Moving to DE in a few months need info on great places to live (Wilmington: house)

[lavonnye]

I am moving to the DE in a few months and want to buys a house in a good neighborhood up to $360K. where are the really good diversed neigborhoods/high school and elem school. I was looking in Newark, Bear and New Castle which all are in close proximity to the big cities, ex. philly and Wilmington. The new job is taking me to New Castle so i don't mind commuting from MD or PA. pelase help!

[Baconator]

For 360K you can get a decent house just about anywhere in the County. If your are going to send your children to public school, then avoid any neighborhood in the Colonial or Christiana school district. Ultimately, that means avoid Bear, New Castle, and certain sections of Newark. Those that can afford it, usually send their children to private schools because the public schools aren't that great. The "decent" school districts in New Castle County are Red Clay, Brandywine, and Appoquinamink.
For housing look into Pike Creek, Hockessin, and North Wilmington.

[amerideaf]

Baconator is totally right! Good luck!

[lavonnye]

I would like to know which cities are included in the following counties;
Red Clay -
Brandywine -
Appoquinamink-
Pike Creek -

I really need to start house hunting. SHould i look in Penns at all? I would hate to pull the kids out of a good school to stick them in poor ones. My daughter is taking AP classes for goodness sake. Thanks a bunch!

[kat196]

I know Hockessin is in the Red Clay School District. Middletown is in the Appoquinamink School District. Not sure of the others. (All are in New Castle County which is in Northern Delaware). You're focusing on the right places. You can get a nice house in Hockessin for $360,000 and a really nice house in Middletown.

You can also have your kids apply to Newark Charter School and/or Wilmington Charter School. These are the top public schools in the state but are difficult to get into. Newark Charter is for lower grades and goes by lottery. Wilmington Charter is for high school and is decided by an entrance test.

[Baconator]

Pike Creek is also in the Red Clay School District. Brandywine School District covers the North Wilmington area.

In my experience, it is not the actual schools that are bad. The teachers are very dedicated. It's the "Choice" program that destroys the schools. In an effort to have equality amongst the schools, the school districts offer an option where you can send your child to another school within the district. Many parents from poorer sections within the school district would "choice" their child into a school with greater resources. Usually, those schools would be in more affluent neighborhoods. From my observation, these "choiced" in children are typically more disruptive, which has interfered with my children's learning. More time has been taken away from teaching because of discipline.

Specific High Schools to consider are:
A.I. Dupont - Red Clay
Brandywine HS - Brandywine
Middletown HS - Appoquinamink
I believe a new high school was just built in the Appoquinamink school district. These high schools also offer AP classes.

As far as Pennsylvania goes, you will be taxed out the wahzoo. Pennsylvania is a commonwealth. Meaning you will be taxed by just about any government agency. You will pay 4 to 5 times the amount of tax as you would in Delaware. For a 360k house, I think you can expect to pay $8,000 to $10,000 in yearly taxes; however, the public schools are much better in PA.

Good Luck

[jdoll]

$360k buys 2500/3000 sq ft house in some areas of Middletown/Odessa/Townsend these days. Great school district too. Baconator is correct; a new HS (2 total in district now) and a lot of AP classes in Appoquinamink School District. The commute to Commons Blvd area of New Castle is 20 miles/30 minutes. Philly airport is 50 minutes. Here is a resource on school testing scores http://php.delawareonline.com/schools/testScores07.php.