondering about where the name Slaughter beach, and Murderkill beach came from and i found this very interesting site. Did you know Lewes beach used to be called Whorekill beach?

https://davidhealeyauthor.com/2016/0...t-their-names/

[DelawareLiz]

Lewes Beach= bay. Nice, clean beach.
Cape Henlopen = bay is only by the fishing pier. Rest of the park is ocean.

[elliedeee]

Originally Posted by beachliz

Lewes Beach= bay. Nice, clean beach.
Cape Henlopen = bay is only by the fishing pier. Rest of the park is ocean.

aha.. That explains a lot because I've heard referred to as both bay and ocean.

thank you.

[rdlr]

Originally Posted by pete lynch

From Kitts Hummock south, you have these beaches along the bay:
North and South Bowers, divided by the Murderkill River. People live there.

I love to sit on the wharf at JP's and wait for the fishing boats to come in. When they do, we pick our a fresh fish, and JP's On The Wharf's kitchen cooks it to our request. Beautiful views of the Bay, and if we're lucky, we get to watch some people from South Bowers jump into the water, swim across the canal, and join the fun at North Bowers where there are live bands on weekends. Doesn't matter they're sopping wet sitting on bar stools! Fun place, just a few minutes south of Dover near Little Heaven.

As far as swimming....kind of murky, but we're not swimmers. It's more of a fishing town, quaint, not crowded, and laid back. http://www.jpswharf.com/home.aspx
In the photo section, click the captions under each photo for even more photos.

[flickfive]

Originally Posted by nuts2uiam

Hi Peter, former NY'er here now a permanent Delawarean and really happy here. I live in Rehoboth and will not be much help regarding Millsboro except to say that if you are looking to get to the Beach in 20 minutes I would say in general that could only happen in the winter time, if at all from Millsboro. The caveat to this is I am calling the Rehoboth-Dewey-Lewes beaches, "the beach."

We don't reside in 55+ but most here are retirees and the neighborhood is quiet and I think to answer that questions will be very difficult as each community will be the sum of its parts and even if a 55+, if the grandkids visit often, there is potential for a lot of noise. Again, here in Rehoboth and the Lewes area the big variable now is, if you use a heat pump or natural gas as the lines have been brought deeper into the area. Propane gas for heating or a split system electric/propane are what most of this area uses. Most in this area are not on wells but some are.

Not much help but there are plenty that will be much better versed in the area than I am. (All of which you already named.)

Thanks for the info, nuts! I guess so many people are moving to DE that the drives to the beaches have grown over the years. Good info about the heat pump.

Peter