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Old 06-10-2013, 01:21 PM
 
64 posts, read 183,268 times
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I’m looking for a vacation home of about 600k, either in Dewey Beach or East Hampton. I was wondering if others have faced the choice between the two, as I’m equal distance from either. Right now I’m leaning toward Dewey but written out some pro/cons for each.


Dewey Beach:
-Can get a 4 bedroom Ocean Block condo, possibly with community pool.
Pros:
-Very walkable, once you are there, no car needed.
-More Centrally Located (2 hrs to DC, 3 hrs to NYC, 1 ¼ to Baltimore/Philly)
-No Sales Tax, No Property Tax, Only a County Tax
-Condo will be less than Ocean Front places (worth 1-2M) but a fit within community

Cons:
-Dead in Fall-Early Spring
-Recent Break-ins
-Unsettled Town Council situation + LightHouse Condos Could Be in Limbo

Hamptons
-Can get a 3 bedroom house with heated outdoor pool, 2 miles from beach.
Pros:
-Able to get Private House with Heated Pool
-Things to do Year Round
-Likely to get more families if decide to rent out

Cons:
-Sales tax of 8.63%
- 2 Miles to beach, need to possibly drive.
-Everything very spread out, so designated drivers or cabs needed.
-House will be much less than median price (compared to multi-million dollar houses all around)
-Property Taxes of 5k/yr, likely to increase
-Isolated as only entry is via Long Island
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Old 06-10-2013, 01:33 PM
 
Location: Long Neck,De
4,792 posts, read 8,192,148 times
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With the heavy seasonal traffic I would not count on getting to Phila in 1 1/4hr.Traffic leaving Dewey area can get quite heavy.
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Old 06-10-2013, 02:09 PM
 
Location: Delaware Native
9,727 posts, read 14,271,125 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by porsche060 View Post
I’m looking for a vacation home of about 600k, either in Dewey Beach or East Hampton. I was wondering if others have faced the choice between the two, as I’m equal distance from either. Right now I’m leaning toward Dewey but written out some pro/cons for each.
Where's East Hampton?
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Old 06-10-2013, 03:33 PM
 
Location: Former LI'er Now Rehoboth Beach, DE
13,057 posts, read 18,129,851 times
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You do not state your age range and if you are thinking of living here or just a part time person. My answer as a former LI'er will certainly depend upon your response to those questions. My hubby used to rent in the Hamptons and we now live in Rehoboth Beach so we can offer some constructive ideas on both.
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Old 06-10-2013, 04:25 PM
 
1,680 posts, read 2,560,426 times
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Porscheo60,
I agree with nuts2uiam - you have not given enough information. Have you been to either location? Your age, what is important to you, is this just a place you will visit in the summer etc. will all dictate which would be more appropriate.

East Hampton, LI NY back in the 1950's was similar to present day Lewes, DE. Historic, quaint walkable town - with East Hampton having many "old" money residents during the hot summer months. The East Hampton of today is still historic and walkable - but (at least as of 10 years ago - the last time I visited), it is now filled with high end shops catering to "new" money and people who hope to spot a movie star or two when they visit during the summer. Outside of the town you definately need a car to get around. There is a big difference between "on the beach" and two miles from the beach - although during the summer months there is a high demand for rentals for anything in the Hamptons. Off season the demand for rentals 2 miles from the beach - not so much.

East Hampton has an excellent library with a ton of historic documents - which for me was the main reason for my visit 10 years ago. My mother's side of the family comes from East Hampton - so I am familiar with what East Hampton used to be like 60 years ago vs today.

I have only been down to Lewes and Rehoboth DE and will soon be retiring to the Lewes area. Have not made it down to Dewey yet but, based upon the feedback on City data it really seems geared to the college crowd during the summer who enjoy beaches and bars.

So, I can't quite understand a choice between East Hampton and Dewey because they are so very different as to the people they attract.

Mary2014

PS: I live west of Philadelphia and it takes me a good 2hr and 20 minutes on a good day to drive down to Lewes DE. I can't imagine making it from Dewey to Philadelphia in under 2 1/2 hours - and that is with no traffic! And FYI, the DE police take their speed limits very seriously... if it says 25 miles per hour you better not be doing 26 MPH.
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Old 06-10-2013, 05:58 PM
 
Location: Delaware Native
9,727 posts, read 14,271,125 times
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So, I gather from the above post that East Hampton is in Long Island, NY

Compared to Dewey Beach, Delaware

Nothing compares to Dewey Beach! It's a great little town, lots of fun, with the bay on one side of the road, and ocean on the other. Of the 3 (Rehoboth Beach, Lewes, or Dewey Beach) we prefer Dewey Beach for eating out, listening to live music, and enjoying the Bay from the Rusty Rudder. Very picturesque area and a great place to visit or settle. What would hold me back from buying a beach home in Dewey Beach is that the beach front properties are not in Fee Simple Interest, but in Leasehold. The same goes for beach front Rehoboth Beach properties, and also in Lewes (east of the canal).
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Old 06-10-2013, 07:10 PM
 
3,307 posts, read 9,385,047 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mary2014 View Post
PS: I live west of Philadelphia and it takes me a good 2hr and 20 minutes on a good day to drive down to Lewes DE. I can't imagine making it from Dewey to Philadelphia in under 2 1/2 hours - and that is with no traffic! And FYI, the DE police take their speed limits very seriously... if it says 25 miles per hour you better not be doing 26 MPH.
In fact, all of the times OP gave are way low.

DC-Dewey is almost 3 hours with no traffic. Baltimore is 2.5. Philly is between 2 and 2.5. NYC is 3.5.

On a summer weekend, those travel times go up a bit of course. Dewey is still more centrally located than East Hampton but it still isn't close to any big city.
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Old 06-11-2013, 06:34 AM
 
Location: Greenville, Delaware
4,726 posts, read 11,983,409 times
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If you could do without being on the Atlantic coast itself, I'd suggest that Lewes could be a real possibility. It's a real town, and although it slows down in the winter, it doesn't close up -- too many permanent residents for that. It's absolutely charming, and 600K could buy you something in town, though not the more historic properties of course. You have water, and a small bay beach that is accessible easily by bike. If you've not spent time in Lewes, I'd urge a visit. During summer it would also be somewhat easier to get back and forth to Philly -- traffic on Rt 1 would still be heavy, but the slow crawl between Lewes and Dewey wouldn't be part of the equation.
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Old 06-11-2013, 05:39 PM
 
1,680 posts, read 2,560,426 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rdlr View Post
Where's East Hampton?
rdlr,

You have lead a very sheltered life in Delaware, not having heard of the "Hamptons" (East Hampton, South Hampton and Bridgehampton) on Long Island.

Long Island (particularly the east end of LI where you find the "Hamptons") is very similar in many ways to Delaware.

Long Island length and width is similar to the state of Delaware. The Hamptons were settled in the 1600's just like Lewes, DE.

The Hamptons consisted of mostly farmers and fishermen. There was quite a bit of commercial fishing on the east end of the Island up through the 1920's.(Now it is mostly sport fishing.) The Island is exposed to the Atlantic Ocean on the South, but, also because of its shape had many protective harbors. An interesting read written by Jeannette Edwards Rattray in 1955 is "Ship Ashore!" - A record of maritime disasters off Montauk and Eastern Long Island, 1640 - 1955.

My mother's side of the family settled in the Hamptons and were mostly Sea captains and commercial fishermen with a few farmers thrown in for good measure.

The wealthy "old" money families in NYC often built summer houses in the Hamptons because before air conditioning and automobiles it was the best way for the wealthy to escape the summer heat of NYC. The Hamptons, partiularly East Hampton, was the place where the wealthy flocked to during the summer (and still do). As automobiles became more popular the not so rich also flocked to the Hamptons during the summer.

The locals ( farmers and fishermen) were always glad when summer came to an end and the outsiders returned home. (Sound familiar?)

Having a home in the "Hamptons" eventually became a status symbol - enter the "new money" rich and famous. East Hampton is still a beautiful historic little town - but, now the shops are mostly Gucci and other high end designers and no longer can the little ice cream shop I remember in the 1950's afford the rent of having a shop in town.

The town of Lewes DE reminds me a great deal of the East Hampton of the 1950's - perhaps that is why I immediately took a liking to Lewes the first time I visited Delaware.

Mary2014
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Old 06-11-2013, 06:16 PM
 
Location: Delaware Native
9,727 posts, read 14,271,125 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mary2014 View Post
rdlr,

You have lead a very sheltered life in Delaware, not having heard of the "Hamptons" (East Hampton, South Hampton and Bridgehampton) on Long Island.
Mary2014
Yes, you are right, Mary. Never heard of the place. But then, there are plenty out there who've never heard of Delaware and don't even know Delaware is a State. When my parents owned mom & pop stores up and down Rt. 13 in Delaware, New Yorkers would stop to buy cigarettes and gasoline as they traveled through. I would hide behind the counter just to hear the NYers talk. New York, to us as kids, was some faraway, wildly bad place we never wanted to go.

That was in the 40's when New York potato farmers started settling in Delaware....low taxes, cheap land, lots of open space......etc.
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