Looking to re-locate from NOVA to delaware... (Wilmington, Dover: day cares, townhomes)

[jkyj1976]

Hi all, I'm married with 6 month old baby, who is looking to move to DE from Northern Virginia, within driving distance of Laurel DE, where my wife has decided to start a business. We are looking for a good neighborhood for young family with good school district. We looked at Wilmington, but that would be something like 2 hour+ Commute for my wife.
We are looking at single home subdivision at 250-300k price range (or lower)

Any suggestions?

[ebuch]

Prices are normally cheaper in lower Delaware. Just to let you know Lower Delaware is alot different than Northern Delaware (Wilmington, Newark). It is mainly rural and pretty laid back and boring to be honest. Although you will be near the beaches.

From what I know the public schools downstate seem to be better than the ones up north (public schools in northern DE suck)

[doctorjef]

I think you'll find DE - anywhere in DE - very different from VA. Northern New Castle County probably has the most in common in terms of topography and nature with much of VA. We are talking just the tip top of DE, north of Wilmington proper. I'm keeping in mind you are talking of Northern VA, so that rules out a comparison with the coastal areas. Obviously it is much less crowded in DE than in NoVA. DE frankly lacks the richness of history that VA has, although DE does have some notable history. There's certainly less to see and do in DE, however. I lived in NoVA and DC as a kid and really loved it there. I was away from the MidAtlantic for years and years, but the natural aspects of northern DE feel a lot like my childhood memories of VA. I had a number of rational reasons for relocating to DE when I could have chosen any place. One reason I ruled out VA was my perception that the state as a whole is too conservative and especially the more charming places that one might want to live (also too far from an international airport if you're talking of places like Charlottesville). However, I must say that I am now reconsidering VA as a place to eventually settle a few years down the line. I think you'll find DE very, very sleepy compared to NoVA. Much of DE will probably be less expensive and you'll find state government here pretty laissez faire and easy to deal with procedurally (things like getting a DE drivers license, etc).

[maryCh]

I think it really depends on what you are looking for, both in the short run and the long one. Doctorjef, you made some excellent comparisons of NoVA and DE, from several angles. BUT, IMHO, a 50 to 75 mile radius of Washington DC can cover a very wide range of lifestyles, etc. Northern VA is a VERY broad area... fairly equally mixed bag of urban to rural, and all descriptions in between.

jkyj1976, perhaps if you post a bit more about what you and your wife are interested in, we can all post some pros and cons of the different (yes, very different) counties in DE. As you know, and as others have posted, Laurel is pretty much on the southern border; with a very young child, a long commute for your wife may not work well for a few years. Add to that getting a business off the ground, I would suggest going no further north than Dover to live. That is somewhat of a half way point if you are targeting Wilmington for your employment.

Hope to see more from you, and welcome to the DE forum!

Mary

[jkyj1976]

Thanks for the replies! We've been busy checking out DE... anyways, about us, we are kinda looking forward to a bit more quiet and country lifestyle. Sounds odd from someone who grew up in Chicago, but I am kind of sick of big cities, so in a way I welcome the opportunity to get away from big cities (Or for that matter crowded suburbs).

At any rate, we've looked at Clearview Meadows in Dover and found it interesting... while the housing price has fallen, builders has not adjusted their price. They are still offering townhomes starting 169k, same as last year!

And we have also adjusted our price range to 160k to 190k after learning of how our townhome in Ashburn took something like 30% hit... Good times....

[maryCh]

Hi jkyj1976,

Nice to see you had a chance to tool around DE; and thanks for posting afterwards! Since we chose to settle near (but not IN) Dover, I am not sure that I can place Clearview Meadows. There are several newer developments, as I am sure you noticed, and I am still getting to know of what is where. Are you specifically looking for new, or would you consider other options?

With a little one, and perhaps more down the road, be sure to check out schools. Even the preschools, or day cares, as your wife will be tied up with the new business. Over the years, and through many contacts, I have found even neighboring districts can be like night and day. Not just here in DE, but every other state we've been in.

Did you just focus on Dover on your recent trip? Or did you get around a bit more than that? Love to hear more!

Mary