Delaware vs Rhode Island (living, cost, state, better)

[LordHomunculus]

I feel this should be a good match up.

Both have similar populations with RI at around 1,059,000 and Delaware at around 973k. Both are the two smallest states of the US in terms of land area. Both are part of the Bos-Wash corridor. Finally and frankly, many people do not have much of an opinion on these two states to the point people forget they are states. This is especially the case for people outside of the Northeast!

Some criteria can include:

Economy
Cost of living
Housing
Cities, towns and suburbs
Amenities/things to do
Culture
Food
Education
Location
Importance
Future outlook

and anything else you can think of, go ahead and compare.

[FL_Expert]

Economy - RI
Cost of living - DE, not by that much though. RI isn’t as bad as people think.
Housing - DE
Cities, towns and suburbs - RI
Amenities/things to do - RI
Culture - RI
Food - RI
Education - RI
Location - RI (I’ll take proximity to Boston over Philly)
Importance - DE, thanks to every company being legally headquarter in Wilmington.
Future outlook - Lean RI.


This is a difficult comparison because Delaware is a kind of odd state. There’s Wilmington, and then there’s the rest of the state. Wilmington is like the other Bos-Wash cities, but the rest of DE is basically ‘the South’. Overall I think RI is the better state, but I’m not 100% sure as it’s one of the few states I’ve never been to.

[SonySegaTendo617]

Originally Posted by FL_Expert

Economy - RI
Cost of living - DE, not by that much though. RI isn’t as bad as people think.
Housing - DE
Cities, towns and suburbs - RI
Amenities/things to do - RI
Culture - RI
Food - RI
Education - RI
Location - RI (I’ll take proximity to Boston over Philly)
Importance - DE, thanks to every company being legally headquarter in Wilmington.
Future outlook - Lean RI.


This is a difficult comparison because Delaware is a kind of odd state. There’s Wilmington, and then there’s the rest of the state. Wilmington is like the other Bos-Wash cities, but the rest of DE is basically ‘the South’. Overall I think RI is the better state, but I’m not 100% sure as it’s one of the few states I’ve never been to.

This should be another interesting comparison thread. 2 states I've never been to, but have always wanted to visit both. RI would be cool to visit to see Block Island, Newport, Providence, and probably Bristol(if google street view is any hint that this place also is nice) as well. I'm sure DE has some nice places to visit too, i.e. Newark, Wilmington, Rehoboth Beach to name a few examples. I kinda wonder if some of the lesser talked about DE towns also are nice, i.e. Milford, Fenwick Island, etc? Finally for Delaware IF I ever get to Rehoboth Beach, I'd love to visit the original brewpub location for Dogfish Head Brewery!

[masssachoicetts]

Economy - RI
Cost of living - DE
Housing - DE
Cities, towns and suburbs - RI
Amenities/things to do - RI
Culture - RI
Food - RI
Education - RI
Location - RI (Boston>Philly, like said before)
Importance - tie? Ri really doesnt have much either
Future outlook - DE

[GeoffD]

I compared the demographics using census quickfacts. Rhode Island has a lot more Hispanic immigrants and a higher fraction of households that don’t speak English at home. Like most of New England, Rhode Island doesn’t have a big African-American population compared to Delaware. Rhode Island has more socioeconomic stratification. Poorly educated immigrants but more college educated adults. Most of the urban parts of Rhode Island are failed cities with a big pocket of gentrification around Brown/College Hill in Providence. I’m in Massachusetts but part of the Providence MSA and it’s similar. My census tract looks affluent suburb with 6-figure median household income and a high fraction of college educated adults. A couple of miles away, it’s failed city with the same issues as the RI cities.

I don’t know Delaware well enough to do a rational comparison. I don’t think Delaware has coastal suburban enclaves that compare with Barrington or East Greenwich. Or a Newport. Or a Little Compton. I can’t compare RI South County beaches against Delaware. There’s nothing to compare Block Island against.

Food? Frighteningly, Dell’s Lemonade and Narragansett beer is a thing. My cardiologist would shudder if he saw me eating clam cakes. Fried Calamari is big. I like clear broth clam chowder. I like sage-based Thanksgiving stuffing so I’m fine with stuffed quahogs. I have no idea what Delaware food might be.

[FL_Expert]

Originally Posted by SonySegaTendo617

This should be another interesting comparison thread. 2 states I've never been to, but have always wanted to visit both. RI would be cool to visit to see Block Island, Newport, Providence, and probably Bristol(if google street view is any hint that this place also is nice) as well. I'm sure DE has some nice places to visit too, i.e. Newark, Wilmington, Rehoboth Beach to name a few examples. I kinda wonder if some of the lesser talked about DE towns also are nice, i.e. Milford, Fenwick Island, etc? Finally for Delaware IF I ever get to Rehoboth Beach, I'd love to visit the original brewpub location for Dogfish Head Brewery!

I bought my first car in Milford. It’s not really special to be honest. Fenwick is basically an extension of Ocean City, MD. Rehoboth is similar, but caters to a different crowd.

One city I will say is interesting is New Castle. It’s small, but it has a very nice historic district. If I lived in DE it would definitely be there.

[SonySegaTendo617]

Originally Posted by FL_Expert

I bought my first car in Milford. It’s not really special to be honest. Fenwick is basically an extension of Ocean City, MD. Rehoboth is similar, but caters to a different crowd.

One city I will say is interesting is New Castle. It’s small, but it has a very nice historic district. If I lived in DE it would definitely be there.

Thanks for your comments, on all these places in Delaware. That is nice to hear, that New Castle has a decent historic district. Quick side question: how would you describe Dover, to be like?

And thanks for answering my Delaware questions, since I hadn't been to this state before. Hope to someday, though.

[FL_Expert]

Originally Posted by SonySegaTendo617

Thanks for your comments, on all these places in Delaware. That is nice to hear, that New Castle has a decent historic district. Quick side question: how would you describe Dover, to be like?

And thanks for answering my Delaware questions, since I hadn't been to this state before. Hope to someday, though.

I don’t remember much about Dover to be honest. I used to live about an hour south and drove through Dover a few times, but never really saw the city. I don’t recall friends/family ever going there either so I’m doubtful there’s much to do.

[VTinPhilly]

Originally Posted by SonySegaTendo617

Thanks for your comments, on all these places in Delaware. That is nice to hear, that New Castle has a decent historic district. Quick side question: how would you describe Dover, to be like?

And thanks for answering my Delaware questions, since I hadn't been to this state before. Hope to someday, though.

I lived in Dover for six years and went to high school there--many, many years ago. The Dover of my youth seemed absolutely perfect--historic, physically beautiful with practically no crime or poverty. Dover then was small but with a large enough "downtown" (primarily Loockerman/State Streets) to find pretty much everything one needed. If you lived in town in those days you could get by without a car.

No longer. I returned to Dover last week for the first time in 50 years and was shocked by what I found. Today downtown Dover is largely dead with most commercial activities located east of town--up and down Rte. 13 (DuPont Pkwy) in one of the worst examples of strip commercial sprawl I've ever seen. The highway now is more like a parking lot--heavy auto traffic for miles, acres of parking, and no pedestrians--an absolute mess!

Fortunately the physical beauty of the old town is still more or less intact, and the state of Delaware has invested a lot in the Legislative Hall (state capitol) district. The original town plan dating back to 1682 features "The Green"--still one of the beautiful and historic small urban open spaces in the U.S. Dover has good "bones" (as we like to say) and with some planning and $$$ investment the town could become a serious tourist destination. At the present time however, it's but a ghost of the place I once knew and loved.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Some criteria can include:

Economy DE
Cost of living DE
Housing DE
Cities, towns and suburbs RI
Amenities/things to do RI
Culture RI
Food RI
Education RI
Location DE
Importance TIE (RI?)
Future outlook RI