safest area in Sussex County (Lewes, Ocean View: 2014, rentals, low crime)

[emily55]

im looking online at realestate and Sussex County seems to be the lowest taxes in delaware. what areas are the safest, low crime. thankyou

[Mary2014]

Do you have a budget? Rent or buy? Is school district important to you? How close to work do you need to be?

Mary2014

[DelawareLiz]

Ocean View and Bethany have very low crime....common crimes here are property crimes/theft. Vacation homes burglarized during the winter and items stolen from unlocked cars year-round are two common crimes--but this is the case anywhere in Delaware. Don't own a vacation home or leave anything unlocked (I never do), and you'll be fine. You'd probably still be fine most of the time leaving things unlocked if it's during the day--most theft occurs at night. Violent crime doesn't exist here, and the state police did a great job busting the few drug homes in the area. I don't even think anymore are left to bust.

Fenwick has low crime too, but they sometimes get "overflow" crime from north OC. Lewes and Rehoboth are also safe places although you'll find there's more crime there due to a larger year-round population and a younger population. There are also more "shady" areas to live in those areas (section eight housing, lower income trailer parks, some scary rentals). The shopping outlets also draw in robbers, druggies, and purse snatchers. However, I lived in Lewes and was never a victim of a crime....even working late at night in Rehoboth and having to walk alone to my car.

[Mary2014]

Having only lived here for less than four months, I consider the biggest safety issue is the number of accidents police have to respond to both on route 1 and on the back roads.

There is a much larger number of people walking, biking, driving mopeds and driving vehicles in Sussex County that seem to "run into each other". I.e. pedestrians on cell phones crossing roads and not bothering to make sure a bike, moped or car is a few feet away; people on bikes that fail to follow the rules of the road - ignoring stop signs and flying through intersections without stopping; people on mopeds that don't know how to drive them; inattentive drivers of vehicles who are talking on the phone, texting or just chatting with someone in the passenger seat and are not aware of all the pedestrians, bikers and moped drivers around them. Add some people who choose to drink and drive and you could end up being an innocent bystander who is the one who gets hurt.

It is the flat nature of Sussex county that makes it so nice to walk, bike etc., but, that seems to translate into a lot more accidents in the area.

If you want to keep up on the police activity in Sussex County, make a point of reading the on line edition of the Cape Gazzette.

Mary2014

[DelawareLiz]

Very true, Mary 2014. The number of accidents around here is very sad...and most are due to people not following the rules of the road while walking, biking, or driving some sort of motorized vehicle. No doubt, the number of accidents we have around here is way above the norm. Many DUIs as well--not just drunks, but people on drugs too.

[longnecker]

Originally Posted by beachliz

Very true, Mary 2014. The number of accidents around here is very sad...and most are due to people not following the rules of the road while walking, biking, or driving some sort of motorized vehicle. No doubt, the number of accidents we have around here is way above the norm. Many DUIs as well--not just drunks, but people on drugs too.

Many people come and see our "country roads" as great places to enjoy a walk or bike ride. If there are no shoulders or side walks and a 50 mph speed limit do you really think you are safe?