moving from ny (Wilmington, Dover, Newark: relocate, transplants, military)

[lizz143]

Hey everyone. Im looking for some information, my boyfriend and I are looking to relocate from NY to Delaware this summer. We have no idea on where to start looking or what areas are good to live in.
I just graduated from college and am looking for a job as an elementary school teacher, and my boyfriend is looking for a job with the police or fire department. So those are important factors we need to consider when looking for an area that would be perfect for us.
We're young and just out of college so we want an area with somewhat of a nightlife (restaurants, bars, lounges, shopping).
Any help would be extremely appreciated.. thanks!

[winnie]

Try Dover area. Dover AFB may have security jobs or even full time air force reserves jobs for military police.

There are quite a few resturants, a mall, a racetrack and a casino. I have not caught the whole town yet but I liked what I saw when I was down there. We were about 1 hour from the beaches down at Rehoboth.

They have a nice sushi joint, Shuckers Pier 9 for seafood and Where Pigs fly which is BBQ (and very good at that). I am not much of a club type but I am sure that military or college folk there would be able to tell you where the nightlife is at. Rent there is really cheap. Depending on where in NY you are from you might be finding yourself doing a doubletake when you see the prices.

Good luck!

[JPT]

As far as nightlife is concerned, the beach area is certainly the best option in that regard. Dewey Beach, as any college student will tell you, has a burgeoning night-life scene. While it is somewhat confined to the summer season, many places stay open year-round. The DE beach area is also in close proximity to Ocean City, MD, also an area for night-life.
Eastern Sussex County in general is rapidly shedding its rural character and becoming suburbanized. I moved to Sussex county in 2000, and in these last few years, I have seen field after field disappear as subdivisions and condos sprout up everywhere, especially near the beach. Consequently, schools are also expanding in the area. Unfortunately, DE might not be the greatest place to be a teacher, as the pay is not nearly as competitive as NY, and there are no teacher unions. I am aware of one private school that was recently constructed in the Georgetown area, as well as other public schools that have had to accomodate increasing numbers of student in modular facilities.
As per law enforcement, local newspapers have highlighted the rapidly increasing county population's strain on municipal, as well as state police agenices, which also translates into a good indicator for job growth in that field as well.

[Norm Barnes]

Newark is University of Delaware Town has a local Police Force and University Force -- good place for you as an educator to go for the Masters -- College towns have things to do and you will be within 40 mins - 1 hr to shore pts in DE and MD. Some private schools are cropping up plus some businesses such as one in North Wilmington have Educators on Board for Children in their Day Program (Aztrazeneca). You may consider as a possibility.

[Yellowjacket]

Plenty of summer jobs and night life in Rehobeth. May not be as easy to find year-round work and lots of tourists in summer. Plenty of teaching jobs in DE, salaries are lower than neighboring states. University of Delaware has a police force that can be a good place to start.

[Nancy Lynne]

Originally Posted by lizz143

Hey everyone. Im looking for some information, my boyfriend and I are looking to relocate from NY to Delaware this summer. We have no idea on where to start looking or what areas are good to live in.
I just graduated from college and am looking for a job as an elementary school teacher, and my boyfriend is looking for a job with the police or fire department. So those are important factors we need to consider when looking for an area that would be perfect for us.
We're young and just out of college so we want an area with somewhat of a nightlife (restaurants, bars, lounges, shopping).
Any help would be extremely appreciated.. thanks!

GO GO GO to the Rehoboth Beach, Lewes, Dewey, Fenwick Island area.
All of them are becoming more year round homes and communities.
Lifestyle is awesome. Food is great. People are great. AND you will meet lots of young singles such as yourself as that is where the young hangs out!

Alot of growth so would expected high demand for teachers and police. And, in Delaware you could live comfotably on those types of salaries!

Go! Don't Stop!

[FrmAllOvaNy]

Im from New York and Ever sense I been here I want to go back the public transportation SUCK'S so does education and healthcare depending on were you live in NY Dont make the Move to DE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Roxanna]

We've lived in the Dover area since just following college days--20 years--and we only stay because we don't have the easiest jobs to replace. But this year things will change; we'll be able to freelance, our children have flown the coop, and so on.

We will be moving far from Delaware. Dover is a cultural wasteland, and we found the schools very average at best. If you want to see a big NASCAR race twice a year (order your expensive tickets years in advance), Dover's convenient. We didn't and don't. If you like gambling--we don't--join the gang at Dover Downs.

Figure out where you're going to find friends who share whatever interests you have. Over the years, all our friends have moved away. One well known magazine described Dover as the "blandest" city on the East coast. We'd have to agree.

Yes, the beaches are nice. Delaware doesn't have much ocean coastline though, and it's an hour from Dover to an ocean beach. Closer to bay beaches, but we don't care for those. Rehoboth has some good restaurants--most open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and so does Lewes. A couple farther south too. Does Dover have good restaurants? I guess it depends on what you're looking for, but we haven't found anything. The Blue Coat Inn had a lovely setting, fairly average food, but it's gone. Michele's, in the Dover Downs Hotel, has good food and high prices. That's it, as far as we're concerned.

And, finally, if you want a really good hospital and medical for you (and, at some point, kids), don't expect to find it in Dover, or south of Dover. Every doctor we know of here tells us that they and their families are treated for anything beyond the sniffles (an exaggeration, but not a huge one) in Philadelphia or Baltimore. They even bypass Wilmington and Newark. The drives--and, yes, you have to drive (no other transportation, other than unreliable bus service) to either Philadelphia or Baltimore are not pleasant.

All right, I'll end kindly. You can get a lot of house for your money in the Dover area, but prices are ever higher in many of the places you'd like to live if you're considering Rehoboth, Lewes, Bethany. Climbing fast at the shore, and the health care there is a huge problem too.

Best of luck to anyone planning a move to Delaware.

Suggestions as to where my husband and I might want to look???? A problem, because our nice house here won't sell for much. That rules out some wonderful areas of the USA!

Roxanna

[ksvander]

I moved to Delaware eleven years ago. I fell in love immediately. My family was smart enough to move to the Middletown area which has a wonderful small town feel. However, it has also tripled in population since we moved here, so we are always seeing new stores and buildings going up. We are the fastest growing area of Delaware. I currently teach in the Appoquinimink school district, which is one of the best districts in the state, and I'm sorry to contradict some of the other postings, but Delaware overall has a pretty good education system. Appoquinimink school district is currently constructing a new high school. Our new middle school is about to open this fall. I believe there is a new early childhood center slated for 2009 and then will come another elementary school (we have had two built in the last 5 years - time to catch up with the middle schools and high schools). You can check out their website at Appoquinimink School District. Yes, our salaries don't compete with New York, but our cost of living is a lot lower too. And there are plenty of opportunities for pay increases. As far as your husband, all fire departments in Delaware are volunteer as far as I know. Wilmington might be an exception since it is the city. But police work is available where ever you go, especially county and state police, but the University of Delaware and perhaps Wilmington city police (not sure if they have their own department, but I would assume so). However, I just read in the paper that Middletown has just decided to set up it's own police force. They plan on having 12 officers, so that is a possibility. As far as night life, you're not going to find what you have in NY. I am a Boston girl who moved to podunk Tennessee for a year and hated it. But Delaware was a happy median since you have access to big cities (Philly, DC, Baltimore, and NYC if you want to drive there - lots of us do and we have a lot of NYC transplants), but you also have the small hometown feel as well. It's also much more economical to live here. If you like clubbing, you can find that in Wilmington. If you like gambling, you can find that in Dover or in Delaware Park in Newark. If you like the beach, we have that too. Middletown is located between Dover and Wilmington, but Newark and New Castle also offer lots of shopping and entertainment. Middletown is catching up a bit as it grows. We just had a bowling alley built and we have a movie theater on the way. We have a cool, old theater that was featured in Dead Poets Society (most of the movie was filmed right in Middletown). If you like history, Delaware has tons of history, much of which is preserved. It's just a really cool place to live, and though it's not as active as NYC, I would highly recommend it. Lots of NYers have moved here thinking it was going to be too quiet and now they tell me they love it and would never go back. I agree. As much as I love Boston, I love living in Delaware more.