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Schools are the major downside though. Most people in the suburbs send the kids to private school. Which makes the property tax savings minimal if you are paying for 2-3 kids in private school.
I honestly know one family in our neighborhood (Middletown, DE), who is sending their kids to a private (christian) school.
It for sure depends in what school district you live in - BUT for sure there are a couple of good one's around (I don't think, ALL schools in NJ are just great ?).
We are VERY happy with our district (appoquinimink between wilmington and dover).
regarding hospitals: I am glad, I have no experience with the christiana hospital in newark, since we never needed one.
our baby was born in the birth center in wilmington (WHAT a great institution !!) and we only went to the AI dupont hospital for children several times so far. and - our experience could not have been better. Nemours has a very good reputation and deserves it
what bugs me here is air pollution and the water quality. rumor says, most of the dirt comes from NJ though
we go to NYC a lot. we park our car on staten island and arrive in manhattan exactly 2,5 hours after we left middletown. and - it's also so close to DC and baltimore - no complains - the convenient location is big plus.
We relocated to De from NJ one year ago. In my opinion the area of DE we are in is NOTHING like the area in NJ we came from. It is very peaceful, non-congested and much slower paced here! I loved where we were in NJ for the proximity to things. While all of the basics are available for me here in town, it is a good 20 miles either north or south for many things I want or need. (or maybe just got used to having so close) Taking Rt 1 or 13 in De is a breeze in compared to Rt 37 or Hooper Ave are in NJ!
As noted by others you sure can get alot of "house" for your money in some areas of Delaware. Property taxes are lower in De but I have noticed some differences in things our NJ tax $$ got us such as terrific library system, extra school programs, etc.
Overall I like it in Delaware, although I am still adjusting. We moved as a result of my husband's employment. (not BRAC) If it were not for having to relocate for work I am sure we would still be in NJ. However, as each day passes my family and I are finding wonderful things about Delaware and enjoying meeting people. In traveling the state I have noticed it is very different from county to county. If every city, town, state were the same it should would be boring! There is a place for everyone.
You can with the God awful traffic they have. Not to knock Delaware, but outside of retiring to one of the southern beaches, I don't think I could live there. Newark and Wilmington are very "ghetto" and the suburbs are nothing but giant strip developments laid out along the same road. My parents have a friend in Bear and I swear it took us an hour and 45 minutes to get to there house once we were over the bridge and in Delaware. The developments are all laid out along 4 lane roads (2 each way) one after the other and they all need to go to the same single shopping center for anything they need. That same road is also the only way to get to anywhere besides another development.
So, you have insufficient infrastructure, poor schools and poor medical care outside of Dupont Childrens. Yes, the taxes are lower, but living a few months in Delaware will make you realize a good chunk of the reason why NJ taxes are higher.
Also, if you are retiring to the southern beaches, where are you going to go for medical care? Sure it's nice and the taxes are cheap, but you are going to have a heck of a drive to get to a decent hospital or doctor.
When I think of Delaware, I think of exchanging major daily inconvenience to save a few grand a year. Savings that are more than wiped out if you have to send your kids to school, but you still get to deal with the daily BS.
Hmm. I think I'll stick with my plan to retire to upstate New York.
The developments are all laid out along 4 lane roads (2 each way) one after the other and they all need to go to the same single shopping center for anything they need. That same road is also the only way to get to anywhere besides another development.
If bear is pretty much everything you have seen, I don't think it's enough to make up your mind.
I really enjoy going to newark, especially the main street area. they offer many nice restaurants, cafes, healthshops etc.
'newark and wilmington are ghetto' is a statement, that is simply not true.
I am not a big fan of bear/DE myself, since I need a city center and to walk to places. Where we live, we have all we need for daily life. kids walk to school, we walk to banks and cafes. we have 4 or 5 big supermarkets to go to, a farmers market too, a little movie theatre, lots of sports, an art school with gallery etc.
I think it is important, at what the individual situation looks like.
for us, with three school children, it was a good pick. we live on generous space with good schools, taxes are not bad and, as someone else mentioned, people seem to be more laid back and friendly.
since we came here from europe, we feel a for sure a difference, when it comes to people in NJ or DE.
I moved to De. about a year ago with my family. (with Brac) I agree and disagree with some of the posts on here.
1. First thing is that our school district (Appo) is fantastic. My daughter even likes it more than our school in NJ (Tinton Falls) I will say though that I think we are in the best school district in Delaware. (that is what everyone says at least)
2. It does take me about 20 min to get to the mall and there is only one mall near me. I do miss living 7 min to the mall and 20 to two others.
3. I have noticed that the doctors here are much more high tech which I was extremely surprised about. I really like our doctors here.
4. The congestion is nothing like NJ, not bad at all.
5. The biggest downfall here is that there are not god recreation depts. I have mentioned this to people in De. and they don't know what I mean, because they do not know how good our recreation depts were in NJ.
6. You can get more house for your money in De. and taxes are so much cheaper. My taxes are probably a fourth of what they would have been in NJ (TF)
Overall I am happy in De. I miss NJ and all the amenities, but I am also happy to be out of there. We can live comfortably here with a big a house which I could not say in NJ.
I moved to De. about a year ago with my family. (with Brac) I agree and disagree with some of the posts on here.
1. First thing is that our school district (Appo) is fantastic. My daughter even likes it more than our school in NJ (Tinton Falls) I will say though that I think we are in the best school district in Delaware. (that is what everyone says at least)
2. It does take me about 20 min to get to the mall and there is only one mall near me. I do miss living 7 min to the mall and 20 to two others.
3. I have noticed that the doctors here are much more high tech which I was extremely surprised about. I really like our doctors here.
4. The congestion is nothing like NJ, not bad at all.
5. The biggest downfall here is that there are not god recreation depts. I have mentioned this to people in De. and they don't know what I mean, because they do not know how good our recreation depts were in NJ.
6. You can get more house for your money in De. and taxes are so much cheaper. My taxes are probably a fourth of what they would have been in NJ (TF)
Overall I am happy in De. I miss NJ and all the amenities, but I am also happy to be out of there. We can live comfortably here with a big a house which I could not say in NJ.
for those following the "people are mean in NJ" thread - I rest my case. LOL!
5. The biggest downfall here is that there are not god recreation depts. I have mentioned this to people in De. and they don't know what I mean, because they do not know how good our recreation depts were in NJ.
Yes, I think I am ok with the recreational offer here, since so far I've only lived in DE and don't know what other states do better/different (only know that germany offers SO much more for 100 bucks/year membership ...)
since we like soccer the best, Middletown was a very good pick - we might lack other sports, but never missed them.
what I miss dearly is a bigger variety of (no chain) restaurants.
I personally don't need to live next to a/the mall, since we go there once a month and do the rest online .
thanks for you post, sandee, I am glad you are somewhat happy here .. or at least count your blessings, as you americans say
Tahiti
I think that the name of this post is perfect "Never Judge a Book By It's Cover." Don't judge me for wanting a bigger house. You don't know my situation at all. You don't know how many kids I have or if I have elderly parents living with me. You don't know me, so stop judging.
People here in De. are much less materialistic than NJ. I also do not see my children growing up so quickly which is a big advantage to me.
I loved NJ, but De. is not so bad either. I think anyplace is what you make of it.
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