So what is it young professionals want?

[newmassphd]

Here's some stuff to do…..

I have no affiliation with any of these. I learned about them
myself and thought they were interesting (Google search them to find out more)...

Aug 23rd, 2014- The Wilmington Burger Battle

June 19th-22nd- FireFly Music Festival, Dover

Barrel of Makers (Newark)- regular meet ups and events

Sept 6th and 7th- Brandywine Festival of the Arts

Site with all sorts of events: In Wilmington: Delaware Arts and Entertainment in Your Backyard

Also meetup.com and search for Wilmington DE

Wilmington Office of Cultural Affairs: About the Office of Cultural Affairs :: Visitors :: City of Wilmington, Delaware

Delaware SPorts League: https://www.facebook.com/DelawareSportsLeague

Delaware State Fair: Delaware State Fair

Delaware Astronomical Society

Warbirds Over Delaware: Delaware R/C Club - Warbirds Over Delaware

Blue Diamond Motocross park: BDMX Park | Blue Diamond MX Park

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by newmassphd

What I wonder is how quite a number of relatively small cities have been able to make it work.
off the top of my head, Fort Collins CO, Irvine CA, Northampton/Amherst MA. What is it cities/towns such
as these have?

My best guess (from seeing these places) is something to bring young people to the area and something
to keep them there.

- universities/colleges (undergrad and graduate)
- arts and entertainment venues (creative district?)
- venues, opportunities, and support for artists of all sorts
(EX: for $25 performers in Boston can get permit to play/perform in the subway system)
- supporting industry for young people to "get their start." Multiple industries
high-tech/IT, advertising, finance/investments
- business incubation (innovation district) for all sorts of businesses including
food trucks (my favourite).
- fun promotions for friendly bragging rights: best ice cream in state, best pizza in state,
best BBQ in state, best yodeller in state, weiner dog races, talent shows, etc.
- broad array of social venues
- places to gather (Jeffersonian), discuss, and enjoy a tankard or cup
- a center green? public flower garden
- sidewalks and courtyards
- perception of low crime (I've seen young mothers pushing strollers at night in some towns
to help get the baby to sleep)
- a general sense of ownership (this is my town) and care about one's city

Is it something that could be replicated in Delaware?

Actually, to your bolded question, I would say the answer is no. Delaware is a state that took its direction from the DuPont family and company for quite a while (back to the US Revolutionary War). While that influenced has diminished over the past 30 years or so, I still see it as embedded in the the state's DNA. It is, in essence: Pleasantville. Such DNA doesn't carry the gene for producing such small hipster cities, but does offer great appeal to those seeking a suburban life along with a good place to raise their families.

Of the three communities you mentioned, I've only spent time in one (Northampton/Amherst). I would assume the others are just as crunchy. So we have a chicken and egg dilemma when examining the existence of these small creative enclaves: Do these cities give rise to creative people, or do certain locales offer some implicit quality that draws in hipsters and aging hippies. I tend to believe the cycle starts with the latter and over time, success brings success. I just don't see the right factors being in place for that to develop in DE (Arden aside). Rehoboth and Lewes might appear to be likely candidates, but they are too small and there really aren't any good jobs there. Newark could be a candidate. I left UD in 1977. Going back a couple of years ago, I was impressed with the increase of Main Street's charm factor. Compared to Northampton, however, Newark falls a bit short.

Regardless - I would guess the number of young folks dreaming of locating to a granola town would be dwarfed by those preferring a more grown up urban experience post-graduation. Don't have anything to back up that claim - it's just an educated guess.

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by madamskinny

I've been told that I did not do my research, but what research did you expect me to do? Personally, I think that if you never grew up in a rural environment no matter how much research you do you will be ill prepared.

Is it me, or do you seem increasingly angry about the decisions you made with every new post? It is not Delaware's fault that it doesn't seem to offer much of anything you find appealing. It is your fault for not doing your homework. Research prior to moving seems intuitive to me, and I'm befuddled it seems to have eluded you. It means having at least a mental checklist of the features and qualities you want in your new city and seeing if the city have these features and qualities before you move there. For example, you should have checked ahead of time so you were not surprised to find that "98.98342%" of the apartments are frumpy and outdated (by your calculation). What did you do: Arrive with your goods in a UHaul and then figure out which apartment would accomodate your furniture and your budget?

You seriously thought a town of 30,000-some people would be teeming with this:

Originally Posted by madamskinny

Walkable neighborhoods. For instance the neigborhood around the apartments in the Wilimington Riverfront area, where are the bars? Where is the nightlife? Firestone? (Last call at 12AM nearly crushed my soul the first night I heard that) But what else? Is there a Whole Foods or Traders Joes you can walk to Saturday mornings to get your groceries? Where are the establishments that a city would offer you? Heck where is the fancy/hip gym that allows you to run on a treadmill while overlooking the river/citylife? Hell where is the outdoor morning yoga sessions, that would be great in summer/spring on the weekends. Outdoor concerts, outdoor movie nights, and where is the venue for artists to come and perform?

If you really need a gym overlooking the river/city life and outdoor movies to be happy, then research means looking into that before you decide to move there.

So, if you honestly didn't know the basics before executing a move, chalk this up as life lesson. You can either get on with your life and find a city that does offer all you want, or you can continue to vent and blame Delaware for your mistake. The latter hasn't been particularly productive I would guess.

[doctorjef]

The Central Y in downtown Wilmington offers a beautiful view if the cemetery that can be enjoyed from the treadmills and ellipticals. You can also see the spire of Trinity Parish Church. :-)

[madamskinny]

@jm02 all I hear is blah blah blah.

[newmassphd]

I was considering to use my limited hobby time to put up
an event aggregation site using Semantic Wiki Software.
The format I had in mind would most closely resemble
(albeit for more social events) wikicfp.com