Yet another relocation help thread... (Seaford, Laurel: to rent, buying, best schools)

[Minolwen]

My family of four will be relocating soon for a job that I am taking in the Salisbury, MD area. We were, of course, initially looking in the immediate area surrounding Salisbury but the more I read about DE, the more I fall in love with the idea of moving there.

My fiance and I currently live in the New Orleans, LA area. We have two boys ages 5 and 9 that attend public schools and do well there. School ratings are just one of the reasons why we're looking at DE over MD.

We are both perfectly happy with living in rural areas and both adore small towns. We do love the ocean but so long as it's within an hour or two away, we're good there.

We are going to rent for our first 6-12 months while we get to know the area better before buying. We're hoping to cap monthly rent at around $1,600 if that is possible; our household income should average $100k once settled. Being within 30-40 minutes drive time of Salisbury would be largely beneficial for my daily commute.

With what I have stated here, should we focus our attention on any specific areas of Sussex County?

Any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated, I will be relocating within the next few weeks with the family following behind shortly thereafter.

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by Minolwen

My family of four will be relocating soon for a job that I am taking in the Salisbury, MD area. We were, of course, initially looking in the immediate area surrounding Salisbury but the more I read about DE, the more I fall in love with the idea of moving there.

My fiance and I currently live in the New Orleans, LA area. We have two boys ages 5 and 9 that attend public schools and do well there. School ratings are just one of the reasons why we're looking at DE over MD.

We are both perfectly happy with living in rural areas and both adore small towns. We do love the ocean but so long as it's within an hour or two away, we're good there.

We are going to rent for our first 6-12 months while we get to know the area better before buying. We're hoping to cap monthly rent at around $1,600 if that is possible; our household income should average $100k once settled. Being within 30-40 minutes drive time of Salisbury would be largely beneficial for my daily commute.

With what I have stated here, should we focus our attention on any specific areas of Sussex County?

Any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated, I will be relocating within the next few weeks with the family following behind shortly thereafter.

The towns along Route 13 are all variations on a theme: quiet and conservative. With 2 children, I would therefore try to focus on the town with the best schools. There are ratings you can research, but I can tell you that my old schools - those in the Seaford School District - have sadly deteriorated over the past 20 years. One of the best high schools in Sussex County is Sussex Tech. There is a selection process involved. Cape Henlopen also has some of the best schools in the county, but it is located at the pricey beaches.

Others here can perhaps give you the rundown on other schools along Route 13 - Delmar, Laurel and Woodbridge (serving Bridgeville and Greenwood).