Would like to move to Wilmington (New Castle: for sale, apartment, to rent)

[dwill1972]

My fiance and I are considering moving to Wilmington or a nearby town. We would like to rent an apartment while we get to know the city better. I have been online looking at the homes that are for sale. Nothing really excites me. Is Wilmington a good place to raise a family? How bad is the crime? Are the current mayor and police chief doing positive things for the city? Would it be in our best interest to buy a home in a nearby town? I would love to get a response from a current resident of the city.

[SXMGirl]

The crime in downtown Wilmington has been out of control for several years. There are places with a Wilmington address that are very nice. All depends on what type of home, what you are comfortable paying, and where you will work. Apartment rents are high in Delaware. If you can afford an apartment, you can afford a house.

[enviroman]

Originally Posted by SXMGirl

The crime in downtown Wilmington has been out of control for several years. There are places with a Wilmington address that are very nice. All depends on what type of home, what you are comfortable paying, and where you will work. Apartment rents are high in Delaware. If you can afford an apartment, you can afford a house.

Hmm, you are 100% correct on everything you said.

I lived in Wilmington for like 2 years and I went into downtown Wilmington ONCE. There's nothing there, the crime is horrible, and you're better off just driving into Philadelphia if you want some city action.

The "burbs" of Wilmington are, in general, very nice. Areas like Pikeville are very ritzy, while other areas are simply "nice." Like SMXGirl said, many areas with a Wilmington address can be quite nice.

I rented an apt in Delaware and the rent was very, very high for what I got.

I paid like $675 for a one bedroom that wasn't so nice (and it was not in one of Wilmington's nicer areas).

Expect to pay $800+ for a one bedroom in a nice Wilmington area. It's a mortgage payment, really...

[Matt11]

i moved here from Pa 11 years ago and i am still in the same apartment , 2 bedroom . If i had to do those 11 years over i think i would take the first 8 years and forget the last couple of years. First off price of rent is out of control in Delaware. 2nd , if you live in a complex like i do , watch out for what the management is renting too. Where i live has moved in some real trash and vagrants/ vagabonds. AND I MEAN THAT TO ITS FULL WEBSTER'S MEANING ! SO WATCH OUT WHERE YOU MOVE IF YOU ARE MOVING TO NEW CASTLE COUNTY . The other thing that is hard to get use to, is the police and township set up . In Pa and alot of other civil areas of the world , there is town , then a county and then the state. Delaware doesnot really have that set up or they didnt get the idea quite right. So its kinda makes it hard to say what areas of New Castle County is good to live in and what is not. AND WHY I SAY THAT IS WILMINGTON TAXED ME AND SO DID MY EMPLOYER( state Of Delaware ) AS A CITY RES. BUT I LIVED IN N.C.C... I had to explain that concept of township / town / city , county , state , country , etc etc to the lady in the tax office. I know there are more places in N.C.C / Wilmington i would not live, then live ! Most of Wilmington ( the city itself ) is out of question . That is unless you are a drug runner from NYC or Washington DC . or a Crack addict. Too Bad some one must of given a map to the dopers in DC and NYC and they figured out it was about half way to each and good in and out highways. With a small police force and no local police departments at all !! The small State Police force must enforce the law. And i know what i am talking about i worked for the state goverment for 8 of those years. Least we talk about the water and the soil in the state. The water should be boiled by everyone that cant afford bottled or filter stytems in their apartment or home . ( sad to say i found this out to late , my apartment , i installed a water filter system , but that was after i found out what the water did to me. ) Then if you are going to have land and grow anything , MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHO OWNED THE LAND AND WHAT ITS USES WERE BEFORE YOU GROW AND THEN EAT ANYTHING FROM THAT LAND. I am not sure to the exact percent of land that is chemically challanged in Delaware but everyone should thank anyone with the last name Dupont and their family. Delaware was the waste dump for Dupont for the last couple of hundred years ! I do think in the long run Delaware , with some good people can be a great place to live. Too bad its not warmer year round , the southern part of the state is warmer most of the time. I m not sure if it is the geography or the chemicals in the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean but its does seem warmer down southern county of the state. Also remember its about 10 miles wide and 100 miles long so its easy in and out. There are full sevice airports in the state but we are working on that again! You can fly for New Caste County Airport ( just outside of Wilmington ) to some places . Also do you know Spanish , lots of illegals have moved into New Castle County area , they figured out there is not enough police to do anything about it . In fact on local TV they ( NCC ) police admitted to a illegal gang kill . Notice how i used the words admitted to .. Well anyway. My new neighbors are trying to bumming some money and want to know if i know what "the white thing is for in that small room " AND THEY ARE FROM SOUTHERN DELaWARE.

[RodFarlee]

Originally Posted by dwill1972

Is Wilmington a good place to raise a family?

Suggest you look into the school system very carefully. In New Castle county, your children will be bussed into Wilmington for certain grades which vary depending upon your location and district. Bus rides of 45 minutes each way for 3 years are typical. The alternatives are to pay private or parochial school tuition, or deal with bussing or shuttling to a magnet school. Thousands of families moved across the state line into the Unionville, Avondale and Chadd's Ford districts to escape these problems.

[SXMGirl]

I would also check the area for flooding. If I'm not mistaken, Marshallton had flooding last year. Of course, that can happen any where. I am not sure if the Marshallton area is Red Clay School District or Christina, but if looking at that area, please know that the Christina district is having severe problems now.

[Phish Head]

I don't know much about Delaware, but I do know that the people I know who have moved to Delaware from NJ or PA became dumber within a few years. Seriously, I'm not kidding. I'm not sure if its the school system or the chemicals left behind from centuries of dumping, but I am not joking.

[enviroman]

Originally Posted by Phish Head

I don't know much about Delaware, but I do know that the people I know who have moved to Delaware from NJ or PA became dumber within a few years. Seriously, I'm not kidding. I'm not sure if its the school system or the chemicals left behind from centuries of dumping, but I am not joking.

That's fairly silly.

[Baton Rouge]

So, do only the dispossessed and other people with grudges have the same view of Wilmington? I know a lot of people who live there who are very positive about it and as proud of their community as anywhere I've been. So it doesn't have a thriving commercial downtown, it has a few colleges there and banks galore. A short train ride to Center City in Philadelphia can be fun and easy. Delaware has turned from a chemical state (not the so-called recreational kind) to a banking state, which is all for the greater good. You can't wipe out history, but you can learn from it, and most things in life are process rather than bolts of lightning that change things immediately. There are investors who see the city as ripe for redevelopment and are putting their capital into it. As far as people becoming "dumber" - what's in your water? People can lose memory (biology) and/or their sensitivity to the world around them (traumatic experiences), but not their level of intelligence. Unlearning is one of the most difficult challenges that can only be accomplished by learning something more profound or better, but you can't just wipe a slate clean, know what I mean, Jellybean?

[doctorjef]

It's important to keep in mind that we aren't all talking about the same place when we say Wilmington. That could mean the area just within the city limits, which is very small indeed and substantially impoverished, although there are a couple of nice neighborhoods. For other people, Wilmington implies the larger suburbs immediately outlying the city limits. Those are largely nice, middle to upper class, generally crime-free places. I live in one of them, just outside the city limits. The greater Wilmington area, inclusive of the suburbs, has a good deal to commend it; much of the city proper does not. Still, the downtown acts as an anchor, with some significant financial institutions, a few good restaurants, the Hotel du Pont, the Grand Opera, the Central YMCA, and a few other features.