Looking at Middletown for retirement (Dover: real estate, renting, how much)

[bluesguy]

My wife and I are looking at Middletown for our retirement destination in about 3 years. Considering buying in the next year or so and renting it out till we move there.


Why Middletown? It seems to hit the sweet spot between the beach and access to cities and offers some of the amenities we're seeking. In no particular order:


biking/hiking trails nearby
interesting restaurants
reasonable real estate prices (we currently live in Charleston, SC, which is a real estate pressure cooker)
good local healthcare options (dental, vision, hospitals)
some art and cultural events


Can any current resident weigh in on any of these?


TIA!

[bluesguy]

Anyone?

[rdlr]

This Delaware Forum has had many posts regarding various towns , including Middletown. Try using the "Search" link above. I came up with a number of Middletown, DE posts when I performed a search. Here's one link: Relocating to Middletown, DE

[jjdeadhead]

Sorry I can't weigh in anymore than saying my bride and I spent about 2 years trying to find a place to buy or land to build on there and I couldn't find a lot that gave us the privacy and space we wanted. We ended buying closer to the shore, that made the bride happier.

[rdlr]

Originally Posted by jjdeadhead

Sorry I can't weigh in anymore than saying my bride and I spent about 2 years trying to find a place to buy or land to build on there and I couldn't find a lot that gave us the privacy and space we wanted. We ended buying closer to the shore, that made the bride happier.

Good Luck to you both! I'm assuming you mean New Jersey's "shore" vs. Delaware's "beach".

[MarioShroomed]

There are no great eating spots in Middletown. And I don't know how op thinks that Ohio is anywhere close to a beach, unless you mean Lake Erie (imo doesn't count).


I'm hoping to change the lack of decent restaurants myself in the coming years.

[GigiTer]

Originally Posted by MarioShroomed

There are no great eating spots in Middletown. And I don't know how op thinks that Ohio is anywhere close to a beach, unless you mean Lake Erie (imo doesn't count).


I'm hoping to change the lack of decent restaurants myself in the coming years.

Middletown, DE is an hour to the beach. OP posted in Delaware forum, not OH!!

[GigiTer]

OP - Wow you’d move from cute Charleston, SC to Middletown,DE for retirement??!! Maybe you should stay in Middletown for a couple of weeks or even just a week and see if you still feel that way!!

We just moved from there and although town has built up more with chain restaurants and some stores, for many other entertainment options or more variety of restaurants you are constantly on the road either north or south, honestly it becomes a drag to constantly get on route 1 to get anywhere!

It does now have an emergency room but if you are admitted to the hospital you will be transferred to Christiana - a good 30 min north.

[bluesguy]

Thanks for the reply. Nothing wrong with Charleston, but all of our family is farther north, so we wanted to be close to them. Since posting my original post, we've shifted our focus to Dover, mainly because it's closer to the beaches and it's bigger than Middletown, thus offering more amenities.


But it's a work in progress! Thanks for your insights.

[nuts2uiam]

Originally Posted by bluesguy

Thanks for the reply. Nothing wrong with Charleston, but all of our family is farther north, so we wanted to be close to them. Since posting my original post, we've shifted our focus to Dover, mainly because it's closer to the beaches and it's bigger than Middletown, thus offering more amenities.


But it's a work in progress! Thanks for your insights.

I can’t offer much on the area, but I suggest that you evaluate how much the beach means to you. I can only tell you that while traffic does not scare me, I would not want to be sitting in traffic waiting to get to the beach. I am in Rehoboth and Dover is on a good day about 50 minutes in no traffic. Only you can decide what will work for you.