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Obviously from the title of my reply, not a lot of positive to say about Newark from me, but I'll try. I've lived here since 2004. I live off Kirkwood hwy just outside of the University area. And my home was burglarized last summer. This area had a rash of burglaries, I don't know if the perps were ever caught. Oh, and I live in 19711.
Delaware is a small state so the neighborhoods in New Castle county tend to be confusing in terms of good and bad parts. Old New Castle is nice- the greater New Castle area is a dump. West Main Street in Newark is nice - the rest of Main Street is pretty much given over to college students. Around Newark, try Polly Drummond Hill Road, Possum Park Road, Milltown Road, pretty much the north/west side of Kirkwood Hwy is better. Red Lion is ok. Old Baltimore Pike is mixed in terms of older and newer places, so is Bear. Stay AWAY from anything "conveniently located to Rt 40." Not only is traffic a nightmare but the neighborhoods can be bad.
I just would like to point out something about Wilmington. The greater Wilmington area is very, very diverse as far as neighborhood age and spiffiness goes. A lot of what the previous posts are talking about is North Wilmington - Talleyville, Centerville, Greenville, Hockessin. It can get pricey. And yes, there are some nice older friendly neighborhoods all through there. Again, traffic is a problem. There are some neighborhoods north of the 202 Concord Pike exit on 95 that are supposedly up-and-coming. I can't remember the name, but it's north of Edgemoor. If I were to want to settle in Wilmington, I would look at Arden, actually. There are some beautiful, older, practically forested areas in there and the community spirit is supposed to be strong.
As far as downtown, I keep hearing Trolley Square, but I don't know if that's just for night life or for living, and for whom.
However, I'm getting out of Delaware and here's why. First, the public schools are terrible if word of mouth is at all to be believed. Second, traffic and construction are HORRIBLE. There isn't a major road anywhere that isn't blocked by construction someplace in NCC, or a major intersection that's not practically at a standstill at rush hour. I drove from Newark to North Wilmington daily for years - 19 miles usually took 45 minutes easily and sometimes 60. Third, when I moved here I liked Delaware's shabby, blast from the past 70's kind of feel. It seemed easygoing and real. I don't know if I was mistaken or if Delaware has really changed that much. But, with the rapid influx of families from neighboring states who fled high property tax, massive amounts of building went on, both commercial and residential, and there seemed to be virtually NO rhyme or reason or city planning involved in it. So there's lots of fields and treed lots that got bulldozed and crammed with Dunkin Donuts, Happy Harrys (oh, excuse me, Walgreens, since Delaware's family drugstore sold out) Christiana Mall went from a nice little mall with a CVS and a few high end stores to this "home of tax free shopping" wannabe with Coach, Lucky Jeans, and god knows what else, I haven't been there in so long. If you're a shopper that might be more of a selling point, I dunno For me, all the "warm fuzzies" got bulldozed right out of the state and all that's left is traffic, strip malls, and just a mess of other picky little things I won't bother to mention. Good grief, but I do go on!
As negative as I feel about the area, if it's your choice, good luck and I hope you're happy here. I'd like to like Newark...I just don't.
Last edited by Missmeamea; 10-14-2009 at 07:37 PM..
I am sorry to hear that you don't like Newark, that is very discouraging for me who just moved here. So far though I am very happy.
I have to disagree about the school system. Our school system is fantastic. Not just from what I see, but if you look at the numbers it has all 90%. The traffic might seem bad, but go to NJ and the traffic is nothing. The one thing so far I don't like about De. is that it is like a blast from the past. I think it needs to get a little more modern, but it seems like they are working on it. The mall is small and not great, but they are expanding. (still won't be too big, but it works and they have all the stores I need)
Good luck with your move, I hope you can find a place that has these same property taxes.
Sandee, my opinions shouldn't discourage you. As long as you are happy, you are happy. It also sounds as if your preferences for shopping are the exact opposite of mine. So all the new stores at the mall should suit you well
At the moment, property taxes don't come into it for me as I am a renter. My point was that DE has had a lot of people move in from neighboring states like PA and NJ because of the high property taxes in those states. DE's property taxes are way lower.
I used to feel the same way about traffic, having lived both in PA and NJ. However, I got very frustrated quickly because there's a lot of roadwork done on major roadways.
Obviously from the title of my reply, not a lot of positive to say about Newark from me, but I'll try. I've lived here since 2004. I live off Kirkwood hwy just outside of the University area. And my home was burglarized last summer. This area had a rash of burglaries, I don't know if the perps were ever caught. Oh, and I live in 19711.
Delaware is a small state so the neighborhoods in New Castle county tend to be confusing in terms of good and bad parts. Old New Castle is nice- the greater New Castle area is a dump. West Main Street in Newark is nice - the rest of Main Street is pretty much given over to college students. Around Newark, try Polly Drummond Hill Road, Possum Park Road, Milltown Road, pretty much the north/west side of Kirkwood Hwy is better. Red Lion is ok. Old Baltimore Pike is mixed in terms of older and newer places, so is Bear. Stay AWAY from anything "conveniently located to Rt 40." Not only is traffic a nightmare but the neighborhoods can be bad.
I just would like to point out something about Wilmington. The greater Wilmington area is very, very diverse as far as neighborhood age and spiffiness goes. A lot of what the previous posts are talking about is North Wilmington - Talleyville, Centerville, Greenville, Hockessin. It can get pricey. And yes, there are some nice older friendly neighborhoods all through there. Again, traffic is a problem. There are some neighborhoods north of the 202 Concord Pike exit on 95 that are supposedly up-and-coming. I can't remember the name, but it's north of Edgemoor. If I were to want to settle in Wilmington, I would look at Arden, actually. There are some beautiful, older, practically forested areas in there and the community spirit is supposed to be strong.
As far as downtown, I keep hearing Trolley Square, but I don't know if that's just for night life or for living, and for whom.
However, I'm getting out of Delaware and here's why. First, the public schools are terrible if word of mouth is at all to be believed. Second, traffic and construction are HORRIBLE. There isn't a major road anywhere that isn't blocked by construction someplace in NCC, or a major intersection that's not practically at a standstill at rush hour. I drove from Newark to North Wilmington daily for years - 19 miles usually took 45 minutes easily and sometimes 60. Third, when I moved here I liked Delaware's shabby, blast from the past 70's kind of feel. It seemed easygoing and real. I don't know if I was mistaken or if Delaware has really changed that much. But, with the rapid influx of families from neighboring states who fled high property tax, massive amounts of building went on, both commercial and residential, and there seemed to be virtually NO rhyme or reason or city planning involved in it. So there's lots of fields and treed lots that got bulldozed and crammed with Dunkin Donuts, Happy Harrys (oh, excuse me, Walgreens, since Delaware's family drugstore sold out) Christiana Mall went from a nice little mall with a CVS and a few high end stores to this "home of tax free shopping" wannabe with Coach, Lucky Jeans, and god knows what else, I haven't been there in so long. If you're a shopper that might be more of a selling point, I dunno For me, all the "warm fuzzies" got bulldozed right out of the state and all that's left is traffic, strip malls, and just a mess of other picky little things I won't bother to mention. Good grief, but I do go on!
As negative as I feel about the area, if it's your choice, good luck and I hope you're happy here. I'd like to like Newark...I just don't.
Delaware is a small state so the neighborhoods in New Castle county tend to be confusing in terms of good and bad parts?? What does this have to do with Delaware being a small state?
Trolley Square is not downtown, and Arden isn't Wilmington... it's closer to PA.
Do you think maybe you've prejudged just a bit? NCco is largely the same place it was in 2004. Maybe your tastes have changed?
I am sorry to hear that you don't like Newark, that is very discouraging for me who just moved here. So far though I am very happy.
I have to disagree about the school system. Our school system is fantastic. Not just from what I see, but if you look at the numbers it has all 90%. The traffic might seem bad, but go to NJ and the traffic is nothing. The one thing so far I don't like about De. is that it is like a blast from the past. I think it needs to get a little more modern, but it seems like they are working on it. The mall is small and not great, but they are expanding. (still won't be too big, but it works and they have all the stores I need)
Good luck with your move, I hope you can find a place that has these same property taxes.
Property tax is much lower, but Delaware makes up for it with higher income tax, 5.95% (over $60k) compared to Pennsylvania's 3.07%. As far as schools, just a superficial observation, the schools seem poorly run and physically run down, at least the one's I've been to. I'm in IT and occasionally work in the New Castle, Newark, and Wilmington area schools. If I was going to relocate to Delaware, it would definitely be south of Dover. The Wilmington area is very unattractive, poorly managed, and doesn't offer anything to one's quality of life.
Arden is North Wilmington,
Runs on east and west sides of Harvey Road, near Claymont, before you cross Marsh Rd. Harvey Road turns into Grubb at the Marsh Rd.intersection, and intersects again with Foulk Rd and then Naamans, near the Brandywine Town Center near 202. The area is referred to as Brandywine Hundred, easy access to I95 south off Harvey Rd, however, no North ramp there.
EDIT
Arden is now on the National Historic Register, as of a few years back.(first established about 105 yrs ago) Googling will give you the history to this unique town.
The other up and coming area mentioned in another post, sounds like DarleyGreen, off Philadelphia Pike and Darley Rd, across from Archmere Academy aprivate school ( that incidently our VP Joe Biden attended), near the train station as well. We'll see what happens, some have there doubts.
Last edited by virgode; 10-29-2009 at 02:05 AM..
Reason: additions
[quote=ScottyG;11390813]Property tax is much lower, but Delaware makes up for it with higher income tax, 5.95% (over $60k) compared to Pennsylvania's 3.07%. As far as schools, just a superficial observation, the schools seem poorly run and physically run down, at least the one's I've been to. I'm in IT and occasionally work in the New Castle, Newark, and Wilmington area schools. If I was going to relocate to Delaware, it would definitely be south of Dover. The Wilmington area is very unattractive, poorly managed, and doesn't offer anything to one's quality of life. [/quote
Superficial observation, in fact, North Wilmington is quite nice, Brandywine School District is rated well. Wilmington encompasses a large area, including the City of Wilmington. I'm from Delaware County as well. A lot of private schooling here. I'm really not quite certain your familiar with what there is to offer. Don't form an opinion from New Castle, Newark. There are some beautiful affluent areas in New Castle County.
Last edited by virgode; 10-29-2009 at 02:56 AM..
Reason: addition
Property tax is much lower, but Delaware makes up for it with higher income tax, 5.95% (over $60k) compared to Pennsylvania's 3.07%. As far as schools, just a superficial observation, the schools seem poorly run and physically run down, at least the one's I've been to. I'm in IT and occasionally work in the New Castle, Newark, and Wilmington area schools. If I was going to relocate to Delaware, it would definitely be south of Dover. The Wilmington area is very unattractive, poorly managed, and doesn't offer anything to one's quality of life.
Check that - our great Democratic business oriented governor signed a bill earlier this year to raise the wage rate on $60k+ income to 6.95%
Just from reading over the last few posts, it seems as if Wilmington/North Wilmington is grey area to more than just me.
I do know Arden is not Wilmington. Target is not in Wilmington either, as a previous post mentioned. So I suppose it depends on what you consider Wilmington proper, what is the "Greater Wilmington Area" and what is "North Wilmington." I'd consider Arden to be North Wilmington, but then I may be wrong.
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Bleh, Newark.
For me, all the "warm fuzzies" got bulldozed right out of the state and all that's left is traffic, strip malls, and just a mess of other picky little things I won't bother to mention. Good grief, but I do go on! 
