Moving to Delaware from Toronto Canada (Wilmington, Newark: house, job market, school districts)

[soulhappiness]

Would anyone be able to provide information as to the best county to move to in Delaware with my 12 year old son? I will be relocating to Delware from Toronto, Canada so all of this is SO confusing to me. I am trying to determine what school system, best place to look for a house and possible job prospects as my fiance would like for us to move to Delware as he is currently residing in NY.

If anyone can point me in the right direction to find information that would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance for everyones help!

[doctorjef]

Why don't you just get a map of Delaware and throw a dart at it? Seriously, I don't understand anyone being so vague. It's a small state, true, but you've got to narrow down what your criteria are for a place to settle, part of which is what you and/or your husband are qualified to do occupationally and what the local job market is. Maybe you could try to focus your questions a little more specifically.

[Joe84323]

I'm relocating to a job in Ontario. Where should I live?

Can't tell me? Cause Ontario is a PROVINCE as DelAware is a STATE.

You do realize Delaware is a state, right?

[jskirwin]

Soul
See my comment to your thread last week.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/delaware/485276-planning-move-delaware-toronto-canada-help.html

[maryCh]

Hi soulhappiness,

We chose Kent County, and have been quite happy here. With your fiance in NY, it sounds like you have a great deal of flexibility since you aren't choosing because of a job, etc. Really, it depends on what you are looking for. As it has been posted elsewhere, the 3 counties in DE are quite different... New Castle is much more urban (being somewhat of a suburb of Philadelphia); Sussex County is the most rural county with a bit of beach to the east; while Kent is a blend of both.

As far as your child, we have a 14 yr old and an 11 yr old, both in public school. The school districts everywhere are struggling, and IMHO there really is not a good website to go to for "scoring" the schools. We've been very pleased with the district we are in. But then again, that depends on where you're coming from. I've posted too much about our dissatisfaction with NC, which is where we moved to DE from.

Send me a direct message if you have more specific questions... I'll tell you what I can.

Mary

[crayonsmagiques]

Originally Posted by Joe84323

I'm relocating to a job in Ontario. Where should I live?

Can't tell me? Cause Ontario is a PROVINCE as DelAware is a STATE.

You do realize Delaware is a state, right?

She did ask "best county to move to in Delaware "...No need to be that rude or aggressive.

No need to take it as a personal offense either. If people act like you in Delaware, it does start scaring me.

[doctorjef]

That's still an impossible question to answer without knowing what the writer of the OP is looking for specifically in terms of living conditions and jobs. New Castle and Sussex counties have distinctly different attractions, while Kent is rather intermediate in terms of what it has to offer. Without having more background in the OP, it's impossible to know what to advise.

[kat196]

There are three counties in Delaware: New Castle - the northern 3rd of the state; Kent - the middle third of the state; and Sussex - the southern part of the state with all the state beaches.

Since you're not retired, your occupation(s) will make a big difference to where you end up. The southern part of the state (Sussex County) has mostly tourist and retail businesses, both low paying in a high cost area. Kent County has the Air Force Base and a lot of state jobs and New Castle has a mix. If you're both teachers you could live anywhere. If your fiance is, say, a chemist you'll probably need to live in New Castle County.

All three districts have some schools worth looking at: In New Castle the Charter Schools of Newark and Wilmington and A.I. Dupont are good. In Kent County, Caesar Rodney has a good reputation and I'm not familiar enough with Sussex to name the best. Good luck!

[Joe84323]

Originally Posted by crayonsmagiques

She did ask "best county to move to in Delaware "...No need to be that rude or aggressive.

No need to take it as a personal offense either. If people act like you in Delaware, it does start scaring me.

You have no idea what you're in for, then!

[jskirwin]

Originally Posted by Joe84323

You have no idea what you're in for, then!

I've only been in the area twelve years and during that time I've seen a bit of Philadelphia's in your face attitude creep down here. I don't notice it until I travel elsewhere - St. Louis, Los Angeles come quickest to mind - and find that people don't drive as aggressively and are a bit friendlier to strangers than here.

My in-laws who lived here for 50+ years said that Wilmington had lost some of its southern charm and become more of an east coast city like Philly or New York.

It wouldn't hurt to be honest to potential settlers here.