Looking to get out (Wilmington, Hockessin: real estate, condo, townhouse)

[fanofyanks]

Hi, I am new to this board. I currently live in Long Island NY, and its tax hell. My fiancee and I are looking to get off the island. We can't afford a home here on long island and even if we could we could never afford the taxes. A lot of people had mentioned Delaware as a place we should look into. We need to find a community that is safe, fairly reasonable, close to all the essentials such as grocery stores, malls. We don't want to spend more than 300,000, and we are willing to start off in a town home or condo. Lastly the school district has to be good for any future children we might have. Is this possible in Delaware? Any information, including towns to look for, please let me know.

[kat196]

For good schools, great shopping and proximity to Philly, I would look into Hockessin and Brandywine Hundred. You wouldn't get much of a house for $300,000 but you'd get a nice townhouse.

Alternately, Middletown also has good schools and is close to the Christiana Mall and about 45 minutes from Philly. You'd get a lot more for your money here and it's a fast growing and popular area to move to.


Further south, in Camden Wyoming and Magnolia, you have the Caesar Rodney School District which is very good. There's just one small mall and not a lot of activities in this area but you're only 35-40 minutes to the beautiful beaches and about an hour from Wilmington. You'd get a pretty nice house for $300,000 as well as very low real estate taxes.

In Sussex County, with all the beaches and outlet shopping, you would probably end up with a townhouse for $300,000. This is a really nice area but very expensive and not much in the way of job opportunities (except low paying retail jobs) and no malls.

Kathy

[fanofyanks]

thanks for you help, i am going to look up some of the towns you mentioned. `

[anniebleu]

You don't mention work, and I think you'll need to check out the possibilities, or lack of them, very carefully. And proceed, or not, from there.

[rossc]

Originally Posted by anniebleu

You don't mention work, and I think you'll need to check out the possibilities, or lack of them, very carefully. And proceed, or not, from there.

I agree. Relatively speaking, housing here may be just as expensive as NJ once you figure in what you'll be making in DE vs NJ. If you need to work, IE: Not retired, I would stay as far North as you can. That's where you stand the best chance of finding decent paying jobs.

[maryCh]

Hi fanofyanks,

Welcome to the forum, and possibly DE! My husband's family is all from Long Island, so I can relate to the situation you are in. The other posters have already said a lot of what I would; please post a bit more about your occupations/job options and perhaps you'll get more advise.

We chose to settle mid-state, as we were targeting the Caesar Rodney school district for our younger 2 kids. We'll be here 1 year in September, and are quite happy with our choice. However, we are in an unusual situation in that hubby continues to work in NY. So we are getting the best of both worlds; home and hearth in reasonably priced DE, on NY income. We are quite fortunate in that respect.

Again, welcome to the boards, and hope to see more from you. Good luck in your search; its not an easy choice for anyone.

Mary

[suzytee]

Hi, don't know much about Delaware but I can sure say LI is hell - and you are right to move! Too much traffic, beaches too snobby, claustrophobic. Easy living can be found outside of NY. Have you thought about Charlotte NC?

[movn2del]

Hi Fanofyanks. I don't blame anyone for wanting to get out of LI. That is exactly what we are doing. Hubby is self-employed and I am on disability, so work isn't an issue. If you need to work, I would strongly suggest looking into that market for anywhere you may relocate. Where you live should be within your acceptable travel distance to jobs. You can contact the schools directly to find out the attitudes of the powers that be and decide for yourself if that is what you want for your future child(ren). Since you don't have children now, the school situation can change between now and then. I suggest you visit the area and get a good feel for it, to see if it is what you want. Cheaper prices, taxes, etc are great, but if the area doesn't offer what you want, you will be miserable. Research can prevent that from happening. Delaware is the right choice for us! I wish we were there already. Less than a month. Woo hoo! Good luck to you. Oh...btw....we are relocating to Central Delaware, Kent County and find that it is similar to what Long Island was like in the mid 1960's. That is what we like and what we want for our children. Remember....progress happens and things change with progress. Some for the good, some for the bad. There are no guarantees that DE could wind up like Long Island in 20 years or so. I'm no expert, just giving my opinion. Good luck! We also thought of the Carolinas. A lot of Long Islanders seem to be moving there. We chose DE because we still have family on LI and the commute is a lot easier for weekend trips.

[maryCh]

Our experience with the Carolinas left a lot to be desired. We moved to the Greensboro NC area almost 16 years ago, from Long Island. Finally, almost a year ago, we relocated from that area to central DE. Our oldest child was going into kindergarten when we left LI; even then we knew we had to get out in order to get ahead.

movn2del gave some excellent advise... the job situation should be your priority at this stage of the game. School systems are changing drastically every year, all over the country. Since you don't have children yet, keep in mind that even when you do, you'll still have the first 5 years to get a good handle on the school situation.

Its not an easy decision, but at least you do have the flexibility in your choices. Good luck!

Mary