Seaford #1 Pick (Dover: lease, home, to buy)

[teebopop]

Okay folks, Seaford DE has become our #1 pick for our retirement home.

I would appreciate the good, the bad, and the ugly info from anyone living in Seaford.

We're looking to buy a manufactured home there; preferably WITH the land. But if not, that's okay as long as the lease of the land is not too bad.

What are winters like? Snow ... Noreasters ... ice, any info? Be honest. No sugarcoating.

Summers ?

Friendliness of people?

Places to shop?

Whatever it is, tell me please!

[Fizz]

Well, in case you're still wondering ...

I've lived in Seaford most of my life. I'm not really sure how you'll like it as a place to retire. Most of that action is over closer to the beach, but is, naturally, more expensive. It's my hometown, but I can't help feeling like it might be a town in decline. There's been an increase in retail businesses in the area, but with the downsizing in the '90's, and the now-imminent closing of the plant (formerly DuPont), the overall income level has gone down since I was a kid in the '80's and early '90's.

As far as the weather, winters are fairly mild. You get one, maybe two serious cold snaps a year (serious meaning low teens or single digits at night), and maybe one or two snows that actually amount to anything. That's in general. If you're from the south, you'll probably think it's too cold, but if you're from up north, at the very worst, it's nothing you've never experienced before. Big snowstorms that come through the mid-Atlantic, we tend to just miss the snow and get rain or a "wintry mix," a weather euphemism for slush. Every so often, we do get a big storm, so don't say I didn't warn you. It can happen. Summers are usually hot and humid, but not in the same league as the deep south.
Places to shop? For anything beyond Wal-Mart, Lowe's, Sears and Radio Shack, you'll be wanting to go to Salisbury (half an hour away), the beach (45 minutes in the winter, good luck in the summer), or Dover (an hour away) for that for anything else. There's been talk of a mall since I was in kindergarten, but nothing has materialized, and in this economy, I can't see it happening anytime soon.
By "manufactured home," I assume you mean a trailer. Not sure I'd go for that in Seaford. If you got the money, there's a retirement community called Heritage Shores that's real nice (and the restaurant is great). It's not a nursing home or assisted living or anythign like that, just a subdivision you have to be over 55 to live in ... and rich, basically.

There are a lot of nice things about Seaford, and I don't want to give the wrong impression about the place, but when I think of a place to retire to, Seaford isn't the place that springs to mind.