Delaware vs Upstate New York (Wilmington, Dover: sales, real estate, how much)

[Murphy1245]

I'm from the Capital Region (Albany) of New York, and was just wondering how Upstate New York and Delaware differ, especially in terms of weather of cost of living.

[nuts2uiam]

I am a former Li'er and from my perspective there is little to no comparison. The weather is similar to LI but there is no where near as much snow. This will be our 4th winter here and only 1 had what I would consider even close to the snow we had on LI. Temperature wise, I would say we are generally about 3 - 4 degrees either way of LI. I have relatives and friends in the Albany area (Saugerties and Albany) and the snow totals are not even close. Depending up where you are in terms of a valley/mountain the weather in the summer can be as different also. We have the same humidity here as on LI, although others have said it is worse here, but that is not my experience.

I would suggest using the search bar and read about the cost of living here. There are many differences in those figures from the northern part of the state to the southern part. Our property taxes here are quite low in comparison to LI, but, it depends upon where you are in NY, how much that will vary.

Use the search tool in the blue band next to "new Posts" above and you will learn a lot. There may also be some NY'ers from the upstate area who can offer more concrete info for you.

[EnjoyEveryDay]

One difference I suspect that you will notice is that Albany averages 59.1" of snow per year. You will get nowhere near that total anywhere in Delaware. For example, Wilmington in northern Delaware averages 20.2"; Seaford 13.6"; Rehoboth Beach 9.6".

Bankrate's cost of living calculator shows the Wilmington/NJ/MD Metropolitan area 6% lower than the Albany/Schnectady/Troy area, and the Dover, Delaware area 12% lower than Albany. Of course, these comparisons depend so much on general geographies, your actual experience can vary substantially depending on where you live now and where you would live in Delaware.

Good luck on your research.

[rdlr]

I can't compare Delaware with anywhere else, since I've never lived anywhere else. You never know about Delaware's snow. I hate to see "averages" quoted. I've been here a lifetime, and while snow falls are not as "bad" as they used to be, you never know. Last year, our area in Kent County got 17 inches in one of our snowfalls. (you do know that Delaware is 96 miles long, don't you?) We were snowed in for a couple of days that time, and we live in a small town. Other snowstorms last year weren't as deep in mid Kent County. Snow depths in Delaware vary every year, although I guess, snows here aren't as bad as up north.

[james777]

The real estate taxes in Delaware will be about half, or even possibly one third of what they would be in upstate NY for a comparable property.

[Bac0s]

No sales tax in Delaware, either.

[Ellwood]

We live in upstate NY (Saratoga area). Last year MD and NJ got more snow than we did. We had a total of 6". That is unusual. The roads are cleared very quickly when it snows, and salted. We drive to MD to visit family and find the traffic is quite heavy in DE/MD. We have little traffic here. During rush hour from Albany north, it may slow but nothing like the highways south. COL is different north of Albany. Albany area costs are higher. We are retired so there are quite a few exemptions to our property tax. We have 3.5 acres, 2400 sq. ft. house with workshop and in ground pool. Our taxes are about $5K. We considered DE when we retired but some friends moved there and had problems finding doctors and had to go to MD, for cancer treatment.

[rdlr]

Originally Posted by Ellwood

We considered DE when we retired but some friends moved there and had problems finding doctors and had to go to MD, for cancer treatment.

I don't understand that. Here's a link to Delaware's Cancer Care. Bayhealth in Dover and Milford is affiliated with Penn Medicine - widely praised. https://www.pennmedicine.org/cancer/...work/bayhealth

[EnjoyEveryDay]

Originally Posted by Ellwood

We live in upstate NY (Saratoga area). Last year MD and NJ got more snow than we did. We had a total of 6". That is unusual.

As Joe Friday would have said, the story you are about to hear is true...

If we want to look at extremes as well as averages for Rehoboth Beach:
- the average annual snowfall is 9.6"
- the largest single day snowfall was 18.8" on February 16, 2003
- the largest monthly snowfall was 36" in February 2010

For the Albany area:
- the average annual snowfall is 59.1"
- the largest single day snowfall was 24.0" on February 14, 1914
- the largest monthly snowfall was 57.4" in December 1969

I can't speak to Maryland and New Jersey, but on average one can expect about 4 feet less snow per year in Rehoboth Beach than the Albany area. Does that mean we never have a large snowfall? No.

But if you want to look what usually happens, it is a safe bet that the annual snowfall here is going to be a lot less than upstate New York most years. Not a grudge match, I had plenty of it growing up in northwestern Pennsylvania and when I lived in Minneapolis and Chicago, and think snow is beautiful. For about one week a year.

Just the facts, Ma'am...

[rdlr]

Blizzard of Memories:
Del.?s snowstorm history offers a blizzard of memories - Delaware State News | Delaware State News

The "best" memory (in recent years) I have of a blizzard was the one in 1979, which lasted 4 days in Clayton, Delaware.
Short Story: On a 160 acre farm, with a long lane, snowed in for 4 days, with 14 teenage musicians living in our basement. Thank God for our generator which kept the music going, and kept me cooking 6 meals/day for an always hungry crowd.

Later, I discovered the "kids" planned their little 3 hour party in our basement to coincide with the predicted snow storm. ("But Mom, We Can't Get Home").

The "worst" memory I have was Hurricane Hazel (they called it a tropical storm) which occurred when I was a teenager. While the reports don't rate that storm as being one of the worse, I have vivid memories otherwise. Boarding up the huge show windows in my mom & pop's store, was no easy feat, while the glass was actually moving and ready to blow out.

Somehow, news accounts of snowstorms, blizzards and such, don't seem to exactly match what I've experienced in Delaware. Boy, could I write a book about real life in Delaware!