Pros and Cons of Delaware (Middletown, Ocean View: HOA, crime rate, homes)

[DelawareLiz]

Travric--yes, living in certain areas costs more than other areas in Delaware. For example, it costs more for me to buy a home, pay my bills, maintain my home, and buy groceries here in Ocean View than it does in say....Blades, Delaware. However, I am more than willing to pay the higher COL here rather than live in less desirable areas within the state. Many people who move here state that their utility bills are higher here than where they lived before as well.

Here's one of those articles, btw....

10 Worst States For Retirement | Bankrate.com

10 Worst States For Retirement | Bankrate.com

[CarrieM]

Pro's of Delaware - It's a small state, and it seems as if everyone knows everyone else.

Con's of Delaware - It's a small state, and it seems as if everyone knows everyone else.

It's nice to be able to talk to someone, and find out you have mutual friends, acquaintances, etc. Just be sure you are talking TO people, and not ABOUT people! Cause that is sure to bite you in the butt!

I've lived it Delaware for three years now. I'm loving it, and if I have my way, will never move out of the state. I feel like I have more friends, more of a social and support network here, than I had in NJ, where I had lived for over 40 years.

[jaggerbone]

Cons: Joe Biden and people like him ..... very scary.
Cons: HOA fees in some places make it more expensive then living in Maryland.
PROS: As stated, low taxes and great beaches ( beach towns to live in and around.)

[slowlane3]

Originally Posted by travric

doctorjef...I'll be reading and exploring everything you've written on the history. Good stuff. Appreciate your time on that. I'll also hunt for a book too. Now I have one that describes Early, Colonial and Revolutionary America sites. I used it for New England trips. I thought it was good. If my memory serves me right I think there's one for the more southern states. I'll have to check.

A heroic Delaware figure was Caesar Rodney, who on a single day in 1776, rode at least 70 miles through a rainstorm, on muddy roads, (partly on horseback and partly in a carriage), suffering from asthma and cancer, to cast the deciding vote on the Declaration of Independence. His image is shown on Delaware's quarter coin (the first of the state quarter designs ). U.S. and Delaware History

[longnecker]

Originally Posted by rdlr

Delaware's Forgotten Fort is Fort Saulsbury, in Slaughter Beach. From the road, one can see the iron bunker which is the entrance. It is now privately owned, and there are No Trespassing signs everywhere. Here's just one link Fort Saulsbury - Delaware
There are other links, private, I believe, so I'm not sure if I can post those. Just Google "Fort Saulsbury" and they will come up. This is a fascinating place with so much history.

Often on slow news days there are articles in the Cape Gazette about the base at Cape Henlopen and their guns. I thought I was up on area history but had never heard of Fort Saulsbury. Thanks for the link rdlr.

[fibonacci]

Pros: Close to Philly, DC, NYC, Baltimore, and Atlantic City

Cons: A lot. Boring, boring, boring, boring.

[travric]

rdlr...heheheh...I think you're bragging with those crazee numbers!..;-)..We're happy that you're happy with your Shangri-la. We're still looking and we should be 'happy as Larry' when we find ours.

beachliz...Higher utility bills in Del...something we didn't know and good to know...Also, I read through those sources too. I thought it gave a pretty good overview of some of the states. I knocked out a few right away. Like heavy cream, just could wind up too 'rich' in the belly for us!

And Delaware history..I think it may be good for us to come down and visit some good bookstores. Any recommendations? Frankly, I'd prefe to go to say much smaller book stores other than Barnes & Noble. Just to support them because they're kind of going by the wayside. Truly I hope the trade is ok in Delaware. I think it's important.

[rdlr]

Originally Posted by travric

rdlr...heheheh...I think you're bragging with those crazee numbers!..;-)..We're happy that you're happy with your Shangri-la. We're still looking and we should be 'happy as Larry' when we find ours.

Yes, travric - you don't know how MUCH I brag about Delaware. I've bragged so much about Delaware my local friends are reprimanding me! Too many people caught on to Delaware, and it's partly my fault! But wait! Where are you from? If you're from NY, there are tons of those here, and the quota may have been filled.

Bookstore: Acorn Books, a small, locally owned bookshop in Dover, just opened this Spring
http://www.acornbooks.net/

Bylers Country Store, Forest Avenue, Dover - lots of local history books, and have a large $1.00 ice cream cone while you browse. http://www.bylers.com/

[doctorjef]

There's also a good little bookshop in Rehoboth, on Rehoboth Avenue, the main drag in town. It's on the north side of the street, perhaps three blocks west of the beach. Sorry, I don't recall the name (one could easily find it on the internet, I'm sure, by googling Rehoboth Beach bookstores and then looking for the one on Rehoboth Avenue), but they have a pretty decent selection of Delaware-specific books. The Lewes Historical Society, whose headquarters are located in the oldest building in town, on 2nd Street, also has some books about Delaware history, and they publish a journal periodically that has informative articles (I learned a lot about the WWII POW camps in Sussex County from one edition of their journal). They have an internet presence, and send out regular emails if you join the Society.

I'm sorry that this thread has inevitably brought out some of the Delaware-haters. Delaware is NOT boring if you take advantage of what's here. However, if you want to live in a really highly urbanised environment, this State probably won't be your cup of tea. For me, much in life is a trade-off, a compromise. I love big cities if they are walkable and have good public transport. I grew up partly in DC, and moved to Delaware from London -- I love both cities, yet DC is intolerably expensive and has a reputation for snotty people; I've had much regret over leaving London, but also got tired of the city's dirtiness, the crowded and hot "tube" system that I relied upon to get around, especially for work, and the masses of clueless tourists. Delaware has a reasonable COL, generally very friendly people, a good deal of natural beauty, and isn't over-crowded. However, it also suffers from tacky strip malls/shopping centres, suburban sprawl, a need to rely on one's personal car to get anywhere in much of the State, and a lack of world-class institutions of various types. Those things, however, are afflictions common to life in most of the United States and to virtually all of this country's smaller cities and suburban communities. It is what it is.

Getting back to this State's history, another notable figure is John Dickenson, who was politically active in advocating the American cause both in the run-up to the Revolution and during the Revolutionary War itself. He also ultimately became a proto-abolitionist. His Kent County plantation is open to the public and lies just south of Dover.

[nuts2uiam]

Travric

My DH and I retired here in March from Long Island NY. Thus far the only thing more expensive for us is water. In NY we paid $1.79 thousand the first 5000 then $1.99 the next. Here with Tidewater Utilities the rates are crazy, $7.94 then $8.04 with a quarterly administrative fee of $67.95. My most recent bill was $140 and we don't pay for irrigation. Still, with an all electric house my electric is still less than on LI and the house is larger than my last by over a half!!! I have found produce to be a bit higher but we are in Rehoboth Beach so that contributes to the pricing.

Originally Posted by travric

High COL in some areas (such as mine). You may save on propery taxes and no sales tax, but trust me....they get you at the store and when you need any home repairs (HVAC, electrical, etc.). In fact, I recently read a good article about how DE has a high COL...will have to dig that up.


I'd like to read that one. You see everything I've come up on Delaware sort of extols all that expense-shaving, i.e. that living there well saves you alot of money moreso than if you went to say other states. But I guess that's the 'average'. If what you are saying is correct then living in a CERTAIN area within the state wipes all that 'savings' out and consequently Delaware relatively speaking may not be so 'attractive' a destination if COL is a concern. Research as to locality is very important then. Should I read it that way? Thanks.