Help Please Is Willmington That Horrible? (Wilmington, Newark: houses, rent, income)

[maryCh]

In my humble opinion, just about every "city" has a not so good area. And it doesn't have to be a big city (i.e. LA, NY, Chicago) to have great spots and "wouldn't catch me there" spots.

I have traveled enough, and lived in enough places, big and small, that I feel pretty secure in that opinion. Looking at some of the brochures available about things to see and do statewide, it seems there are still some wonderful things to see in Wilmington. While I don't think I'd like to live there (only because of my perception of the pace of life), I will not hesitate to visit on day trips to various areas of interest to my kids, hubby, or myself. But then again, I'm the kind of person who is planning day trips to NY and DC with 2 kids in tow... am I a devil-may-care kind of person? Not really. But I think there is a big difference in where you choose to live and where, how, and when you choose to visit a place.

Did I make a comment on the topic??? Hmmm. It is pretty late; better head off to bed!

Mary

[rockky]

If you look at the crime stats about Wilmington here on CD, you will see that, in the years posted, the crime there is double or nearly double that of the national average.

National average: 325.2%

Wilmington: 2001 - 724.4%

2003 - 685.8%

2005 - 640.1%


Also there are more stats and some interesting info about Wilmington here:

Wilmington, Delaware - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I've been fortunate to attend many events at the DuPont Hotel and the Grand Opera House. I've stayed at the Hotel, and it is fabulous!!

I've also been in Wilmington after dark for events that had less glitz and fewer people in the area. Not a comfortable feeling.

rcovph, Keep in mind that this info is about the city itself. There are many burbs around Wilmington that would have a vastly different situation.

[elizamary]

Originally Posted by rockky

If you look at the crime stats about Wilmington here on CD, you will see that, in the years posted, the crime there is double or nearly double that of the national average.
.

In all fairness Rockky..........Philly have a very high crime rate at the moment.
We lived in a section that was a nice residential area but around Town, North Philly, Southwest, Kensington it is bad.

[rockky]

Originally Posted by elizamary

In all fairness Rockky..........Philly have a very high crime rate at the moment.
We lived in a section that was a nice residential area but around Town, North Philly, Southwest, Kensington it is bad.

It sure does, eliza! The number of random shootings I hear about on the news (in Philly) is staggering.

I don't know how the numbers would play out between the total population of Philadelphia and Wilmington. I was surprised to see that Wilmington has only about 72,000 +/- people. Charley is good at that number crunchin'.

I don't spend a lot of time wanderin' around inner city Philly either.

However, I try not to make judgements based on comparisons. There's always something better or worse to justify or rationalize what I see. I attempt to look at things as they stand on their own and choose what feels right to me.

[JulieF]

Hi All,

Mary, that's what I was saying. Virtually every city is a mixed bag, and I was referring to Wilmington itself, a small concentrated urban area, when I said that, the you-don't-really-want-to-be-there areas of Wilmington are (or were, as I haven't been there for quite a while), excessive. What I used to do, when I wanted to go somewhere in the city was to get in touch with a friend who lived there, and find out the best route to get to exactly where I was going, where to park, etc. The friend enjoyed several aspects of the city at the time, but finally moved away.

Rockky, I agree. The Hotel Dupont (and restaurants ) are quite wonderful, and so on. I still think the Delaware Art Museum is an excellent small art museum, and, yes, some of the 'burbs are more than fine.

Lori

[mikandmari]

Oh jeez, to all you naysayers: the original poster said they were going to spend 700-900K on a house. That doesn't put her anywhere NEAR the rough areas of Wilmington!

For that amount, if you're looking for a nice area near some urban hub-bub, check out the Rockford Park area, zip code 19806. It's beautiful.

A little north, along the rt 202 corridor, you're husband may find an easier commute to work. This would be zip codes 19803 and 19810.

Either way, you will save a bundle in taxes by living in DE.

Good luck!

[elizamary]

Originally Posted by mikandmari

Oh jeez, to all you naysayers: the original poster said they were going to spend 700-900K on a house. That doesn't put her anywhere NEAR the rough areas of Wilmington!

Good luck!

I know.............Duh!! where were our minds?

[rockky]

Our minds were where the conversation about Wilmington had evolved and personal experience.

The original question was posted back in early March. The OP didn't seem to want more discussion. We were just chatting away with each other about the same topic but not the specifics.

That's how I learn things. I enjoy hearing/seeing the opinions and experiences of other people.

[gatorfantoo]

Could someone let me know how the area around zip code 19803 - Newport Gap is in terms of community, family, living conditions and so on. We are looking relocating to that area and we want to make sure the we are not moving to a crime laden area. How are the schools in that area? What colleges are within close proximity? I am in education myself and would like to know the condition of the schools.

Any info you could provide would be helpful.

[mikandmari]

Zip code 19803 is north of Wilmington, mostly nice areas, along the rt 202 corridor. It's in the Brandywine School District, which has won a few awards recently. The Brandywine campus of Widner University is here, not sure what they offer.

By Newport Gap, I assume you're referring to Newport Gap Pike, Rt 41, which is historically the road which ran from Newport, DE to Gap, PA (in PA the name changes to Gap Newport Pike). The nicer areas along this road in DE are closer to the PA state line, Hockessin, which is zip code 19707. Very nice homes, no bad neighborhoods, but be forewarned that Kennett Square, PA is right up the road, and it is the mushroom capital of the world. Sometimes, especially in the morning, this 'affluent' area reeks of mushroom soil (manure).

Further down Newport Gap Pike is the Milltown area, zip code 19808, with several nice parks and neighborhoods, and more affordable. Even further down, into zip code 19804, are mainly blue collar suburbs such as Belvedere, predominantly black, and Newport, well known for it's small municipality police force from h*ll, but of course thanks to this the crime rate is low (just watch out for speed traps).

All of the latter I've mentioned is in the Red Clay School District, also very good. The good/bad thing about this district (depending on where you live) is that it is completely "choice" meaning the lower end neighborhoods are integrated with the upper price schools, rather than a traditional feeder pattern. Red Clay does have the Charter School, known for math & science. It's very competitive to get into this school, and those living within the Red Clay district have a better chance.

Colleges? University of Delaware is about 8 miles west in Newark. Goldey Beacom is a good business college in Pike Creek. Wilmington College is in New Castle. And of course Delaware Technical and Community College, where you get the most bang for your buck... Nearby PA has MANY schools, within driving distance. West Chester, Villanova, Temple..... I could go and on.

Hope this helps.