10 things I hate about Northern Delaware!!! (Wilmington, Dover: home, transfer, neighborhood)

[rdlr]

Originally Posted by ocean seeker

Si nce we are on the subject of weather and negatives....What about mosquitos and flies(the biting kind)? We are getting ready to move to a bay front community in Long Neck and I wondering if there is a problem time with flying pests. We were in coastal South Carolina for a vacation in September and the mosquitos and "love bugs" were horrible.

Some days, yes...some days, no, depending on which way the wind blows, and how dry or wet the weather is. I believe that area is sprayed for mosquitoes, but am not sure. Sheep flies are prevalent along the bay areas where horse shoe crabs are found, but I haven't experienced sheep flies around Long Neck.That area is SO built up, though.They need more garbage pick-up companies, in my opinion.

[jaba125]

I think the biggest problem with Northern Delaware is finding affordable housing. It's hard to find a larger single family home in a decent area for under 300K, at least in North Wilmington.

[anniebleu]

jaba125, yes, you're right that north Wilmington, the more pleasant neighborhoods, are priced way up there, at least for Delaware. I don't know your situation, and don't have time to read now, but if finding a lot of house for your money is at the top of your list, there are many to be found in Kent County. I'm not involved in real estate. I've lived here for 30 years. We'll be putting our house on the market, we think, a year or two from now. Kent County works out very well for some families.

[Joe84323]

I'll give you an accurate top 10 you've been wanting.

1. Inferiority Complex - You may develop this. Everyone everywhere compares everything with every bigger, better city around. Oh, the pizza's better in NY, people dress better in NY, the clubs are better in Philly, the houses are cheaper in Dover, the beaches are better in Jersey. This traffic is worse than________. This traffic is nothing compared to __________. Everyone compares Delaware to something they think is better. Get used to that.

2. Racism/Closed-Mindedness. Yeah, this is the Northeast sorta. However, the racial issues are still really really bad, and if you're a gay, or an atheist, don't plan to encounter open minds

3. Lots of Drugs, nothing to do, Depression/Anxiety - This area seems to be conducive to drug problems, with the large number of drugs, and proportionately lower level of things to do. Statistics are pretty bad on this. There's something about having all the worst qualities of an urban area, with little urban attractions, or having a taste of grass lawn, but traffic and highways instead of open space. Real city people are depressed living here, because it's not a true city area, and real rural-types are disappointed because however how spacious their house and hard is, they're surrounded by traffic and shopping centers, and highways. Maybe that's my opinion (??)

4. Perceived cancer threat - like lots of places in the Northeast, the air is bad, the soil is very chemical (dupont dumped here for over 200 years,) and thus the cancer rates are pretty damned high.

5. Schools - Public Schools suck, if you want college prep, gotta pay for private school.

6. Transportation - Buses don't run on Sunday, so you better drive. No light rail, no regional rail (except for Septa R2)

7. New Castle county has DUI problems. If you are a drinker, you have to move within the area of trolley square. There are no cabs outside of the train station, no trans at night, so if you plan on having a nightlife, move to Trolley Sq Wilmington or Downtown Newark. They will get you!!

8. Up In your Business - people in Delaware are "all up in your business" - not a problem if you're from a smaller or more southern place, but if you're from a city, you will notice people staring at you on buses, talking to you in the supermarket, knocking on your door if they hear a sound.

9. Fashion - I'm from Wilmington, but I didn't notice how bad the area is dressed for being in the Northeast Corridor. Jeans and a t-shirt to the club.... what?

10. Meanness - not to be confused with unfriendly, because people in the area will say hi, but people can be very belligerant once provoked, road rage is pretty present, and lots of people try to be badassess and rep whatever development in New Castle they're from (come on, it's New Castle... not Al Qaeda.. stop being such a badass gangster)

Basically, if I can touch on my Depression/Drugs/semi-urban/suburban thing...

The area seems to continue the ambience of dirty streets, rudeness, and crime from the Northeast, and mix it with McMansions, and it seems like if you are a person looking for a northeast city experience, you are left with a void due to Philly being close but not too close (nightlife, shopping, downtown attractions), and if you are looking for a relaxed, living large feeling, you don't quite get that because of the attitudes, the traffic, and low quality of schools. New Castle County is somewhere in the middle.

There are mainly 3 types of Northern Delaware opinions.

NYer/Philadelphian: We wanted a lawn, but theres nothing to do, people are hicks, back home was better

Southern Delawarean: We wanted a better job, but crime sucks, we hate traffic baah the city sucks

Native Wilmingtonian: I love trolley square and shopping at Kohl's. MM Grotto Pizza. Philly is too big and busy, and lower Delaware is all hicks.

Yeah.. maybe I'm crazy.. but that's how it is.

I moved out of New Castle county because, from Wilmington, the area gave me everything I ever needed in terms of adequate jobs, housing, and all, but it didn't have enough to offer me for the big-city attitudes, crime, and commuting stress it gave me. Wilmington is a fine small city, but the downtown is pathetic, and I wanted either an vibrant, urban culture, or I wanted a laid back, country/beach atmosphere where I could chill out and enjoy my days.

I found myself searching for arts and life and culture, but only halfassing it, or looking for peace, and nice people, and open spaces, and not even halfassing that.

[dkmisol]

This is insane....

6abc.com: Report focuses on cancer clusters in Del. 4/24/08

Also, check out Richard Florida's new book, Who's Your City? DE falls right near the border of being overall neurotic, at least compared to many of the other places I've lived out west.

I'll miss some things here, but I certainly won't be sad to move in June.


Joe84323... SO unbelievably RIGHT ON! I couldn't have summed it up better myself.

[eli0808]

ugh. I HATE Delaware. there is NOTHING. I repeat, NOTHING to do here. if you wanna commute to philly it's great though. it's also tax free shopping, and some people get all excited about that.

[UncleMikeNJ]

5 things I like about Delaware:

1. Not that far. I'm about 80 miles from Wilmington, and about 180 miles from Rehoboth Beach.

2. I get to go through Philadelphia (when I take the train, anyway), which is a place I love.

3. Wilmington reminds me of New Brunswick, with just about everything concentrated around downtown, a very nice library, and a commitment to the arts.

4. Some friends of the family live in Brandywine.

5. The ride down US-13 and Del-1 down from Wilmington to Dover is quite scenic, and Rehoboth is a very nice beach town.

5 things I don't like about Delaware:

1. Far enough. You ever try to get from Central Jersey to Rehoboth Beach? Without a car? The best way to do it is to stay up until about 1:30 in the morning, then take a cab to a park-n-ride on Route 9, then ride a bus all the way to Lakewood, then change buses for the ride to Atlantic City, then change buses again to get to Cape May, then take a shuttle bus to the ferry, then ride the ferry, then take the shuttle bus to the Rehoboth Park-n-Ride, then take another shuttle bus to the boardwalk. You're there by 9 in the morning. If you're lucky, you might get 4 hours total sleep. Either that, or you take Greyhound from Philly to Wilmington, and change there for a bus that drops you off about 2 miles from the beach (before going on to Ocean City, Maryland and then down the Delmarva Peninsula to Virginia Beach).

2. Public transportation on the weekends. Service on the SEPTA R2 train from Philly to Wilmington and Newark is severely curtailed, and, as previously stated, no buses on Sunday. Suppose you don't have a car and you want to shop?

3. Wilmington reminds me of New Brunswick, because the arts scene is very, very minor-league at best (not even as close to "major league" in this field as the Blue Rocks are to the Phillies and Orioles), the streets are filthy, and there's a LOT of panhandlers. (New Haven, Connecticut is like that as well, although a bit cleaner.)

4. How come a Dunkin Donuts drink costs as much there as it does in New York? It should be roughly the same price it is in New Jersey or Philly.

5. Delaware can be a bit of a hick State. Wilmington does have a bit of provincialism, as if it can't figure out whether it wants to be a Northeastern or Southeastern city. As President Kennedy said of Washington, it's a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm.

To get from Wilmington to Rehoboth, you have to pass Dover Downs, a track for the Non-Athletic Spectacle Centered Around Rednecks. Some of the rest stops serve Southern cuisine, and do these people realize that NOT everything has to be spicy as hell? And what the hell are grits, anyway?

And when you get to Rehoboth, you see a lot of Southern things. Sometimes you can see a house with a gay-pride rainbow flag next-door to (or across the street from) a house with a Confederate battle flag. "Heritage, not Hatred." (That's not what those morons in Little Rock in the Fifties and Mississippi and Alabama in the Sixties.) Then there's a T-shirt I first saw when Spike Lee's film Malcolm X came out: "You wear your X, and I'll wear mine!" I guess it's Wilmington that keeps Delaware a Blue State rather than a Red State.

To me, whenever I go to or through Delaware in a car or on a train, I get a thrill seeing the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Seeing the Twin Span on the way down is quite a sight, and it shows that the trip is well underway. Seeing it on the way back means I'm almost home.

[toobusytoday]

You know what I dislike? Threads that talk about hating anything. They seem to bring out the worst in everyone. Why invite people to say, "ugh. I HATE Delaware. there is NOTHING. I repeat, NOTHING to do here" Goodness.

Delaware has some beautiful state parks, warm friendly people and (bonus!) great shopping. I suggest if you live in Delaware and don't like it, move. Life is to short to be living where you are unhappy.

[jskirwin]

Originally Posted by toobusytoday

You know what I dislike? Threads that talk about hating anything. They seem to bring out the worst in everyone. Why invite people to say, "ugh. I HATE Delaware. there is NOTHING. I repeat, NOTHING to do here" Goodness.

Delaware has some beautiful state parks, warm friendly people and (bonus!) great shopping. I suggest if you live in Delaware and don't like it, move. Life is to short to be living where you are unhappy.

I completely disagree. I've found the negative threads on these forums to be much more useful than the positive ones. If someone complains that a place has no nightlife, to me that says it is quiet and offers privacy and solitude. Guess what? That's what I'm looking for - so the negative comment is useful to me. We all have different tastes, and a negative thread can offer positive comments to careful readers.

The "love it or leave it" option offers a very stark and static choice. The world changes and last I checked Delaware is still part of it. Some of these changes are good, and some are bad. You can't improve anything unless you recognize that it needs improving. These threads help do that.

[doctorjef]

The negative threads, however, are often so unconstructive -- just hagged-out ventilation. That kind of emotional ventilation is such a downer, as opposed to some thoughtful, articulately verbalised criticism of a place (including balanced criticism, since hardly anything is simply black and white). I prefer threads that solicit pros and cons.