A visitor's view of Delaware (Dover, Newark: rental car, appointed, rental)

[East2West&back]

A short while ago I posted another thread where I asked questions relating to an upcoming trip to Delaware ("Questions for upcoming visit to DE"). At the end of the thread, I was asked to come back and tell people about my trip, which is what I'm doing now.


I want to start off by saying that anything I write here are just my impressions and observations, based on where I currently live and other places I have lived on the east coast and in the western US. I do not mean to offend anyone, but undoubtedly there will be those who may live in some of the parts of Delaware that I wasn't especially fond of who will take offense with what I have to say. Again, these are just my own opinions.


I did not spend much time in New Castle county, other than brief visits to Newark and New Castle in the same day, so I can't really say anything positive or negative about either place.


Moving southward, I spent one day/evening in the Dover area. What is going on in Dover that it seemed like the entire downtown area was closed up after 7 or 8 pm? Is the crime there so bad that nobody wants to be on the streets at night? For a state capitol, I was very disappointed with Dover. If anyone has ever been to Raleigh, NC, you know that there is a lot going on there at night (more so on the weekends), with lots of activity at restaurants and bars in the central part of the city. In comparison, Dover seemed like a ghost town.


I visited Camden, which while not especially memorable, did not leave me with any negative feelings either. I wish I could say the same about Milford, though. Just a depressing place to be. I had an invitation to visit an organization there, and when I saw it and its location, I didn't even stop and get out of my vehicle. I knew right away that wasn't an area where I'd want to work or live. Milton, on the other hand, seemed like a charming little town with a very nice park.


My favorite areas in Delaware were all along or close to the coast: Lewes, Rehoboth Beach, Bethany Beach, Millville and Ocean View. If I had planned my schedule better, I would have spent some time on the beach, or at least walking the boardwalk in Rehoboth, but for various reasons, I ended up just driving around these areas. I got frustrated with being asked to pay for parking in every single place (at $1.50 per hour?), and having to download an app to pay for parking or else text a code to pay for it. With all the money that tourists bring to the area by staying at local lodging, eating at the restaurants and buying tourist items, you'd think that the local governments could at least give you parking for free! Yes, I remember someone in my other thread mentioning that there is a beach bus, but I did not take that as I felt I could cover more ground in the rental vehicle that I was already paying for.


On my last days in DE, I stayed at an AirBnB in Seaford (because it was a lot cheaper than staying anywhere near the beach). Seaford as most of you probably know, was once upon a time the first city in the US to have a nylon manufacturing plant. After that plant closed, it seems like the economy in Seaford went downhill, and now there is little to recommend visiting it. I really did not care for any of the inland DE cities that I visited or passed through (with the exception of Milton), as they just seem like small and old towns surrounded by agricultural areas with very little to do.


A few other oddities I noticed about Delaware:

• I found out that I couldn't even buy a can of beer at Walmart, or a convenience store like 7-Eleven, and instead had to go to a liquor store to do that. Really? People like to put down the Mormons in Utah, but at least here I can go buy beer at Walmart or a convenience store (liquor and wine are another story).
• While shopping at Walmart, I learned that I could not get a plastic bag for my purchase, but instead had to buy a reusable cloth bag to take home my purchases. I have mixed feelings about this. Currently there is no similar law in Utah restricting the use of plastic bags at any grocery or retail store.
• Not being a true southern state like Florida, Georgia, or Alabama, I would have thought that the wages in Delaware would be fairly comparable to those in New Jersey and New York, but I was wrong. When talking to potential employers in Delaware about positions similar to what I currently have in Utah, I found that those in DE were offering hourly wages that were anywhere from 30 to as much as 36.5% less than what I currently earn. The only way I could afford to live on the wages being offered in DE for a position similar to mine is for me to be retired and collecting a pension and/or social security.

Lastly, I did experience first-hand the summer traffic on Route 1 near the beach areas, so I can understand why the locals get so frustrated with all of the tourists that descend on the area in the summer. I noticed lots of out of state license plates, including those from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, and even a few from Texas. My rental car had Florida plates, even though I picked it up at BWI airport.

[Champ le monstre du lac]

In short, you didn't like Delaware? You had to pay for parking at the beach? Imagine that. Yeah, pretty much most of the east coast is like that. Many other states are also phasing out plastic bags, this is not new. Not much valuable info here, just a lot of complaining.

I'm heading to the DE/MD coast this weekend. I intend to enjoy it and take the time to do so.

[rdlr]

Originally Posted by East2West&back

A short while ago I posted another thread where I asked questions relating to an upcoming trip to Delaware ("Questions for upcoming visit to DE"). At the end of the thread, I was asked to come back and tell people about my trip, which is what I'm doing now.

What a great post!.....Very thorough, well written, and you are to be commended for offering your honest opinions. Bottom line, my analysis of your post tells me, that you should stay where you are. There are numerous negatives in your post, and it's obvious that you are not a good fit for Delaware and/or Delaware is not a good fit for you. I wish you the best!

[Gerania]

You don't travel much, do you?

[nuts2uiam]

I am sorry that your visit was not as memorable as it could have been. I believe I was one of the people that suggested the bus, so I guess you saved a bunch on that rental car's gas driving around and not actually getting to experience the beach, the boardwalk our dining options and interesting shops. I falsely believed that you were asking information from locals and natives that could optimize your time here and money spent. Re: the bus It would have cost you a whopping $4 to ride the bus and spend time walking around and sight seeing and actually experiencing the area instead of complaining about the cost to park. That was the reason I suggested the bus. Again, ask for advice and then ignore it only to complain about.

Some other things that you mis-stated. Had you taken the time to get out of your car you would have found that you could pay for the parking in quarters and there are change machines on Rehoboth Avenue. I did it myself just the other day as I went downtown to pick up a T shirt to support the people of Maui. One of the local merchants, Quiet Storm, donated 10K (not a typo) of them with 100% of the proceeds to support those poor people. As far as tourists being in town, most that are staying in town have already parked their cars and are either walking or riding the bus. So, no they are not being double dipped for parking fees. Regarding the alcohol purchase, here you can go to the liquor store and buy both beer and alcohol at the same time - not having to stop in another store for it. Never been a problem for me.

So in summation, I am glad you came and did not enjoy the visit. It has done a great job of discouraging you from becoming a transplant. Good, we like positive people here and suggest that you cross us off your list.

[michgc]

"I spent one day/evening in the Dover area. What is going on in Dover that it seemed like the entire downtown area was closed up after 7 or 8 pm? Is the crime there so bad that nobody wants to be on the streets at night? For a state capitol, I was very disappointed with Dover. If anyone has ever been to Raleigh, NC, you know that there is a lot going on there at night (more so on the weekends), with lots of activity at restaurants and bars in the central part of the city. In comparison, Dover seemed like a ghost town."

Raleigh is more than 10 times the size of Dover! Dover has a population of 38K. Raleigh has a population of 482K. Surely, you wouldn't expect them to be similar?

[retiree2011]

Originally Posted by rdlr

What a great post!.....Very thorough, well written, and you are to be commended for offering your honest opinions. Bottom line, my analysis of your post tells me, that you should stay where you are. There are numerous negatives in your post, and it's obvious that you are not a good fit for Delaware and/or Delaware is not a good fit for you. I wish you the best!

I love traveling around and visiting “small, old towns” - Viola, Little Creek, Wyoming, Smyrna, Bowers Beach, Odessa. I just picked up the Sept. issue of Southern Delaware Explorer and planned out my whole September. Some days there are multiple events and I will have to choose between them.

[hunterseat]

I spend a couple of 6+wk stays at Dover AFB and kind of feel in love with DE.
While there I took some riding lessons with an awesome trainer who lived more western de and that became my favorite area. I'm more of a woods girl than a beach girl.

[hunterseat]

Oops. Talk about typos

[lyndyb]

We sold our home in the Baltimore suburbs and moved here full time when we retired 4+ years ago. I don't know that this would have been as good a fit for us when we were younger as it is now, much as we loved to vacation here. What we looked for and needed in our working years aren't a priority in retirement. I retired several years before being Medicare-eligible, so I briefly entertained the thought of getting a job, but quickly found that the pay scale here is much lower than I was accustomed to - in a place where housing is expensive. I don't know if we could have afforded to live here while working.

Yes, the traffic is bad enough during the peak season that I start a countdown on Memorial Day for the # of days till Labor Day (4, as I write this), and you have to pay for parking in beach towns, but we consider the cost of living in an area awesome enough that people want to come here to vacation - and we're grateful the peak season is only 3+ months. Come Labor Day, we residents take the towns back!

We are so happy we moved here and can't imagine living anywhere else. It's not quite as quiet as we thought and that's both good and bad, but it's a wonderful place, but it's admittedly not for everyone. The funny thing is we had friends who had a mobile home here for 30+ years. Long story short, they sold the property because they felt there isn't anything to do here except the beach. Yet everytime I mention having explored an area or place, they ask - what/where's that? This area is different to live in full-time than it is to vacation in part-time. @East2West&Back, I hope you find the place to live and work that fits all your hopes and needs and makes you happy.