Dover neighborhoods? (Smyrna, Magnolia: real estate, apartments, rentals)

[lash5107]

My husband and I will be relocating to Dover (from Nebraska) this summer for his job at at Delaware State University. We are looking to rent at first.

What are the different areas/neighborhoods of Dover like? Are there areas to avoid/bad neighborhoods? What's it like near the Univ? west of town? down by the AFB? Kids/schools are not an issue here. We just want to move somewhere safe. A park, walking trail, or nice walking neighborhood would be good, as we have a dog.

Coming from Nebraska, we can't just drive over and take a look, so we'll be renting based on e-mails/pictures from agents.

Thanks!
LA

[from PA]

Lots of inventory of new homes in the area. You may be able to lease purchase. Check my prior postings, you will get a brief overview of ,well, my unbiased opinion. We live in a fantastic family neighborhood.
Country living but with all the conveniences closeby. Ceasar Rodney is considered one of the better districts in So. Delaware.

[Jon F Moss]

it may have changed, but living downtown near State Street was always nice. My family lived on S. Bradford Street in an old Victorian style home, and have many fond memories there.

[from PA]

I agree with Tridad. There are many victorian beauties in downtown Dover.
The area is well kept and if this suites you, your realtor should be able to find something for you. Also, you might want to check the Dover Post online.

[lash5107]

Thanks for the input. We've found real estate agents that list rentals they have available.

I guess my big concern is: are there are areas of Dover to avoid? For example, there are some rentals in areas called "White Oak Farms" and "Laffertys Corner" that fit our needs...but are those areas ok/safe/not run down? We're not looking for fancy or perfect (right now in Nebraska we live next to a gas station and across from Dairy Queen!), just a decent place to live while we settle in and get to know the area.

This would be a lot easier if we were not 1300 miles away!

LA

[maryCh]

Lash5107,

How did you find agents that list rentals? We have been trying to find a rental for a few months now! We are targeting a specific school district, but we have not found any agents/agencies that list rentals! Our only resource has been the Dover Post. PM me if you have rental contacts (other than apartments, nothing decent in the school district we want).

[JulieF]

Hi,

What was your husband's impression of the area when he was interviewed for the position at DSU?

I'm just a visitor to Dover, staying with relatives, so I don't know a lot of the neighborhoods. We have ridden through White Oak Farms (couple years ago), and I thought it was just OK. I don't know where Lafferty's Corner is.

Some of the State Street area is all right, at least from the point of view of attractive houses, and I'm guessing that some of the big ones are divided into apartments. So that might work for you. But my brother-in-law points out that you're only a couple blocks away from a higher crime area on some parts of State St., and though you're very near downtown Dover, a lot of the stores seem to be closed there.

Right near DSU, you've got busy highway. If you go along next to the university to the west, you get to some nice neighborhoods. I think they all include the word "Foxhall". Like "Foxhall West" and others. I don't know how you'd find out if any of those houses available to rent, but I remember a family member saying that a lot of people who work at the university live in those neighborhoods.

Good luck.

[lash5107]

Thanks for the new replies.

maryCh - I PM'd you with the rental info I found.

JulieF - to answer your question about my husband's impression...
DSU called him on a Wednesday for an interview on Thursday! So he found a last minute flight, flew into BWI on Thursday, got to DSU at about 5:30pm and went through the whole interview process. He finished up about 10:30pm that night, and drove back to BWI for a flight back to Nebraska early the next morning. So he was barely there!!! He didn't even see much of the campus.

I was hoping to not have to spend the money to fly out, but one of us may end up out there to find a place in person. Better to be a little poorer than sorry!

[maryCh]

We have visited the area several times over the last few years. Are you trying to stay near the campus/in the city of Dover? A few miles outside the city, you are in the country.

[lash5107]

Thanks maryCh. That's the impression I have of Dover in terms of city/country.

We'd be open to living in Dover or outside of it somewhere (probably as far north as Smyrna and as far south as Magnolia. We don't want a huge commute though (I don't even have a job yet!) but I'd prefer to be in Dover. We've been 'spoiled' here in our town in Nebraska (population 5500). We live 4 blocks from the college. I'm a little tired of the country; we're surrounded by corn and cows here. We're two hours from any big city.

As for having been to Dover: we are both from the east (Long Island and Pittsburgh) and we lived in Frederick, MD before we moved to Nebraska. We were in Dover once probably 5 years ago. My husband was playing a 'gig' with the Salisbury Symphony at the theatre in Dover. I remember 'downtown' being nice old houses...but we didn't really look around too much.

LA