lewes and dover area (Wilmington, Middletown: insurance, crime, home)

[sleeplessinpa]

Winnie:

Well price wise all depends on what we sell our home for. But we are thinking around $300,000 as a safe zone.

If I bought a home here in Pa for that I would be paying just about $10,000 in Real Estate taxes on that property. So if I am saving $9,000 a year in RE taxes I could use that towards a house payment or higher priced home.

I read about the slow pace in NC and that it is part of the Bible belt. While we belong to a church we do not go often. Lots of Catholics where I live and they are old fashioned(mostly the older people and the lifers here-Slovak-Polish).

Nothing wrong with that of course -to each his own- I just don't want that pushed onto me.

Also the mentality here can be nutty. Smalltown in the coal regions (the part of Pocono I am from) are so backward. People are pretty narrow mined here and much is run by Men- women can't get anywhere in my area.

I want a more open minded area with the mentality of people being equal.

When I call to make complaints to my County Commissioners I get the good old boy talk from the ALL male commissioners. They ask me what I do for a living( I am a stay at home Mom), then I am asked what my maiden name is( I guess they want to know if I come from a wealthy family), then I am asked what my husband does for a living before they will even listen to my complaint!

I find this sexiest!

Will I find this a problem in DE since the Governor is a women?

Thanks again- so glad someone is reading this.

[winnie]

Delaware is a more progressive state than NC. There might be some small town mentality in the western rural areas but out in Lewes I would be SHOCKED at that mentality.

300K? You should be fine down there financially. Remember your heating costs are likely going to be lower there too.

Run while you still can LOL! We would take a job down there in a NY second, but it seems that noone wants to leave their government job down there at the AFB.

Any chance DH would take early retirement? Real Estate is doing well in DE I would hate to wait 5 years if not necessary. When I first started looking at homes in DE 5 years ago, 200K would get you a dreamhouse in Dover. Now it is pushing up to the high 200s for that same house.

[sleeplessinpa]

Winnie:

Hubby would be retiring early in 4.5 years(he would be 55 then).

He can not touch his Pension or our savings in his 401K until then. So that is why we have to wait plus we have to wait until the kids finish college in may of 2007 and pay for that loan.

I understand the RE will go up in this time that is why I am counting on our home value to go up as well so we can sell and use that money for the DE home.

Glad to know I would not have to deal with the garbage I am here with the Male run community.

Hope you get to move back to DE-if you do we should keep in touch-

I can tell I will like DE

any other info is helpfull.

Thanks

[monster]

taxes are low for a reason: people are broke here. there is a rotten, run down trailer home on every corner. or you'll have a nice home, a nice home, a run down trailer, etc. on every street. they'll even squeeze in a trailer even if it's a few feet from your front door. there is trash all over the roads (read The News Journal's soundoff section about this every once in a while). the school systems are soo bad, most people homeschool or pay for private school. the tax rate has to be low because delaware is the "affordable" housing state in the us--trailer homes, trailer homes, and more trailer homes--oops, i was supposed to say manufactured houses. a lot of people's hobbies are drinking, nascar, and more drinking. delaware has an exploding medicare and welfare rate because most people don't work. you have military moving in and out. you don't have high-end stores because most people here can't afford anything more than walmart or sears. there are a lot of pitbulls running loose everywhere. in a nutshell, you get what you pay for. if you want a cheap place to live, then delaware is it. the bottom of the barrel people live in delaware. they're crass, dirty, and deliquent.

[petunia509]

Originally Posted by winnie

You are kidding, right?????

Dover is one of the cheapest places to live in in the North East. Your RENT for a three bedroom apartment is what most people in NY, CT, NJ pay in a MONTH for property taxes.

True, perhaps, but our salaries are way, way less than NY. CT, NJ. If you can bring your income with you, you'll be fine. But for those of us average folks living, working here, rents are outrageous. Problem in Kent County is housing for middle income. Low income gets assistance, high income has no worries. Middle income, working families are having a tough go of it.

[winnie]

Maybe for some career fields, but as a RN, I would be making more in DE than I could in Southern NY, and as an aircraft mechanic for the govt, DH would have been making more as well until uncle sam just gave us a special pay raise for this area..which still does not put us in a better place here financially then we would be in DE as they got one as well, just a bit smaller.
He makes 28/hr here, would be making 26.50 in DE.

Then add in the property taxes, many in NY/NJ pay 9K/yr and the excessive income tax...and then the 8 1/4% sales tax. Electric and heat are pretty expensive up this way too. You could literally take a 5-10K cut in pay and still come out ahead when you factor everything in.

Monster- good points, I did not spend enough time in DE to get to know the locals but I tend to keep to myself anyway. You actually described some areas I know in NY which is kind of funny..I can show you some real filth up here too give me a weekend of your time and bring the coffee.

Give me 10 acres of paddocks and a few horses and a sign that says "watch out for the rottweiler she does not like drunks" That'll send them back to their "manufactured" house real quick LOL!

We are leaning towards MA or NM anyway, back to familiar turf.

[Nancy Lynne]

Hi - grew up in DE - went to the UofD - spent summers at Rehoboth, Lewes, etc., -- now living in eeeeeKKKKKK New Jersey -- but trying to get out. Just wanted to say that these 2 towns are completely different. Lewes is a beach, fishing, quaint lovely town. Dover is, well, just a town.

Hope that helps.

[MiouMiou]

I don't know if anyone is still reading this particular thread, I just found this site today, but I wanted to add my two cents.

My husband and I moved here from NJ five years ago because we were about to have two kids in college at the same time, and could not afford tuition and NJ taxes at the same time. Our kids chose to go to college in NJ, they just hate Delaware.

When we first moved to Dover I was so excited because we were able to buy a decent house (for under $140,000) on almost 3 acres of land, and pay less than $850 a year in taxes. That was a huge savings from the $6,500 in taxes we were paying in Long Branch, New Jersey.

I have lived both in Europe and in many parts of the United States, and I have to say that the people I have met here in Delaware, particularly those that live in Dover, are the most unfriendly people I have ever met. Ever, anywhere.

In the five years we have lived here, although we went around introducing ourselves to all the neighbors on our block, we have yet to connect with anyone. We have a neighbor on one side of us who was in the process of trying to take part of our land through "adverse possession" - we found out about it just in time, forced him to remove his stuff from our property, planted trees to set the property line, and he has not spoken to us since. Our neighbors on the other side told us, when we went to introduce ourselves and invite them over for coffee, that people live here because they want to be left alone, and closed the door. Our other "neighbor" uses his home only on weekends, when he begins mowing at 6:30 a.m.

We have tried everything we can to try and make friends here. If you try to join an organization or club, you are told it is by invitation only. It feels to us that this is an extremely closed community - if you are not born and bred here, people just don't want to know you, no matter how friendly you are. We joined the Modern Maturity Center, a place for people over 50, and I never met so many sour faced women in my entire life, they will not even look at you, much less answer your hello.

There is less than nothing to do here in Dover. There is the Dover Mall, which is like what Monmouth Shopping Center in Eatontown used to be about 30 years ago (though it is enclosed). The restaurants are just awful chain type restaurants and sub-par. The shopping is mediocre, unless WalMart or Target appeals to you. Oh, if you are a race fan, there are the races twice a year.

Growing up in NJ you don't even realize how nice it is to have such a variation of good restaurants - there is one diner in the area in Smyrna, which is nothing like the real diners in Jersey, and we tried breakfast there once and were served pinkish looking eggs!! If you want decent Italian food, you have to go to Jersey. If you want to buy braciole in the supermarket, forget about it, they never heard of it.

The downtown here is busted and lifeless, no reason to go there at all. The mall, if you want to call it that, will take you all of 15 minutes to walk through. The library is miniscule. The good doctors are all up in northern Delaware.

I would certainly think twice about moving here. Your taxes will be cheaper, true, but your mental health will suffer in the end if you think you will be ok because you don't mind keeping to yourself. It will get to you after a while, when you realize that nothing will ever change.

At this point I don't care about the taxes in Delaware any more. I would take NJ any day over this. We want to sell our house and move back "home".

[MPBsr]

Sorry to hear about your adventure in Dover.

If it helps, there are 4 Rotary Clubs in Dover. 2 Meet for lunch, 1 morning and 1 evening. Pick one out and contact the President of the club to say that you're interested in joining. As a fellow Rotarian in NJ, I can't imagine ANY Rotary Club turning anyone away.

For more info

http://www.rotary.org/cgi-bin/List-Clubs.cgi?city=dover (broken link)

You can also click on "About Us" top left.

If you feel uncomfortable calling them directly, I'll call for you and have someone else get back to you for the invite.

Hope this helps and let me know how it works out.

[rockky]

MiouMiou, I could have written your post.

I moved to Dover from south central PA just over two years ago. I lived at the beach in Sussex county during the summers for the past 17 years, and I thought the situation would be similar....just without the ocean close by. I was wrong!!!!

Yes. Property taxes are very low. The no sales tax is a perk. Beyond that I have found very little positive.

Delaware is not friendly tax wise to retirees. My retirement income is taxed. Fairly low I suppose, but I have a very low retirement income.

I've had a very difficult time finding a job. I am 57 and was a SAHM for many years. I went back to work in PA providing services for special-needs children in public school. The pay was low, but the experiential education and self satisfaction was enormous. I worked in the field as a volunteer and paid provider for over 25 years. I worked along side professionals and was treated as a professional. I am proud to say my work was highly regarded and respected. I finally gave up trying to find a job in the field here in Dover.

I realize that the stats show the population is growing rapidly here in Delaware. I believe that's because the low property taxes are a huge draw, but those people migrating haven't experienced what day-to-day living is like here in some areas.

The beach areas are so over populated that traffic moves at a snail's pace. It can take 45 minutes to get to the post office and back home in season. Then there's no place to park. It's maybe a 5 mile round trip. It would be better to walk it, but it would be taking your life in your own hands.

There are good private/charter schools. Some not so great. The public schools appear to have serious issues when compared with districts in nearby states. I do believe that they are improving...especially in Sussex county. You have a large influx of older folks coming there to retire 'at the beach'. They don't bring school-aged children with them. Thus the tax base is risen, and the schools have profited.

You find good/bad experiences everywhere. There's not a one-size-fits all area for anyone. Having said that, for me personally, I have encountered so many unprofessional people working in professional settings that I am beginning to believe that I'm the one deficient in adapting.

I dislike driving here. The traffic flows is what I call loop-de-loops. Everywhere I go it seems you have to do a turn around and make way for all the aggressive drivers. Last race weekend I had to go out for something and barely made it home. The only way into where I live had the left turn blocked and the signal light disabled. There is *no* alternate access to this area.

If you're a woman, and concerned about 'the good-old-boys club mentality'...plan on finding it!

This is strictly my opinion from my personal experience here. I'm not from a major metro area, and I expected this to be a lateral move. I have not found that to be the case.

I guess this truly is my first vent about what I've found here. Purge time! Hope it's OK.

No. I'm not comfortable here. I just kept wondering what's wrong with me. I've never had a situation like this before, but I've not lived all over the world either. I've found people here seem angry and certainly disrespectful. *Not everyone*! I"m speaking in generalities, but it's pervasive enough to have left me feeling lost.

I realize and respect that this is 'home' for many people who love it. They should. Sometimes I wish they would love it a bit more, keep it clean, and offer respect to others.