NYC to Wilmington DE move...HELP (Newark, Greenville: sales, apartment complex, rentals)

[djstirr]

Hello all,

I am a newcomer to the forum and to Delaware. I am going to be attending the Widener Law School in the fall and need to move into Wilmington around august.

I have done some research and discovered that there are some critically bad areas as well as some great areas in Wilmington to live.

Some things about me:

I grew up in Brooklyn, NY and have seen my fair share of tough living conditions. I come from a diverse city, hold no prejudices about anyone, and I'd like to think I have some street savviness. With that being said as a law student I don't want to worry about being robbed or mugged or any of those things so I thought I would ask some advice.

I guess my questions really are:
1. Where would it be recommended (neighborhood wise, safety wise) to live near Widener?
2. Being that I am gonna be attending law school I might need to blow some steam off on the weekends, so where is nightlife in Wilmington?

Thank you for all your suggestions and help.....

-George

[uptown_urbanist]

It's been awhile since I've lived in Delaware, but when I was there a lot of the nightlife was in the Trolley Square neighborhood of Wilmington. (plus some stuff downtown and by the river) That was also where we lived; there are tons of nice apartments, it was safe, walkable, and convenient. You'll also be close to Philadelphia, so when you need a big city "fix" (or just more options for restaurants and nightlife) you can go there. Newark has tons of student bars.

[DreamworksSKG]

Delaware - Wilmington has a bus system
DART-
DART First State - Home Page

there's SEPTA to Philadelphia , with other connections up to New York via NJ transit, Amtrak etc
SEPTA
SEPTA

to get around

---jeff--

Amtrak is always available to DC or NY Or BOston

[irishmafia]

Originally Posted by djstirr

Hello all,

I am a newcomer to the forum and to Delaware. I am going to be attending the Widener Law School in the fall and need to move into Wilmington around august.

I have done some research and discovered that there are some critically bad areas as well as some great areas in Wilmington to live.

Some things about me:

I grew up in Brooklyn, NY and have seen my fair share of tough living conditions. I come from a diverse city, hold no prejudices about anyone, and I'd like to think I have some street savviness. With that being said as a law student I don't want to worry about being robbed or mugged or any of those things so I thought I would ask some advice.

I guess my questions really are:
1. Where would it be recommended (neighborhood wise, safety wise) to live near Widener?
2. Being that I am gonna be attending law school I might need to blow some steam off on the weekends, so where is nightlife in Wilmington?

Thank you for all your suggestions and help.....

-George

Widener is not in Wilmington, but outside the city limit by quite a few miles. In referencing this area, the most recognizable would be Talleyville, Concord Pike or "202".

I assume on campus housing is not an option since you said you are looking for a place to live. A car is definitely a necessity or you will be quite restricted. The "mass transit" in this area is quite limited unless you happen to live on a major thoroughfare.

When looking for a place, Brandywine Hundred and North Wilmington will be your keys. Loads of apartments available, just depends on how you want to live and your budget.

School is next door to a small shopping center and a mall just beyond that. Across the highway is TGI Friday, Dave's Famous BBQ, Red Lobster, The Olive Garden and Applebees along with a Kohls and Shoprite. A couple of banks in the area. Less than a mile toward Wilmington is a Macaroni, Chilis and a handful of smaller restaurants, diners and a bar or two.

[uptown_urbanist]

Brandywine Hundred and North Wilmington will probably be cheaper than somewhere like Trolley Square, but a lot more suburban. Trolley Square is a quick drive away, so don't limit yourself to the more suburban areas unnecessarily.

An interesting area not too far away (safe, not a lot of nightlife, but fabulous in its own way and not too bad a drive to places with more activity) is Arden; I know someone who rented there and loved it. It's a weird, quirky place.

The nice thing about northern Delaware is that you will have all sorts of options to choose from (depending on budget, of course), from the city to the suburbs to the country-estate feel. I knew several people in grad school who rented in an apartment complex in Greenville - that's not all that far from Concord Pike, yet thanks to rich people like the Duponts it feels about a million miles away. (Concord Pike is built-up strip malls and development, while Kennett Pike has big estates (including Winterthur Museum) and rolling hills. Regardless of where you live you'll be spending a lot of time on Concord Pike, but it's great that you can drive 15 minutes away and feel in another world.

Wilmington does have bus service, but I agree that it's not easy to use unless you're living in the right place. From my place I could easily get to downtown, Newark, and up 52 (weird to be taking the city bus past fields with horses!), but it involved a transfer to get to Concord Pike.

Have you tried asking your school if they have recommendations? My grad program was really wonderful about that; I think they assumed that many people moving to Delaware weren't familiar with the area. They had a list of landlords recommended by previous students, and sometimes had connections to really interesting - and cheap -rentals in carriage houses and the like.

[DTWilm]

The bus system is not as inadequate as it may sound. For the area's size, it's a fairly comprehensive system. My husband, who can't drive, uses it frequently. The 2 and 35 buses stop at Widener.

Of course, it's more convenient to have a car, but for those considering moving to Wilmington/Newark especially, it shouldn't be considered a necessity.

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by DTWilm

The bus system is not as inadequate as it may sound. For the area's size, it's a fairly comprehensive system. My husband, who can't drive, uses it frequently. The 2 and 35 buses stop at Widener.

Of course, it's more convenient to have a car, but for those considering moving to Wilmington/Newark especially, it shouldn't be considered a necessity.

I agree with this - I hope my earlier post didn't make it sound like public transportation wasn't an option. A car will be easier, but if you want the public transportation option just check out the bus maps before you rent a place. I lived in Wilmington without driving, and while there were times when I depended on getting rides from people (or could have called a cab) I could get everything I needed - groceries, etc. - by walking, and could get around elsewhere pretty easily by bus. A lot of my fellow students lived in my neighborhood, too, so if we were doing stuff at night I could just walk.

The train service is great, too, for those times when you feel like heading into Philadelphia (or DC, or NY, or...).

[doctorjef]

When someone like IrishMafia tells you that Widener isn't in Wilmington but outside the city limits by several miles, the implications of that can easily be misunderstood. The bulk of the population of the urban area commonly called Wilmington actually resides outside the boundaries of the City of Wilmington, which AFAIK hasn't annexed any new territory since the second half of the 19th Century (when Wilmington annexed Brandywine Village, now one of the most crime-ridden areas within the City). This means that the City of Wilmington is tiny relative to its immediate suburbs. Anywhere but Delaware, Widener would almost certainly be within the political boundaries of its adjacent city. Distances here are small. That doesn't mean walkable necessarily, but a 10 to 15 minute drive will get you almost anywhere in the immediately surrounding burbs from within the City of Wilmington.

[midwestdude]

If you really want to live a comfortable life where the cost of living does not eat your salary, look into the great lakes region. You can find a very nice 2600 sq foot house on .5 acres in a low crime town for less than 160K. Overall cost of living is good, schools are good and the people are actually friendly. Delaware and the whole east cost is over priced, rude, poor traffic control, over crowdeed and extremely overated. Plus you have to hear the whining fair weather Philly fans

[jdoll]

Originally Posted by midwestdude

If you really want to live a comfortable life where the cost of living does not eat your salary, look into the great lakes region. You can find a very nice 2600 sq foot house on .5 acres in a low crime town for less than 160K. Overall cost of living is good, schools are good and the people are actually friendly. Delaware and the whole east cost is over priced, rude, poor traffic control, over crowdeed and extremely overated. Plus you have to hear the whining fair weather Philly fans

Having spent 40 years as a Midwestern I take exception. First Delaware is located in the Mid-Atlantic, not the Northeast.

Second, if you live in a town where your 1/2 acre, 2600 sq/ft house is worth 150k you'll also find that same town salaries also are low, as is re-sale demand for your home. It's simple economics dude. Name a town and we can get more specific.

Third, Philly fans are not any worse at whining than Cub fans and are a whole lot more honest about their team too. What to here whining? Go to Murphy's on the day of a Cubbie loss. Fair weather fans? You'll find a plenty in Detroit. Want to see lack of support for a team; Indian's games anytime pre-Jacobs Field or Brewers at County Stadium. Phillies fans, **** and moan, then go out and SUPPORT there team. Just a note. My team is note listed here .... just honest observations.

And traffic? The roads here are better than OH, MI, IL, WI, MN by leaps and bounds and better than the metro areas of MO, IA and NE too. Traffic? I-95, as big a pain as it is, can only hope to be as bad as anything in Chicago. No traffic in that town with that 150k house? That's because there are no stores, or jobs or future for that matter.

Your knowledge of Delaware is quite lacking and you honesty about the Midwest is too. I suggest you spend your time on another part of this forum. We'll survive just fine without you here.

ps. My overpriced (300k+), 2200 sq/ft house here in Delaware carries a annual property tax bill well under $2k. My annual spending on Sales Tax is ZERO. The lowest non-federal taxes I've ever paid are here in good'o Delaware. Like paying taxes? IL, WI & MI are as bad as it gets outside NY & CA.