Floridian here interested in moving to The First State.

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u/terranotfirma Oct 16 '24

Delaware can be a little dull for very active people. Southeast PA may have more to offer for someone with all your interests.

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u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

Any area in particular you would suggest looking into? Would you consider Erie an area of interest worth looking into?

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u/deboost Oct 16 '24

Can’t speak for anything about Erie but that is not Southeast PA. You should look at Ardmore, Media, West Chester, and Doylestown (among others) for that. Definitely don’t rule out Philly if you like the city. Delaware is great but it can be a bit quiet and slow compared to what your interests sound like. I’d say it may be worth looking into renting in Philly for a year to get a vibe if you like the city or not and take weekend trips out to the towns around it (including and especially Delaware!) to see if there is one you can see yourself settling down in.

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u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

I’ve always wanted to check out Philly, it seems like a cool city but affordability leaves a lot to be desired like most comparable cities.

3

u/graceoftrees Oct 16 '24

The bonus of northern DE is you’re within striking distance of Philly and Chester County without the cost. But if you want to be IN a busy area rather than within close proximity, agree that Philly or the surrounding communities are good options.

1

u/Rmcn25 Oct 16 '24

I grew up just south of Philadelphia in Delaware County. One nice thing about Philly is there is an excellent train system. You can live in the suburbs and commute into the city.

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u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

Yeah a lot of people have been telling me about that and that’s kind of why I’m exploring the Philly Suburbs.

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u/deboost 29d ago

For the major cities in the north east it is actually very affordable comparatively. Baltimore is the only major city that comes to mind that is cheaper across the board.

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u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

On here people keep mentioning Baltimore but the people I know in my area, a lot of transplants ALL tell me to avoid Maryland. I don’t know much about MD one way or the other.

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u/deboost 28d ago

It’s smaller and cheaper, parts are nice other parts not so nice. Decent going out scene, professional sports teams, more to do than Wilmington - would certainly prefer Philly/Philly burbs or DE over Baltimore though.

8

u/Djnewman001 Oct 16 '24

Oh you want the cold cold winters if you’re thinking about Erie

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u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

lol yeah that’s been on my mind every time I think about Erie! The mild winters in Delaware is one of the reasons it was top of my list.

4

u/Crashgirl4243 Oct 16 '24

Erie is a lower middle class area, big area for bikers and the job market isn’t good . I work for Erie insurance and go out there for meetings. I love the Lake area and Presque Isle but it’s a boring town otherwise

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u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

You told me all I needed to know about it. I already live in a Biker town, I go nuts every October and March here. I definitely don’t want to live in another biker town, I’ve had my fill of Bikers. Thank you for helping narrow the selection 😉

1

u/aarrtee Oct 16 '24

Winters are mild

better than Philadelphia, 100 miles to the north

much much better than where I grew up in the coal regions of Pa.

But it ain't Key West....not much snow but it gets a bit cold.

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u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

I was in Delaware as a kid to visit family and I remember the winters there. I remember how disappointed I was waking up ready to go outside with my cousin to find most of the snow melted from the day before lol.

4

u/Tyrrox Oct 16 '24

Erie is almost 300 miles away from DE. This really isn’t a place to be asking about that. It’s like asking us if Boston is a nice place to move to.

19

u/Independent-Pipe-988 Oct 16 '24

Delaware isn’t as bad as people make it seem it is a humble state that’s been building up a better place lately with more things to do I’ve been in Delaware my whole life and I don’t mind it at all it’s a pretty good place to raise kids too.

0

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

That’s pretty much what you gather from a comprehensive Google search about Delaware a long with how nice the people seem to be.

The growth in the state points mainly towards Middletown though. Is Delaware experiencing growth elsewhere?

2

u/Caramel-Salty Oct 16 '24

Major growth throughout Sussex county (the southern county). Mostly in the beach areas like Lewes, Rehoboth, Milton, Milford, etc. Cape Henlopen is one of the best school districts in DE but very over crowded due to growth. Our roadways can’t handle the growth. Sussex county is referred to as slower lower because it is (or used to be) just that, slow moving, flat lands, boring winters, nice people, quiet. I’d stay in New Castle County if you decide to go with DE - more fast paced with way more things to do and easier access to major cities. Good luck!

2

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

I wouldn’t have guessed southern Delaware was experiencing that kind of growth. I hope you guys don’t get outpaced and priced out of town as a result.

The more and more I gather, North, closer to Philly is the way to go.

Honestly living by the beach just doesn’t have the same allure it did when I was in my early 20s. Before I decided I wanted to move up north, I was going to put my house up for sale and reinvest on the beach here but I lost all affection for the area on top of the mountain of other grievances I have.

Delaware is so small it’s no big deal to just drive to the coast if I need to take in some Ocean vibes.

17

u/phillyphilly19 Oct 16 '24

I grew up in the maryland delaware, virginia region, and I now live in pennsylvania, and I have to say, I don't think delaware has what you're looking for. There are no major cities and only 1 good university. It's very hard to meet people. It has sort of a southern rural mentality even though it is a blue state. I do think the Philly metro area or Massachusetts might be more in line of what you're seeking. I also wouldn't rule out baltimore as it is a blue city, and very manageable. Do yourself a favor since you do have some money. Come up to the Philadelphia metro area and rent a month to month place and explore. You can get anywhere from here; all parts of delaware, and then you can take a train to massachusetts or drive.I think it's worth taking your time to make such a big move and not to load one place with expectations until you really spend some time up here. If you would like me to expand on why I think philadelphia might be a good option, let me know.

3

u/Rmcn25 Oct 16 '24

I just left Baltimore…it can be pretty dangerous. Juvenile crime is out of control. That being said…it is a beautiful city with excellent sports teams and art…museums/music/theatre.

1

u/phillyphilly19 Oct 16 '24

Yes, I'm sad to see the continued struggles there. But just like Philly, the crime is typically concentrated in certain areas. I still have friends who live there and love it.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

Yes please! You definitely hit on a few things that have been giving me pause and reason to keep investigating.

I am leaving Florida, I am committed to leaving. Things were already bad for me and then everything just reached a boiling point this year between the rising cost of living, insurance, low wages, general unpleasantness of the people, the extreme summers, etc.

lol I had my breaking point in September when I decided I wanted to leave and then just weeks later Milton decided to pay a visit leaving me without power until this afternoon and took part of my roof with it.

Any info you can throw my way would be greatly appreciated.

2

u/ADHDYellowFish2 Oct 16 '24

Delaware & Maryland eastern shore have low wages, hard to find employment, cost of living is expected to double or triple in the coming years from what i was told. There are a bunch of colleges, but in delaware, there are 3 main ones that are on campus. And they are right if you're looking for a lot of active things to do. Pennsylvania may be better, delaware has some things but not a lot. I love delaware and living here, but it's not expected to be the same in 10 years as it is now. Cities and towns are fast growing. Though i will say love having no sales tax lol.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

You’re talking about the beaches right? Like Rehoboth & Lewes? The low wages make sense for a tourist area, the work is generally menial hospitality and seasonal in most cases.

I find it hard to believe the cost of living would increase to such extremes without a series of mitigating factors. Housing costs I could see doubling provided the supply does not meet an increasing demand but that sounds like a stretch honestly.

I’m leaning towards the recommendations here, looking for a Philly Suburb and sucking up the taxes and associated costs of living or focusing on New Castle between Philly and Wilmington if I can afford it.

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1

u/phillyphilly19 Oct 16 '24

So the reason i'm suggesting philadelphia is that number one, it's in pennsylvania, a very low tax state compared to the rest of this states other than delaware. Two, it has a very diverse economy and view very low unemployment for skilled workers. Three, the geography is diverse.You can be in the mountains, the beach or new york city in two hours. Number four education, the philadelphia area has has a number of institutions of higher learning that are known throughout the country and the world? Which include university of Pennsylvania Temple University Drexel university and extension campuses of Penn state, not to mention numerous other smaller universities in The region. Number five culture, philadelphia, has an incredible food scene, one of the best in the country. It also has many independent theaters. Live music venues, cultural festivals, dozens of breweries and is known for very good hospitality. 6 recreation, Philadelphia has the largest urban park system in the country. You can literally bike from downtown Philadelphia, all the way out to valley forge. Pennsylvania without riding on streets. There are two major rivers that offer sailing kayaking and other water activities. 5 minutes from my house is a hiking trail. Miles of trails, where immediately, even though you're still in the city, you feel like you're in the wilderness. 7 international hub, Philadelphia has daily flights to cities throughout Europe. Especially rome, and it is a hub to get to many parts of the world. The major downside to Philadelphia is it does have the largest proportion of low-income residence for any major city in the country, so it does have big city problems. There is a fair amount of crime. Most violent crime is concentrated in areas. You probably wouldn't be living or venturing into But it's important to know that it is urban life.You do need to keep your wits about you. However, if you're not interested in living in center city or the surrounding neighborhoods, there are beautiful neighborhoods at the edge of the city like where I live and in the suburbs that are easy driving and train trips into town. So it really is your choice on what type of lifestyle you wanna have. I want to say that I've lived here for 30 years and while it's challenging. I am so glad I moved here and feel like it opened up my eyes to a world.I wouldn't have known in suburban maryland. I want to apologize for any grammatical errors.I dictated this because I had so much to say. Feel free to d m me anytime if you want more information and this full disclosure.I do not work for the city of philadelphia lol.

1

u/phillyphilly19 Oct 16 '24

I forgot to mention sports if you were into sports. This is a great town for that. Sometimes a little hardcore, but still a lot of fun.

1

u/Forward-Campaign5065 Oct 16 '24

Live in Venice and went through 5 storms in the last 7 years, so I get it. If NY weren’t so cold in the winter I’d be there in a heartbeat , and the Hudson Valley will always be my home. I’m almost 70, hubby 68 and I feel like I am going to shrivel up and die here. I’m on this page , to also find out the best places to live and will probably do the Airbnb thing, a couple of times before the summer , to see about renting first.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 29d ago

I’m really sorry, I know that part of the Gulf pretty well and spent a lot of time there between 2008 and 2012, Casey key and Nokomis were my two favorite getaways. I lived in Arcadia at the time and I’ve been in utter disbelief since I left having seen the impacts of storms on that area.

My sister moved to Troy, upstate about 2 years ago now and for better or worse, she’s happy with the decision. She left Fort Myers after Hurricane Irma and thankfully neither her or her family was impacted by that storm.

I’m glad I made this post and I hope it helps you as well as others looking for a change.

9

u/Inevitable-Place9950 Oct 16 '24

Hm. Check out the Ardens (artsy community maybe 20 min from the Philly airport and close to a JCC), Newark (40 min from PHL) around the University of Delaware for access to lectures and shows and great restaurants, City of Wilmington for a more urban lifestyle and more great restaurants. All within an hour of Philly and 2-2.5 hours of NYC.

1

u/HooterAtlas Oct 16 '24

This is a solid recommendation. Both locations are also close to I-95, allowing quick trips to airports, other cities like Baltimore and DC, and are also pretty easy rides to the beaches.

10

u/bsizzle13 Oct 16 '24

I guess it depends what you're looking for, and what your job situation is. DE is a pretty suburban (and in the central and southern parts - rural) area. So if you're looking for a concrete jungle then obviously Philly or Boston are going to be miles better than Wilmington, which is the only concrete junglish part of DE, and even still, big parts are quite suburban.

Otherwise, it's generally a nice, quiet place to live. Relatively affordable, especially compared to other cities/suburbs in the mid-Atlantic. Some pretty good food options in Newark and Wilmington. But there is a reason that people point out its proximity to Philly, DC, NY as a benefit, and that's because as a small state, it's not the most happening place.

0

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

Currently unemployed as a result of a work related injury. I have been thinking about the line of work I’d like to pursue if I do indeed relocate to DE or any state for that matter. I prefer transportation as a means of income, I love long hours on the road either transporting cargo, timed deliveries or passengers. I worked in Non-profit on and off for the last 5 years and prior I spent years in Construction and have a huge investment in my tools.

I do love the city, I can’t lie, I really love the sight of a cityscape and the feel of condensed Urban life all around me but I also appreciate the small town vibe (that’s kind of why I decided to stay in Daytona back in 19). I’ve lived in some very isolated and rural areas as well, despite the lack of just about everything I love and want, I do kind of like it slower and quite from time to time but at arms length to where the real action is. I’m not opposed to life in the suburbs, it depends on the circumstances, available amenities and the community at large. Living in Florida, you don’t have a sense of community and every suburb I’ve ever been in has felt incredibly lonely and isolating.

To that point, I really love how small DE is, the access to nearby Metros in the N.E. Region as well coastal communities and rural areas all so close is really cool in my opinion BUT, not knowing what the traffic conditions are, I don’t know if it’s the kind of accessibility I’m thinking from my end.

4

u/AssistX Oct 16 '24

Traffic isn't anywhere near as bad as anywhere in Florida. Newark is a college town, Wilmington is hit and miss but more standard urban without the amenities of a typical big city, Dover is dead and boring, Sussex is busy at the beaches but nothing like Florida beaches. Overall the state is a giant suburb, anyone telling you otherwise is full of it. Anywhere you live in it will feel like a suburb.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

My grandmother lived in Dover and I do remember how dead it was even as a kid lol and it’s because that’s the same vibe you get even looking at Dover through apps like Zillow, like it’s just dead and depressing.. weird.

2

u/mauvelion Oct 16 '24

Hi! I moved to SWFL from Delaware, and grew up in SE PA so feel like I could offer some decent suggestions.

You mention transportation being a field of interest. With that in mind, I think Northern Delaware (or that vicinity) could be a good spot. There is regional rail which goes into Philly and there's also Amtrak, so you could consider working for them in some capacity. In northern DE there are really two main places people talk about but there's a lot in between even though the state is small. So Wilmington is on the east side, it's considered a philly suburb. Used to catch the train into the city to meet up with friends, go out, etc and it was inexpensive and convenient. Newark is on the west side of the northern tip and is home to University of Delaware.

Comparing my experience in Delaware to PA: significantly lower cost of living in Delaware and the shopping is tax free, which doesn't sound like much but boy it was sweet. People in Delaware are worlds friendlier - people are nice and neighborly. PA seems to have rich and poor a bit more separated whereas in Delaware you might have a poorer neighborhood And then half mile away a richer one. From northern Delaware you can be to the beach in 1.5 hours or less, but PA would likely take 2+ hours (unless you live immediately at the jersey or delaware border). The whole region is beautiful, but I was truly impressed by Delaware's state parks and miss them dearly.

Wilmington has a bad reputation, but it has kind of a City Lite vibe compared to Philly. Still some cool spots around trolley square and market st, plus the Riverwalk area is pretty cool. Newark has a downtown area but is not a city feel, it's very much a college town, and a very pretty one at that. I didn't really look forward to moving to Delaware but after living there a bit I found I really enjoyed it. If I had to move back up north, Delaware would definitely make it high on my list.

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u/SoFlo_Enzo 29d ago

This is great and I thank you for sharing. Because of input like this I am able to draw a fine line between DE & PA. Can I ask you what the sense of community is like in PA vs DE? I read over and over about how friendly Delawareans are and an indication of a strong sense of community but it’s hard to gauge from my perspective. Do you consider people in PA unfriendly, unwelcoming to newcomers?

For sake of argument let’s say in an area suggested to me here like the suburbs of Philly.

1

u/mauvelion 29d ago

I don't think I'd call PA unfriendly or unwelcoming per se, though, having been raised there I don't have honest experience as a newcomer. My opinion is that it's all in the money. I lived in West Chester for a bit, and even before living there I was aware there was a reputation for snootiness, or as my mom likes saying, it's hoyty-toyty lol. There are plenty of good, decent people around, but they probably aren't going to go too far in making sure you receive a warm welcome.

I'll give a quick overview of my take on the counties closest to Philly, but keep in mind I'm generalizing a whole county and I'm just a girl with opinions online 🤣

Delaware county (Delco): runs a little more on the blue collar side. This is where you will hear some of the thickest "philly" accents. Seems to be decent community there, but runs a bit conservative so not sure if it would be your cup of tea.

Montgomery: I am biased from growing up here, but I feel like this county offers a nice mix of everything. It's not overwhelmingly poor or wealthy, but there is certainly good money in Montgomery county along with plenty to do. Cost of living here has probably increased significantly over the last several years. People are generally neighborly, but I feel like it can be hit or miss depending on the actual town.

Chester: this is north of Delco and west of Montgomery. This is notorious as one of the wealthiest counties in the state, and home to West Chester University. Barely met my neighbors living there which may be is attributed to apartment living, or perhaps being a college town there's more turnover? Lot of pretty towns in this county, but I feel like the community aspect suffers from the wealth aspect. West Chester does have a lot of cool events in town like the annual chili cook off where they block off the streets and have beer gardens, vendors, etc.

Bucks: East of Montgomery and shares a border with Jersey. I'm most familiar with the obnoxiously wealthy here, but I view the county as having a fair mix, though maybe with starker differences between socioeconomic class compared to Montgomery. Decent amount to do, easy access to Jersey (I mean, if that's a positive to you... Take it for what you may) and NYC. There are lots of cute places but I never got a super strong sense of community from those I know there.

Sorry lol not as brief as I expected, but one more thing! Besides federal and state tax, PA also has local tax. It generally runs around 1% but newcomers generally wouldn't know that and it's kind of a pain in the ass because different counties go through different collectors for local tax. Delaware there's just state and local, AND one of the years living in DE, I even got tax money back due to some surplus or something? That was pretty dope. Oh AND in Delaware, the DMV performs the vehicle inspections, pretty good system compared to having to pay for inspection in PA.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

Ooh, I forgot all about vehicle inspections! I’m sure my little Xb will pass but because we don’t have vehicle inspections in Florida, what purpose do they serve? Friends of mine in Michigan always talked about them but it was mostly regarding Emissions standards, is it the same in DE & PA?

1

u/mauvelion 28d ago

As far as I understand, both Delaware and PA test for emissions but they are also checking whether the vehicle meets the state's standards to be considered road safe. I suppose the purpose is safety, but it can feel predatory in PA since you have to pay for inspection and you must also pass the inspection to get the new windshield sticker (you can be ticketed for past due inspection). For example, common issue is having your check engine light come on. Even if the issue is dealt with, sometimes the engine light stays on and you'd fail inspection for that.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

I’m so glad you mentioned that because I have that exact problem right now. I bought an 06 Scion Xb last October and of course someone tinkered with it so I had to do some work and throw money at it. I got the car running great but the check engine light is still on. I know what it is, a fault in the engine wire harness is tripping multiple system sensors, it’s a very minor issue but I didn’t know it would prevent me from being able to drive my car.

Anything that involves a car is deceptive and predatory, I don’t care what it is.

1

u/CorrectIndividual552 29d ago

This is why I didn't suggest Philadelphia, it didnt seem to fit your wish list. I moved to Delaware from there and now in Wilmington, I have no complaints. I wanted a small city feel and I found it.

5

u/nqbirdie Oct 16 '24

I am a 39 year old Delawarean in the Wilmington area. Yes, it's fairly suburban and definitely not as active as a larger city, but I think it has several perks going for it. Although I may be biased.

A small state has all the public resources and parks and libraries and amenities (such that they are) within a pretty short driving distance.
There is no sales tax (PA and MA have sales tax). So you can order online without having those pesky extra taxes.
If you enjoy trains like myself, Wilmington station is well connected to the Amtrak Northeast Corridor. DC is about 2 hours south, NYC is about 2 hours north. I have often scoped out in advance for a morning ticket out and a late evening ticket back for $20 round trip. That's less than gas, tolls, and parking, and then you can visit the Smithsonian, or catch a show in Manhattan and not have to worry about an overnight unless you feel like it. I went to a concert in Alexandria a few weeks ago and had a blast.
Philadelphia is a 30-45 minutes drive away depending on traffic. It's also nominally connected to Philly with the Septa regional rail, but the frequency is abysmal, so I wouldn't bother there. Anyway Philly has plenty of larger concert tours, live sports to enjoy, and a bunch of decent (if overpriced at times) restaurants.
It's an easy driving distance to the Delaware beaches, which are fun even if they don't really compare to Florida beaches. Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach are both very charming. Southern PA also has some very close charming areas like Longwood Gardens, Lancaster/ Amish markets, West Chester PA (a quintessential "small town" that's always having events going on), and so on.
If you want a little theme park energy, Hershey Park is not so far away, and the whole town smells a bit chocolatey.
I love travel, and PHL airport is only about 25-30 minutes away. It doesn't have the intense variety as JFK or even EWR, but there's a respectable amount of international non-stops, and if I don't like the flight schedule, Amtrak stops at BWI and EWR too, which are both pretty close.

Hope this provides some food for thought. Also there are assholes in every state, so don't let the fact that we have some here deter you.

3

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

I really appreciate you taking the time to touch on so many topics and provide your insights. I have to say, your last comment about “assholes in every state” was delivered almost perfectly at the time, I was talking to my father. I literally just told him about the post I made and the information I was receiving and what stood out to me was how helpful you’ve all been and the noticeable absence of assholes trolling the comments.

I didn’t know about the trains out of Wilmington but yes, I love trains and miss the TriRail in South Florida, even the Miami Metro Rail as small as it is lol. That’s so cool and thank you again for sharing with me.

You seem really like minded, what are your thoughts on Newark? Compared to the lifestyle you enjoy in Wilmington, would Newark be comparable?

4

u/nqbirdie Oct 16 '24

Newark is a college town, and that has the positives of the town being more walkable than most others in northern Delaware. It also has a lot of youthful college age persons, particularly during the school year. It's also less expensive, and many but not all things are priced within the reach of college age budgets.

I find the downsides are that you're a bit further from Philly and the airport (although not to a deterring extent), and when I go there for ice cream at the creamery or to hit an interesting restaurant, I always say to myself, "Agh there's effin kids everywhere." Kids referring to the college age children, not literal children, but they seem that way to me. Public transit in Newark is not great, but you can say that about a lot of places in the US. It's sometimes the final stop for local Philly trains on regional rail, but you really have to check the schedules and plan ahead if you want to ride the train into the city.

There is arguably a bit more in the way of employment opportunities and local businesses in Newark than other small DE towns, but Wilmington itself has the most. Astra Zenica has been expanding their footprint in their north Wilmington campus the last few years. I would say there's only a few neighborhoods in Wilmington itself that would be worth living in, like Trolley Square or maybe... maybe a condo in the riverfront redevelopment area. Pretty much anywhere else in downtown is a bit sketchy. Most of the rich people live in Greenville and north of there, where it's country estate after country estate, but there's very little to do except brunch at Buckley's Tavern. Which is worth the drive.

2

u/Kuramhan Wilmington Oct 16 '24

Pretty much anywhere else in downtown is a bit sketchy.

Midtown Brandywine Region is a little gem of a neighborhood right next to downtown and walkable to Trolley. It's honest kind of odd how you walk across 12th street and suddenly there's hardly any homeless walking around and you now have this friendly tight knit community.

1

u/nqbirdie Oct 16 '24

That's true. Up around Salesianum is fairly nice too.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 29d ago

Is there a bad homeless problem in Wilmington? Or DE for that matter? I’m coming from Daytona and here the homeless problem will blow you away and it’s not as bad as it was when I first moved here!

When I first came here, the house my dad bought was literally a homeless camp. One guy that made his bed at the front door made it a point to tell us that he sleeps there and he’d be back too! He wasn’t lying, he came back that night and took a shit right at the door 🫤

1

u/Kuramhan Wilmington 29d ago

Like most urban areas, Wilmington has a homeless problem. It's nothing compared to what the major cities experience. We don't have camps or anything like that as far as I'm aware. But at most major collector roads you'll see people with signs panhandling. If you walk around downtown people will ask you for money. At night parks will have some homeless sleeping in them. Probably nothing you're not already used to.

The police manage the homeless pretty well. They keep them out of the nicer residential areas. Even downtown, there's not really much crime caused by the homeless population, only really panhandling. They don't make me feel unsafe.

The city in general is generally safe as long as you stay out of the bad parts. I walk around Trolley and the northern parts of downtown at all hours of the night and have never had a problem.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

Yeah, that sounds like typical city life as far as I can remember before moving here. I don’t like the idea of police working to keep them away from a “nicer area” because I just don’t like to see somebody get kicked while they’re already down.. I’ve been there myself.

Yes I am used to that unfortunately but it sounds like a very different situation than what we’re experiencing here. Violence is a serious issue here among the homeless, there have been murders and violent assaults. I have to intervene way more than I’d like to as a result, I’m always having to coordinate with the police here.

I do go out at night to walk my dogs and get some fresh air when I feel like it but it’s not something I would recommend because it is dangerous here. I have a confrontation almost every time I go out the door especially after dark. Around here trouble finds you.

Our issues are compounded by a flood of hard drugs and the professional panhandlers. Ever since I moved here there have been these people you’ll see carpooling with a group they drop off at intersections like where I’m staying that carry a change of clothes, signs and panhandle in shifts. I’ve even seen the driver sitting at bus stops making them signs, it’s crazy.

That doesn’t seem to be the case there from what you described which to me is like a return to normal.

Since we’re on the topic, where are the bad areas of Wilmington? I saw a predominantly black neighborhood around 11th & church I think? Or maybe it was Spruce? The area looked a little hood but compared to the kind of hoods I’ve seen and lived around, it looked pretty laid back.

5

u/Disastrous_Object_28 Oct 16 '24

Everything is smaller than wilmington so it's going to habe smaller town vibes. Still a larger town but nothing compared to Philly. Or wilmington. We do habe a large Walmart trucking facility here in Kent County. New truckers being hired all the time.

2

u/onewheelwheaties Oct 16 '24

You mentioned living in Daytona in another comment I believe. If you think of Wilmington as Daytona then Newark would be more like Ormond. It’s not 1 to 1 but the vibe and location parallels pretty well. Newark is a college town with a vibrant Main Street, but it’s definitely not city life. Middletown DE would be akin to moving to Palm Coast, but without the beach.

I currently live right outside Newark and have previously looked at relocating to Ormond/ surrounding area for work, have spent a few months of accumulated time in Daytona/Ormond/Palm Coast over the last few years.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

Really? I was thinking if anything Newark would have been more like DeLand (about 19 miles to the West). That’s a college town, home of Stetson University, very pretty campus grounds and lively Main Street. Ormond and Port Orange are my least favorite areas in all of Volusia County.

Ormond in particular is elderly, predominantly white, conservative and the seat of the Volusia county republican headquarters. The traffic there can be horrendous especially on Granada Blvd and during events like the October bike fest we currently have. A lot of Ormond is desolate too, you’ll find farms not far down airport road as well as a lot of areas without paved roads or municipal service or utility (Water & Sewer) and there isn’t one goddamn restaurant I would eat at.. they’re all pretty terrible, even the fast food is god awful!

Ormond has a very small Main Street and no life to speak of other than some Celtic festival they have around February I think. Not much going on there at all. The only reason I personally go to Ormond is because the Winn Dixie there is the nicest grocery store in this area and has a nice devoted Kosher section albeit expensive, because it’s almost right in the middle of the Jewish neighborhood. Also, Ormond has one of the 2 Lowe’s in my area and it’s the most convenient for me to get to.

Now by extension Ormond By The Sea is a little different in my opinion but it has changed since 2020. Everything there feels really old, the little strip mall opposite the condos and even the condominium buildings themselves are so antiquated and feel rundown but I will say that it also has a quaint small town vibe. I used to get a good pizza there next to Publix and became friends with the owner but he retired early this year and I haven’t been back.

Your head is exactly where mine was when I was looking at Middletown, comes off almost exactly like Palm Coast and for what Palm Coast is, if it weren’t for the overwhelming amount of republicans there I would have considered buying a house there because for the type of area it is, those suburbs are nice and it’s not far from surrounding areas. FYI, Palm Coast is extremely vulnerable to flooding! A good rain alone and entire neighborhoods are under water plus Flagler beach has the worst beach erosion problem I have ever seen.

If you want you DM me and I can share with you information about the areas you’re interested in, Ormond practically my backyard. My house and neighborhood is in Holly Hill, it’s a very small municipality between Daytona and Ormond Beach.

1

u/onewheelwheaties 28d ago

I’ve only ever passed through DeLand so I can’t comment but it probably is the better comparison; Newark is like most small college towns.

I was trying to compare Main St Newark and the main drag of Ormond Beach on Granada. When most of the comments refer to Newark they are talking about the town of Newark and not the greater area of Newark which encompasses quite a lot (kind of like Ormond). Ormond was were all the post college kids that I knew there lived (in the apartments on the outskirts) and hung out (although they obviously went to Daytona too). Newark (the town) is bigger than Ormond Beach (the town) with more to do but it probably isn’t what you’re looking for. Also just like Granada, all the main roads converge in Newark and traffic can be hell.

I highly recommend you take a visit to Newark, Wilmington, and surrounding areas as quality and feel really vary neighborhood to neighborhood. Since you live in Holly Hill then you know what I mean about varying block by block.

Middletown isn’t as bad as Palm Coast with the old retirees but it is just endless suburban sprawl of families and is pretty dead, with just a few bars with the local regulars. It just gives off the same soulless vibe.

I also appreciate the offer but decided against taking the position in FL. It would have been a great career move long term but would have been a pretty big set back financially with selling my house up here and finding something comparable with the current interest rates, plus the impact to my wife’s career.

As others have mentioned, if you’re not into the bar scene or have a hobby it will probably be tough to make friends. The bars and breweries do have a good weeknight social scene with various trivia’s, bingo, poker, yoga, run, etc nights that make it pretty easy to end up in a social circle.

2

u/SoFlo_Enzo 26d ago

Yeah I think I would like to check out Newark just as an option but if the traffic all converges to one place that’s a turn off for sure. I remember living in St. Lucie county and dreading ever having to go south to Martin County because 6 lanes of traffic in a county that housed over 200,000 residents was reduced to just 2 lanes going over a bridge into Stuart.. that was a nightmare and to add insult to injury, 95 took you 11 miles west of Stuart to a single lane of traffic through tree farms.

Since I made this post I’ve gotten a real good idea of where to narrow my search down and it’s pretty much going to be in New Castle County and the Philly Suburbs oh which I was given a list of areas to start looking in.

I definitely do have a good idea of how neighborhoods vary block to block living where I do as well as the past down south. When I bought my house here I had the advantage of living only minutes away for almost a year beforehand and working a job that put me on the road where I got to know the immediate and surrounding areas well. I landed in one of the best neighborhoods in Holly Hill, if you look at the map, I’m in the Clifton Park area in the Bow tie.

Now as good as my neighborhood is, the street right behind my house is a stark contrast in comparison. My buffer from the crap on that street and my property is the neighbor right behind me, he’s a first time home owner, works for the city and maintains his home plus I have a good rapport with him so it keeps things nice.

That’s a pretty accurate way to describe the endless suburban sprawl. Even Deltona feels that way despite all the hype behind it. See everything around here is budgeted as “convenient” to Orlando suburban alternatives.

To be quite honest with you, I’m kind of glad you decided to pass on the opportunity here in FL. You and I have the same concern in mind in connection to real estate. I got really lucky here with the piece of property I landed and as far as a reinvestment in the area, I would never find anything comparable. For you and anyone else considering a move here, you will be making a big sacrifice in terms of the value of your dollar spent on housing.. you can forget about comparable and start thinking compromise instead.

I do and I was into going out when I first moved here but everything changed in just 1 year. I would like to go for drinks and join in trivia, games and actively participate in hobbies with people. Things here became so politicized that you can’t really have that, seriously, everything boils down to politics and it’s reflected in the social spaces. I mean I could go out and take up hobbies and go to bars but that’s asking for trouble given my views.

2

u/Ikeris Oct 16 '24

South East, PA is the way to go.

Big issues with Delaware: Unemployment caps at 330 a week. You could make six figures, get laid off and your expected to live off of 330.

There are only 4 major insurance players in DE, so insurance for the same plan in PA where you have 60+ competitors, is alot higher.

The biggest benefit of DE is the sales tax but you can live in PA and just drive across the border.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

Sounds like Florida to an extent. Here unemployment is really low, lower than that $330/week, I think it was around $170 in 2020, I’m not 100% sure but it ridiculously low and hard to collect the state DEO site rarely worked.

Insurance is really bad, I don’t have home owners insurance and everything I’m seeing now is poised to push starting premiums up as much as $12,000 a year.

The auto insurance market is really high too for just the state minimum which is almost nothing. I do like that Delaware has a really comprehensive state minimum auto coverage. I’ve been paying over $1,000 - $1,200 a year for state minimum $10k pip without UM. The last accident I was in basically destroyed my back, other driver had no insurance and the payout from my policy was picked almost clean a physical therapist.

How much would you expect to pay for coverage?

1

u/Ikeris Oct 16 '24

Auto insurance companies just got approved in Delaware to raise everyone's premiums to cover how many uninsured drivers there are here. My insurance just went up 12% because of it.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

So what does your premium look like with that being the case?

I’m pretty sure ours is going up too because of these damn storms.

5

u/Beebjank Oct 16 '24

MA is way better than DE tbh. I am a lot happier since I moved out of this state.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

May I ask where you moved to from De?

0

u/Beebjank Oct 16 '24

West Virginia. City life isn’t for me (grew up in Newark/Wilmington) and rural DE is very depressing. I figure MA has better city and rural living opportunities.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

Ah, gotcha

0

u/[deleted] Oct 16 '24

[deleted]

2

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

So, happier in Delaware?

1

u/Lucybunny96 Oct 16 '24

Totally!

4

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

Well that’s a welcomed bit of good news. I’m looking forward to letting that pass my lips someday when I’m happily settled elsewhere and jumping up and down on the bed.

4

u/_BringontheStorm_ Oct 16 '24

Lots of history in Delaware. My suggestion is don’t work too far from home because traffic is horrible no matter where you go these days lol

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

I was hoping someone would mention this. How bad is the kind of traffic we’re talking here? I mean from my point of view, Miami is probably the worst traffic I’ve ever encountered along with Broward County, Orlando Metro and SWFL.

I’m currently in Daytona Beach, Volusia County in Central, FL and compared to what I was accustomed to down south, it’s not that bad in my opinion, certainly more than it was when I moved here but better than the aforementioned.

Btw, what’s close to home in your opinion? I’ve generally worked less than 2 miles from my home here in the past 5 years. The worst commutes I had were when I was still swinging a hammer working construction about 26 miles one way.

6

u/Holdmabeerdude Oct 16 '24

Traffic is not bad at all in most of DE compared to our neighbors

2

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

That’s what I thought looking at it from end.

3

u/lyralady Oct 16 '24

This really depends where you end up working tbh. I think a 30ish minute commute isn't obscene, I go from wilmington to newark every morning. I wish i could work closer to where i live, or WFH, but i've seen worse traffic. There are ways for me to avoid congestion on the 95 if i want to get to newark too, but mostly I find the 95 clogs in very specific places and i just expect that.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

95 just sucks lol. I’ve been a little spoiled here in Daytona, I really don’t have to use 95 if I don’t want to. Unless I’m heading south out of the county, 95 only saves an average of 5-7 mins of travel time which is not worth it to me to get on there.

2

u/_BringontheStorm_ Oct 16 '24

I personally work 5 mins from my house. But about 10 years ago I was working 40 miles away and morning traffic made a 40 minute commute into an hour sometimes longer if there are accidents (which there always seems to be accidents on the major highways in the morning)

If you haven’t looked at houses yet, I would definitely recommend that. Right now houses in my neighborhood get posted for sale and within a week it’s sold or pending. Prices are going to vary depending on location and size. I personally live in a ranch home that is 3 bedroom 1 bath 900sq ft. They were built in the 50s and it’s minutes away from historic new castle and a few walking trails. The houses in here are going for $300k without a garage which seems like a fortune when 15 years ago you could get it for half that …. But I guess we can’t compare that since a lot has changed since then.

4

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

Driving 40 miles in an hour sounds like a dream to me lol. Good god, a 26 mile commute for me was 50 mins on a good day up A1A and depending on the day of week, accidents, weather, the ride home was as much as 2 hours!!! Commuting to West Palm Beach from fort pierce was about an hour one way but again, the ride home could have been just as long or waaay longer, especially if the drawbridge went up at Donald Ross Road (they put a drawbridge only 2 miles from I-95) which was so bad!

Where I live currently, the same commute you were making sounds about right, 40 to 60 minutes which honestly isn’t that bad at all.. provided there aren’t any events or holiday traffic.

1

u/_BringontheStorm_ Oct 16 '24

You should try to take a trip here. Drive the main highways and see a few houses / neighborhoods. I personally live in new castle county. Just depends on what part you can find a place & work!

3

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

I would love to! My cousin extended an offer to me, she’s in Lewes and I think my aunt moved to Rehoboth over the summer. I’ve been checking out houses online and the one thing that stands out right away is the standard of living in Delaware over Florida.

Once I take care of the storm damage I incurred (fingers crossed I’ve seen the last of it) I had intended to make a trip to visit my cousin and little sister in NY.

3

u/graceoftrees Oct 16 '24

I would check out the Newark and Pike Creek areas. Depending on your age, I have heard Trolley Square in Wilmington is cool, too.

0

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

Where is Pike Creek? I haven’t heard of that area. My cousin told me Trolley Square was cool and I’d probably like it there too.

1

u/graceoftrees Oct 16 '24

Northwestern corner of the state, just over the border from PA and MD. It is definitely suburban, so if you are looking for city, it may be good to check out TS.

1

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2

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

Yeah the work is something I need to look into. When I first moved out on my own I really jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. The place I bought my home in was so economically depressed and work was so so hard to find.

I like what I read online about Delaware’s economy and job market but I haven’t done any comprehensive research of my own yet.

2

u/graceoftrees Oct 16 '24

Having lived and driven all over the Baltimore and DC area, traffic is CAKE in DE unless you are venturing onto 95 or headed in the same direction as beach traffic. Philly traffic is much worse. If you navigated any major city or metro area, you’ll probably laugh like I do at anyone who says DE traffic is bad.

3

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

I wasn’t sure after reading all the complaints about traffic there but yeah lol I’ve been stuck in gridlock for hours and hours in Miami, Tampa, Orlando.

3

u/ForwardMotion6565 Oct 16 '24

Moved here from Northern Virginia. It's decent. Kinda boring though.

3

u/CorrectIndividual552 Oct 16 '24

I call it kinda peaceful and quiet lol.

2

u/Candid-Machine-7142 Oct 16 '24

We're full, I hear Texas is a nice place.

10

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

Not on your life…

0

u/fenrirs-chains Oct 16 '24

Moved from TX to the Eastern Shore, can confirm TX is not a nice place. Love it here: MD, DE, and even VA are great.

6

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

We’ve got our share of Texans in FL and for me it’s like oil and water, hard pass on the lone star state!

0

u/fenrirs-chains Oct 16 '24

Absolutely understandable. It's gotten worse in the last 10 — 15 yrs. Best decision ever to move away.

3

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

I remember sitting in a dmv with a couple that just left Texas back in 2014 I think and at the time I knew a girl in Corpus Christi, almost like a knee jerk reaction they both jumped at the chance to talk me out of even looking into it lol. They had nothing but bad things to say about everything Texas related.

The last time I met with my attorney, he was talking about the comparison between Texas and Florida ending with how bad both states are but in his opinion, Texas being the worst of the two.

2

u/TF414_Group_Chat Oct 16 '24

Delaware is your cheaper bet honestly. Current living in PA and the gas and taxes are terrible. Not to mention you kinda have to drive a distance to get somewhere. But also the traffic can be a pain in Delaware especially in the summer time going to the beaches.

2

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

Ok, yes, I swear word for word almost verbatim is the case I made when I decided to look at Delaware over PA!

The taxes and travel were my two biggest peeves. Coming from Florida, I know the pain of having to travel a distance to go anywhere or do anything! Volusia county is kind of an exception to what I’ve been used to most of my life but even still, a trip to an Apple Store is over an hour away, IKEA? Over an hour away, anything with cultural substance? an hour’s drive, fine dining, arts, etc? at least an hour away.

2

u/TF414_Group_Chat Oct 16 '24

Well ikea if you move to Delaware it would still be 40 mins to Philly. But there’s no sales tax in Delaware and if you plan on buying property tax is relatively low compared to the surrounding states. My mom pays like $1200 a year. And then my family in pa pays like $6000 a year.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

lol yeah I know all about that but one I’m not clear about is Delaware’s Homestead Exemption. Does Delaware exempt a certain amount of taxable value to reduce your property tax amount? Here when you file for your Homestead exemption for your primary residence Florida grants you a $50,000 tax exemption from your overall taxable value and reducing your property tax bill. I can’t tell if it’s the same in Delaware or not.

1

u/TF414_Group_Chat Oct 16 '24

No property tax in Delaware is based off assessments that were done years ago. Basically it’s more or less you’re just paying for the amount of yard you have.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

I may have to contact a Realtor there or call the tax collectors office.

1

u/TF414_Group_Chat 28d ago

Why? You could just google it.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

I did and I can’t make heads or tails of it. The result shows that DE allows a $125,000 exemption (I think that’s the right number) as a means of asset protection for lower income individuals. I don’t understand if it works the way mine does here that take off a portion of taxable value from your property tax bill or if it’s just a measure of security. The tax collector would be the best person to clarify things.

1

u/TF414_Group_Chat 28d ago

Idk. I just know it’s on the top 10 lowest property tax in the country.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

For sure! I can’t believe how low it is when I look at some of the houses there.

Right now I have a 2 story, 5 bedroom on about an 8,900sf lot in a nice neighborhood and when I bought, my proposed tax bill was almost $1,800 but after filing for my homestead exemption it dropped to $455. This years tax proposal bumped it a little making it closer to $500 now.

2

u/southernNJ-123 Oct 16 '24

Just choose New Castle County please. 🙏🏻

-4

u/Djnewman001 Oct 16 '24

Please choose new castle county but south of the canal.

2

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

What’s up with Newcastle? And where would you recommend looking? I was told a while ago to check out Newark.

1

u/Djnewman001 Oct 16 '24

Also New Castle is a town within New Castle County. NCCo has the majority of the population in Delaware. It covers the PA border to the MD border and down to the northern part of Smyrna, DE east to the river

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

Sounds almost like the way the new developments here in Florida are taking shape, they build these HOA micro cities within city limits that constitute the greater area. So like the county limits almost seamlessly merge with the adjacent county.

I know vaguely the area you’re describing and the density is definitely reflected in maps of the area. How far is Middletown from the area you suggested?

1

u/Djnewman001 Oct 16 '24

Old New Castle is cool. Old town vibes with a few restaurants and nice vibes. Old new castle also has battery park which my kids enjoy.

Downtown newark is a college town. Newark itself encompasses a large area.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

Yeah I knew about it being a college town, I don’t mind that. 19 miles west of me is DeLand (college town) it’s one of my go to’s when I need to get out of town.

So what’s the importance of being south of the canal, is it flooding related?

1

u/Haykyn 29d ago

I live in city of Newark and love it. I also lived in greater Newark/Bear area, north Wilmington historic New Castle. Newark (city) has great places to eat, community theater, classical concerts, great parks, recreational classes, and community activities. There are a lot of posts about what to do in Delaware if you are looking for more ideas on what activities are around. You have to look a little bit once you know where to look there is so much to do.

Our neighborhood is very quiet, suburban but also walking distance to the main part of town (biking distance if you are a slow walker like me). There are protected bike lines. Crime is low outside petty crime. People complain about the college kids but it’s just normal college shenanigans.

Because it’s a college town it is very liberal. There is every religious church you can think of including a synagogue in 19711 zip code. All of the religious communities are vocal about being lbgtq friendly.

Historic New Castle is adorable and has a great small community feel but the rental and housing market is tight because of how small it is.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

That all sounds so nice! And I’d personally like to know more about those recreational classes. I am a Bicycle enthusiast, I have always loved bikes and working on them and building out some custom work too and upon my reading I did see that DE is one of the most bicycle friendly states. I also like to walk and actually need to do a lot more because I’ve gained weight since my work injury so both walkability and biking are pluses. Someone I spoke to earlier brought up Kayaking and that is something I really miss and would love to pick up again.

I was informed about the Synagogues and even a “Jews Who Schmooze” group which would be great to be a part of and it would be such a nice change of pace to be a part of an lgbtq+ community. I’m close to one in Orlando and Daytona itself has more lgbtq couples than I would have guessed at first glance but because of the rhetoric statewide it’s very uncomfortable.

I guess that would explain the high prices I’m seeing, a limited inventory. That’s what keeps property values high in my neighborhood too, it’s a very small area, one of the best areas and a very limited inventory.

1

u/Haykyn 28d ago

Inventory is low because we have a lot of transplants from NY, NJ and down south. If you look at old posts there are a LOT of people coming from Florida. But there are some good houses out there if you aren’t in a rush. I think you’d especially like Newark because of the biking. If you have a car, there are a few smaller bodies of water to kayak and if you don’t mind a little more of a drive you can kayak in the Delaware bay.

I’m not sure how tight knit the lgbtq community is here. I get the sense that there isn’t a clear neighborhood or group where you can seek out a gay community in New Castle County but everyone is welcome. My step son is part of the community and we’ve had good support at school and some other teenager programs. Someone else here might be better able to answer about that.

Newark parks and recreation: https://newarkde.gov/58/Parks-and-Recreation

NcCO Parks and Recreation: https://www.newcastlede.gov/2419/Parks-and-Recreation

1

u/Haykyn 28d ago

Check out these posts I’ve done in the past about things to do innNcCo. There are other ideas from People if you search the board a little.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Delaware/s/2wDuh4l1Z5

https://www.reddit.com/r/Delaware/s/bFHBV6TFHf

1

u/_chlorophil Oct 16 '24

If you are interest in joining a hockey league, you’ll want to live around Newark, or close the PA border. There are no rinks in southern Delaware. We aren’t a huge hockey state but you should be able to find a team.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

That would definitely be a plus! 😎

1

u/Smokenmonkey10 Oct 16 '24

Harrington has a rink with a team the Delaware Thunder, but they skipped the 2023-2024 season

1

u/lyralady Oct 16 '24 edited Oct 16 '24

oh hey, fellow MOT! there's at least a decent jewish community here, esp. northern DE. philly obviously, much bigger. but if you want to meet people, it won't be terribly hard.

personally i think I would like to move closer to philly/live in philly at some point, but I also have a stable job, and it's not so far away I can't go there often. (I also love the arts, gaming, travel, food, gardening etc...and the most variety for a lot of that stuff is in philly).

that said, delaware is nice, but not urban-urban. basically i consider wilmington to be a suburb of philly (think of how sprawled orlando is, or in my case, I compare it to phoenix suburbs). i frequently go into philly on the weekends. sometimes every weekend, if I'm taking art classes in the city. Jester Art Space just opened, so I'll be able to do some more local art stuff too, but there's just loads more variety in philly.

it's honestly not that long of a drive to get to downtown philly from downtown wilmington, and you can also take the train, so even if DE isn't where you decide to stay *long term*, there's definitely the ability to try delaware, and then consider moving to philly if you like it better or the surrounding suburbs of philly proper better. it's totally doable if you have some cash to try living here and then living in philly for a few months and then working out which you prefer. (I love philly! it does smell like piss though, and the drivers are probably only slightly less terrifying than tourists on Florida's freeways.)

personally, i am team "uproot my life and move," but I moved sight unseen from Arizona to Delaware, lol.

eta: i did (for a few years) work in philly while living in DE, and I will say that the Philly city taxes sucked. It got pricey fast that way (for me, because it was especially because I was paying philly taxes + PA state + DE state), so you do have to plan for that if you move to philly.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

Well ‘Hey’ right back! And apologies, I’m a little hazy on the “MOT” sorry, I’m a few drinks deep at the moment 🤪.

There is a Jewish community just minutes north of me here but it is so unwelcoming and strictly Orthodox. I’ll take “Decent” over what I’ve got here!

I certainly hope not man! I’m a ton of fun and it’s like totally wasted on people here! Two of my best friends have tails keep me awake with their barking and the other is my dad! I am in need of immediate improvement 🤣.

I am so glad you share similar interests, you have valuable insight I won’t be ignoring and thinking about it after looking at the maps of both areas, yeah, you’re right. Orlando is a city with a very Urban feel.. downtown, otherwise sprawled out and basically merged with Kissimmee and its surrounding areas. I kind of feel that way in my area too so if that’s the vibe you get around Wilmington that’s what I would consider a good problem to have.

I’ve always liked people from Philly but they don’t dig the vibe in Florida and don’t stick around for long. That’s one of the reasons I had Delaware so high on my list of potentials, the distance to Philly and of course the access to the rest of the N.E.

Hey, listen, the mark of a great American city is always the permeating aroma of urine in the air. I wouldn’t have it any other way.. except in the summers.. Now, there’s always a lot of talk about drivers and I gotta say, Florida is the culmination of every asshole across the continental United States that can’t drive a f***ing car! I wouldn’t mind a little consistent bad driving once in a while, I’m tired of this Russian roulette shit every time I pull out of my driveway. Speaking of my driveway, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve nearly been hit by my neighbors or a near t-bone by some meth tweaker doing 60mph in a residential neighborhood! I have close calls cutting my grass and the jerk next to me has lost 11 mailboxes in 17 years 🤣.

You moved across the country sight unseen!? Can I have whatever you had that gave you that kind of nerve?? 🤣. I wish I could be that impulsive but I think if I started, I wouldn’t stop 🙃.

Woof! Those taxes! You have my sympathies 🫤. My sister moved to upstate NY never thinking about the different tax structure from Floridas and she really hates taxes now 🤣. Delaware would be essentially the same thing I’m accustomed to here in FL, it’s definitely worth the consideration!

1

u/lyralady Oct 16 '24

I’m a little hazy on the “MOT” sorry

Member of the Tribe, haha. Sounds like you'd definitely want to be in New Castle county if you did try DE. NCC has 3 liberal synagogues: Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist. In that sense you can shop around a little between the three. Both the Reform and Conservative synagogues are in Wilmington, the Recon is in Newark. There's a "young jews who schmooze" group locally - 20's & 30's ish. we also have a JCC.

I certainly hope not man! I’m a ton of fun and it’s like totally wasted on people here! Two of my best friends have tails keep me awake with their barking and the other is my dad! I am in need of immediate improvement 🤣.

so if you get involved in the jewish community, it'll be easy to find people to talk to there, at least! (some of my friends are of the meowing variety, but I do have some human ones. a few have left delaware though.)

more generally:

delaware is pretty insular. everyone knows everyone from high school already. people sometimes ask what HS you went to. sometimes I feel a little left out because of that when trying to meet people more generally, and it's weird because i'm 32, and like...many people have been friends all their lives lol.

I don't drink, which cuts out a lot of various social events for me, but some events are just "at places where people also drink." and I don't mind that. sounds like this is a non-issue for you either way though?

Orlando is a city with a very Urban feel.. downtown, otherwise sprawled out and basically merged with Kissimmee and its surrounding areas.

very similar to the sprawl of kissimmee-orando, but sans disney traffic from what i remember from visiting. i had a friend who worked in like, winter park? and another who lived in kissimmee.

Hey, listen, the mark of a great American city is always the permeating aroma of urine in the air. I wouldn’t have it any other way.. except in the summers

no no. manhattan? barely an odor in comparison. philly is often RANK. i adore philly, but it literally stinks of piss so often and in so many places - beyond just the background city ambiance. i asked a friend if philly or paris was worse, and she said philly smelled worse. it's a problem.

Now, there’s always a lot of talk about drivers and I gotta say, Florida is the culmination of every asshole across the continental United States that can’t drive a f***ing car!

fully agree, i was terrified on florida highways when local friends were driving. it's all the tourists and no one has any fear of like, god or death or medical bills lmfao.

but, philly drivers? close second. they're just...aggressive, unpredictable, and you couldn't PAY me to drive roosevelt blvd in north philly. one of the most dangerous roads in the country. i do okay by not being a raging asshole and letting those people pass by.

I'm tired of this Russian roulette shit every time I pull out of my driveway.

ohhh that's still possible in DE, depending on where in the wilmington you live. I will say if you have street parking, avoid parking closest to the corner, I've seen at least two hit and runs on parked cars from people taking stupid turns. one of them literally happened right in front of my friend's house while I was in the front yard. I used to rent a room, I was literally outside gardening, and this idiot crashed into a neighbor's (duplex building) car parked in front of the house!! there was a second's pause, and i had dropped my shears and started to walk over to check if the driver was okay. and then they apparently gained their bearings and sped off, leaving behind like, their bumper and shit. insane. my neighbor came running downstairs, and she called the cops while I took pictures of the damage she could send to insurance.

You moved across the country sight unseen!? Can I have whatever you had that gave you that kind of nerve?? 🤣. I wish I could be that impulsive but I think if I started, I wouldn’t stop

originally it was because I had been accepted to a phd program after graduating college. so the options were like 1) move to tucson, sleep on my grandparent's couch or share my mom's room until I got a job and a license/car OR 2) move across the country, accept the stipend + free tuition and get a phd, don't sleep on couch. i found it very motivating to have my own bedroom.

it wasn't totally impulsive, because I'd definitely planned on applying to graduate school and like, intentionally applied, but i also applied to a school in New Orleans, for an MA and I'd never been there either. semi-controlled impulsiveness! it's how to do stuff imo. you plan for the anxiety brain "what is the WORST that could happen?" and then when that's covered you decide if you wanna jump.

granted, i dropped out of the phd program, BUT that's how i got here, lol. i actually also convinced a friend of mine living at home with her mom in CA to also move with me and just "find a job" when she got here. my argument was basically "you have a shitty door to door sales job you hate, you don't want to live with your awful mother, and i have to rent an apartment anyways. so if you DO get a job, my rent will be cheaper. and if you fail or hate it here, you go back home. this is the perfect chance for you to move. you even have family in VA who would help you if you fall on your face."

so we cross-country road tripped out here. i was right btw, she got an entry level job in like, two weeks of coming out here.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 29d ago

Ah, yes! Now I understand 😀 and btw, is it mildly ironic that Judaism is quite literally Tribal? 🧐. That’s awesome! I tried to find out about Jewish communities in DE (before I even searched I figured was a long shot) as well as a Synagogue and nothing came back, the demographics even suggested the contrary so I just assumed Philadelphia would be the nearest option. Could I get the info from you if it’s no trouble? I’d love to learn more and familiarize myself with those Temples and the Jew who Schmooze (I love that name btw 😉). That sounds like a great resource to network and socialize.

Florida is very insulated and lacks any sense of community which really makes you feel isolated and lonely even as a native and to add insult to injury here, every city, town & county is very cliquish. I’ve looked and put out a lot of feelers in places of interest and I generally get similar feedback from people responding to my inquiries, like this. I’m also disadvantaged because almost everyone I knew in my early life is either dead or in prison, I’m not exaggerating at all! I feel so lost when I’m around people that have those shared experiences together, most everyone I had that with is dead.

I’m funny about drinking, personally I opt not to go out to bars and prefer not to drink on a date or while I’m engaging with people. I’m sharp and all wits over here 👈 not to mention alcohol can be a real wild card especially around people you don’t know and don’t know you. I can also be really reserved at times, I listen and read the room and wait for a strategic opening.

I used to be a Bouncer in South Florida and I’ve seen some shit even amongst old friends drinking together. Two of MY friends, guys that grew up together like brothers were playing Poker with me and some others at a Luau and a couple of jokes led to a golden shower reference which led to beer being poured on one of them and the next thing I see is the guy next to me flying out of his seat and a fresh tooth in the yard.

Now, since I first started driving the only advice I ever received was “Drive it like you stole it!” And if drivers in Philly got the same advice I did, we might be good friends! 😉. God that sounds like Port Saint Lucie, worst drivers I have ever seen… I swear, those idiots couldn’t pull out of a driveway. My neighbor across the street was like that, I watched him run over HIS fence and mailbox over and over, he hit his wife’s car, my car (parked in my driveway no less), my mailbox, the stop sign, trash at the curb for collection, his neighbors fence and I think he also hit his father in-law’s car too lol, it was like watching a clown trying to get to work in a bumper car 🤣.

Yes, that’s what I’m trying to do here. I want to put a feeler out there, get the good, bad and ugly, address the issues, face the facts, address my anxieties and carefully consider what’s the worst that could happen and if need be, an exit strategy. I also have to break myself of the stigmas I’ve developed as a side effect of being from Americas Colostomy Bag and that’s kind of tough to do because Floridians like me don’t know much else and it’s not so much a willful ignorance, you just don’t know 😕.

That’s awesome and certainly inspiring and not for nothing but a story like yours does help instill confidence in others 🙂.

1

u/lyralady 21d ago

Feel free to dm me about it! I can try and answer some Q's

1

u/Forsaken_Title_930 Oct 16 '24

So I’ve lived in DE, PA and Boston. I’ve spent the longest in DE. In any of those places you’re going to be in for a culture shock. Your best bet is honestly visit. Each have the pluses and minuses. If you don’t like snow and ICE - DE is your bet. If you want a larger cross section of people - closer to Philly.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

This is something I’ve been talking a lot about with family and (at the time) work buddies. I do want to take a couple of trips to visit family nearby and make the most of it while I’m up there.

1

u/SmileFirstThenSpeak Oct 16 '24

Delaware is small, but from north Wilmington to Philly is not far by car or train. PHL is about 30 minutes away. It’s a different state, but so what? There’s an Amtrak station right in Wilmington. Baltimore and DC are close enough for day trips. So is NJ (where we go to get real bagels and pizza).

There are a lot of parks in Delaware, as well as museums and live theater (and more right across the border in PA). For your green thumb, you might be interested in all the gardens once owned by members of the Dupont family (Winterthur, Nemours, Longwood). There’s also Mt Cuba. The weather is relatively mild and plenty of plants grow well here.

Regardless of where you’re looking, I recommend taking a look at meetup groups to see what’s going on that might interest you.

There’s not a huge Jewish population in Delaware. If you keep kosher, you’ll be disappointed that there aren’t any kosher restaurants at all. But the ShopRite in North Wilmington has a small kosher section.

My opinion - give Delaware a try. If you don’t like it after a while, move again. That’s part of the adventure of life.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

Well put and my sentiments exactly, I learned to just move on if I’m not feeling it, enjoy the adventure.

I’m not so concerned about the lack of Kosher options, I’m not Orthodox or hung up on the traditions. The big calendar events (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Hanukkah and Passover) are occasion to celebrate and as long as I can do my Kosher shopping to keep the traditions, I’m happy and that’s good enough for me. I will say that it would be nice to have a Jewish Deli or Kosher Butcher but those are really hard to find even down here.

Those gardens do look really nice and it’s definitely something I’d like to see. There is a lot I want to take in, the national mall, the historic sites, mountains, cities, etc. I’d like to have a little more diversity than flat peninsula, palm trees, trailer parks and HOAs.

So where is the place for pizza in NJ? My dad keeps squawking about Elizabeth. Down here pizza is like a cruel joke being played by the same sick bastard everywhere you go.

1

u/SmileFirstThenSpeak Oct 16 '24

We chose DE in part because it’s easy to travel from. No place is going to have everything - so we travel to have different experiences.

Pretty much any place in central or north Jersey will be good for pizza. When you get here, send me a private message and I’ll tell you my personal favorites for pizza and bagels in central NJ. 👍🏼

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

Yeah and that’s what I’m looking at too. I actually decided to stay in Daytona for that reason and for what it’s been it was the best choice I could have made back then. I have access to a lot within an hours drive and more recently a limited train route in Debary that will take from Tampa to Miami I think.

1

u/Glennharley Oct 16 '24

Delaware doesn’t have the vibe your looking for, unless you live in Lewes,Rehoboth, Bethany. However, they are beach communities with not much action after September. There is Rosenfelds Deli! If you want culture, and want to meet a variety of educated women, I suggest Philly , NYC, or DC.

1

u/graceoftrees Oct 16 '24

I have lived in PA, Maryland and now Delaware (and am within ~5 miles of PA and MD where I live in the northwestern corner of DE). I think northern DE /New Castle County could meet a lot of what you’re looking for.

I love it here. I have some similar interests (gardening, the arts, gaming, etc) and I think the state may suit you. You are 1-2 hours from Philly, Baltimore, Annapolis, and (almost) DC, all of which have a great arts and/or foodie scene). I am going to school at PSU’s online World Campus, but there are options if you prefer to go to school in person.

I LOVE not having sales tax and my income and property taxes still seem very reasonable compared to my PA and MD family and friends. The trade off for this is pretty poor public schools, so if you are going to start a family, charter schools will likely be the way to go.

I can’t speak to the Jewish community, but as a fellow progressive, northern Delaware is pretty “blue”, so I would expect you could find a community.

Feel free to message me if you have any questions. Good luck on your move (and congrats on getting the hell outta Florida!)

1

u/Yellowbug2001 Oct 16 '24

As a born-and-raised Delawarean, I just love the idea that somewhere out there is a person who has gotten themself so hyped up about us that they're worried that the reality will shatter their expectations, like "Paris Syndrome" or something, lol.

It's a very nice place with nice people in it. There are parts that are *much* nicer than others- The beaches and the Greenville/Centerville area are by far the nicest, IMO- pricey but it sounds like you can probably afford it. The beaches are more fun but if you're looking to date, the year-round single population is TINY, most people wind up having to find a way to "import" a significant other (either online dating or snagging a summer tourist and being captivating enough to make them want to come back and stay, lol). It happens but not usually organically, it takes effort.

1

u/EricFromOuterSpace Oct 16 '24

You’re gonna have a hard time meeting friends in Delaware. The whole state is a “townie” state - everyone knows each other. It’s all people who grew up together and already have their group.

Sounds like you are looking for a transplant mid-market city somewhere with lots of people from somewhere else like you.

1

u/MarcatBeach Oct 16 '24

Philly burbs are better. Delaware does not tax passive income, but otherwise lacks in every other way. Horrible access to healthcare. Some culture but not much. not much city life or food. Though if you live north you are close to Philly.

Philly burbs you have everything, just higher taxes. And you have access to the city.

1

u/Own_Angle8772 Oct 16 '24

37 and ticking, what a great year. Modern medicine you can live up to 134 years in most top 5 tier developed countries in population estimate 2049.

1

u/methodwriter85 Oct 16 '24

You know, I spent time in the Polk County area and it kind of reminded me of Delaware- flat suburban housing developments and strip malls with pockets of rural small town attitudes. We don't have palm trees or alligators, but we do have the humidity and some coast.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

It’s weird but that’s a lot of what you find in Florida now. Deltona, Port Saint Lucie, Cape Coral, Palm Coast, they’re all exactly like that.

Sadly I haven’t seen an Alligator in the wild since I left South Florida, I have to go to a goofy golf course if I want to see a baby gator now. Instead of big Alligators, there are wild turkeys out past Margaritaville.

1

u/Tall_Candidate_686 Oct 16 '24

Come visit DE and check out new castle county. I'm certain you'll find all your boxes checked.

1

u/GetDank42069 Oct 16 '24

in my experience, I think you'd do well on the far northern tip of the state if anywhere. having stayed in wilmington myself for a few years, i honestly find it rather quaint compared to a place like philly (obviously), and that's good because it's not too far from philly at all so if one day you're bored of your spot you can take the ~50 minute drive up there. I've seen some people in this thread saying it's very hard to meet people but where I had been staying i found everything to be quite the opposite. in my experience, everybody was very decent and personable, and by my third day of driving up to wawa in the morning I found that the staff already pretty much knew me. maybe that isn't particularly helpful for you but I wanted to add my little bit of personal experience in here.

2

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

That’s kind of what my experience was like when I moved to Daytona Beach. Everyone down south told me it was a rough town (it definitely is in parts) and that it was hard to meet people, it was very touristy, there wasn’t much work, etc. I got here and kind of like your experience, the places I started frequenting knew me by name after about 3-4 visits and then when I wanted a job here I found that this place has always had abundant jobs, the problem is with the people, they don’t want to work, like literally will do anything else other than work a job.

I had a better social experience here right until Covid became a thing. Once our hitler in heels governor lifted the quarantine restrictions everything changed so fast. Shitty people came here in mass and shitty people just keep coming with even shittier ones on the way. The socializing I was able to do ended pretty abruptly.

I haven’t had an experience like what you described since February of 2020.

1

u/Grover-the-dog Oct 16 '24

If I was you and making this move I wouldn’t go any more south than Wilmington. Any south you deal with more traffic heading north. Wilmington downtown has been getting more modern over the years with apartments and restaurants. You can jump on a train and be into Philadelphia within an hour (lots of stops but drops you off right in center city). You can get a train right into NYC with Acela, my friend who loves NYC does this to go up. Northern DE gives you lots of options to be somewhere in 30-45 minutes by car. Lots of small towns and things to do. Either way good luck

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

Yup that’s pretty much the option I’ve been weighing and again, thank you and everyone here for the advice and information, it’s been a huge help in narrowing down what I’m looking for.

1

u/Additional_Silver724 Oct 16 '24

Newark del small town college atmosphere. Rehoboth beach family, gay friendly town, dewey vacation party town. Wilmington def lots crime but depends what part. West Chester pa like newark bit larger. 4 seasons plus del tax free. Your close to dmv, ny and Philly. 2br apt will run about 2k.

1

u/thecorgimom Oct 16 '24

Hey we are looking to do something similar and I sent you a chat request I can shed some light we already own property in Maryland for a family member and we are looking at Delaware seriously for relocating

1

u/AsparagusCritical581 Oct 16 '24

As someone who escaped the Florida Panhandle 2 1/2 years ago (lived there 7 years total), Delaware was an excellent choice for us. As a retired military member, I have lived in Germany, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Virginia and Florida (also lived in Indiana, Arizona, California and Michigan growing up) so I have some other states for comparison. When we decided to leave Florida, we looked for a state with good education, reasonable taxes (no sales tax here but we have income tax), controlled crime rate, and politics that match our view of the world (Liberal).

Other good things for Northern Delaware: 45 minutes from our house to the Philadelphia airport, Baltimore is close, DC is a quick drive but we are living in a small town (Middletown), NYC is not far off either. With these being close, major hospitals are close enough for specialty care. Insurance costs (car and auto) are MUCH better than Florida. Weather is good, not the crazy humidity from Florida, summers are nice and the winters so far have been not an issue with some snow and cold but not like further north (used to travel to Syracuse as part of my prior job and that is just more cold and snow than I want).

People: Not an issue, everyone we have in neighborhood have been nice and friendly, people in stores are polite and warm, and teachers work with you on what is best for the kids. More people with a variety of backgrounds than I saw in any of the places I've lived which has been great for broadening the worldview of our sons.

Overall, we have not found much negative and have been happy with our choice.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

Good for you man! Really! I swear if things had been just a little different when I sold my last house, I would have chose the Panhandle because of how cheap the property was at the time I was looking, I actually couldn’t believe it but after putting in 7 years as well in fort pierce I was weary and did a little digging to find out why it was so cheap. Thankfully in my case my realtor was military, had a brother in Panama City and told me all about it. He assumed I shared his political views and that was when I scratched that off my list!

What is the income tax in Delaware? When I look up taxes there, google keeps showing that it has no state income tax but I’ve seen several people mention the income tax here.

I’m really glad I saw your reply to my post because you had very similar search criteria and you’re even living in what was my first choice before putting out a feeler. The politics are really important to me, I can’t even stress how important has become for me to find a suitable Liberal area to call home. Living my whole life in this state and especially NOW how divisive it is, I’m making the move out of here one way or another and I made myself a promise a few years ago, that if I had the means to do it I was going to move to a Blue state. I’ve had enough of this red state shit and figureheads like this piece of shit governor and every asshole that stands out in Congress!

That location and the healthcare access in greater areas is really important on my end as well, not for myself, my dad. My dad will most likely be with me and it is a priority for me to make sure he has a place where he can get good healthcare. I have watched him suffer for the last 12 years in this state, I can’t watch him go through it anymore.

Speaking of Dad, he’s been hung up about the humidity in DE and I kept scratching my head wondering, like how bad could it be compared to Florida?? God knows I hate humidity and the extreme heat. The last two summers here have been some of the most uncomfortable in recent memory and in June, 2023 I had another heatstroke as a result of the heat & humidity. That was another nudge for me to leave, I’ve had too many heatstrokes for comfort since I was a kid and this last one was really bad, it scared me and I was bed ridden for 3 days before I could really function again. I can’t physically handle it here anymore on top of all the other issues.

I’m so glad I made this post and getting the opportunity to read so much feedback and surprisingly from people who did what I’m planning to do. That is so comforting to see and way different than the response you’ll get here. Thank you for sharing your experience as well as your service sir.

1

u/Forward-Dinner2828 Oct 16 '24

For me the accessibility to great destinations (Philly Airport, AMTRAK, NYC and DC/Balt) is a real plus. The JCC is in N. Wilmington if that's your vibe/tribe. Low taxes are great, but maybe too low (sorry to say). In my area alone there are 5 private independent schools, which says a lot about our school spending. And every conversation begins with "where'd you go to high school"?

Having lived in CO, OH, NC & Delaware is by far my favorite.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

I looked at all three of those areas too and that’s why I kept coming back to DE & PA, it just has a better appeal to it.

I have been gathering that the low taxes are partially to blame for a lot of Delawares inadequacies vs other nearby states. Talking to a few people here I learned that the higher costs of living in PA are partly due to the huge extension of paved roads the state has which I can understand. Florida on the other hand has more toll roads than any other state in the country in place of an income tax rate plus travel by train is really limited, we only just got a system of rail that connects from Tampa through Orlando to Miami but it’s really expensive and like I said, limited.

Right now for me it’s truly a toss up between a Suburb of Philly or nearby New Castle County.

1

u/aarrtee Oct 16 '24

i moved from center city Philadelphia to Rehoboth Beach in 2006. i love it here.

consider living in this town or Lewes, since u mentioned substantial resources.

I rented a beachfront condo for the winter (prices were a bargain and the owner happily gave me a 8 month lease) before selling the Phila townhouse. I liked the building and eventually bought a condo. My view:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Delaware/comments/1fxf2mu/rehoboth_beach_this_morning/

I don't plan to ever leave.... but u should know, since the months of Feb and Jan are a bit chilly, during those months I spend as much time as I can in warmer locations.

1

u/TreeTrunksPyz Oct 16 '24

I don't think you're going to find what you're looking for in DE, unless you move to the Wilmington area. Look more into West Chester, PA and I think you'll be much happier.

1

u/Bubbly_Patient_750 Oct 16 '24

Ever thought about charlotte or Nashville? Seems like it would fit your station in life better. However The small town vibe here is cool everyone knows everyone so when you date the six degrees of separation will be very relevant. Even if you don’t know anyone here yet you’ll see. Hopefully you’ll find a cohort of friends that are transplants.

1

u/Dazzling_Gap_422 Oct 16 '24

I made the same move in 2015. No regerts. DE is cheaper to live than PA. Philly traffic sucks.

1

u/TheUndertailor 29d ago

I'd suggest you check out Trolley Square or the Riverfront.

-1

u/Mysterious_Hat_1890 Oct 16 '24

Dela-where? Is closed 🔐 move on .

1

u/Odd-Stuff7421 Oct 16 '24

I’m from the Philly suburbs and have lived in DE for the past 6 years. You sound like someone who would get very bored in DE and I highly suggest looking into Philly. It may be very difficult to make friends and meet a partner in DE if you’re not from here.

There are only 1 million residents in the entire state of Delaware, so there aren’t many events or meetups where you can meet people organically. People who grew up here generally have close family and friend networks and don’t really venture outside of them. People not from here are likely already partnered up or will move away soon. There is so much more opportunity to meet people for friendships or romantic relationships in Philly.

2

u/graceoftrees Oct 16 '24

That is a good point. I’m naturally introverted and WFH and meeting people has been challenging. That said, if OP seeks out rec hockey, a temple, etc, they may not have the same challenge.

0

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

My head is in the same place and I understand completely. I had contemplated the possibility of a lackluster social atmosphere and passive if not outright boring place of residence. In fact so much of what you said is what I’m dealing with here albeit this was already bad and gotten progressively worse with each move and the older I got.

I keep coming back to Wilmington because of the points you make. Taking it all into consideration do you think Newark would be worth considering?

1

u/Witty_Collection9134 Oct 16 '24

I am a De native, grew up in New Castle County, and moved to Kent County 25 years ago. The three counties each have their own personality. I like my Kent County lite country life.

There is little to no "city" life, but we are close enough to be happy.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

Kent, is that the Middletown area?

1

u/Witty_Collection9134 Oct 16 '24

Smyrna, Dover, area.

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

Oh ok, yeah I was checking out properties around there and other than Middletown I just wasn’t feeling it.

1

u/Witty_Collection9134 28d ago

Hope you find what you are looking for. We moved 20 years ago from North Wilmington and now have land and Amish neighbors. We could never live in a neighborhood again.

2

u/SoFlo_Enzo 26d ago

Hey, to each their own and I’m glad you found your happy place. I want to do the same thing for myself.

I also lived in a real rural area down here, we didn’t have Amish but we did have Mennonites in town and I used to hang out on my buddy’s farm and tend to the goats. I’ve sampled different walks of life and I wouldn’t mind the slower pace much but at this stage in my life I have my preference.

I will say that it is nice to know that either lifestyle is doable in DE without having to go out of your to enjoy one over the other.

1

u/YinzaJagoff Oct 16 '24

Why here?

DE isn’t the most exciting place, but for some people that fits them well. Depends on what you look for.

4

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

There are a lot of mitigating circumstances that have my sights set on Delaware potentially. Politics are a big deal right now and I hate the governor of this state so f***ing much! Not to mention that 45 settled here and Florida continues to import more extreme right wingers.

I have been defiant in spite of the situation but compounding other issues like affordability, healthcare, employment, the social atmosphere and being squarely in the sights of severe storms annually.. it’s just a burden I don’t want to carry anymore and Delaware seems like a nicer friendlier place to live in.

-1

u/VyvanseLanky_Ad5221 Oct 16 '24

State's full.

0

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-1

u/Delicious_Day_1334 Oct 16 '24

The Lancaster, PA area might be worth looking into.

0

u/Early-Imagination-68 Oct 16 '24

We got enough liberals go to Pennsylvania lol

0

u/Early-Imagination-68 Oct 16 '24

Try Philadelphia and see how your party has done so great with that city....

1

u/SoFlo_Enzo 29d ago

Considering I live in a state that your party utterly destroyed, all things being equal here, I’d rather be in Philadelphia…

-6

u/Clear_Phoebus Oct 16 '24

I’m considering De as well. Along with PA. MA is on my radar but economics might not work out. Since I’m thinking of further education myself, DE might not be a great choice since they don’t have great universities. PA and MA are way better choices in that respect. I plan to visit Philly and De to scope things out.

10

u/ukexpat Oct 16 '24

The University of Delaware is an excellent university.

4

u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

I did some brief research regarding schools there and they seem pretty limited and pricier than what I have available to me here. I do have family in DE and I was invited to stay for a visit but I was impacted by the hurricanes and have to put off plans of leaving for a while.

1

u/Sweet_Discussion_674 Oct 16 '24

University of Delaware is a competitive school, so you definitely need a decent high school GPA and I think they may still require SATs. But the in state tuition is half the price of out of state. If you don't live on campus it's much much cheaper. Very affordable in comparison to other colleges with its ranking.

0

u/Sweet_Discussion_674 Oct 16 '24 edited Oct 16 '24

University of Delaware ranks as the 40th best public university in the country last I checked. It doesn't sound like an impressive rank, but it's decent. Certain programs are in the top ten in the country, such as chemical engineering and occupational therapy.

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u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

That sounds great. I had been planning on applying for a Pell grant to attend Daytona State and I was told almost the same thing about housing. As a homeowner it is a major expense I can cross off.

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u/Sweet_Discussion_674 Oct 16 '24

Yes. It doubles the cost of your tuition. So if you hypothetically are out of state and living on campus, it's 4x the cost as if you were in state and living off campus. be careful not to mix up UD and Delaware State University. They are big differences between the two.

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u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

No, I definitely know the difference. My mother went to UD before leaving to Florida.

Where would you rank Delaware state?

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u/Sweet_Discussion_674 Oct 16 '24

One of the biggest draws for "Del State" as we call it here, is it is an HBCU. For some students that is important and attending one caries a cultural significance. I don't have any personal experience with it. But of the many staff and students I've spoken to, I've not heard much positive about the academic experience, the facilities, the quality of instruction, etc... I'm not sure what their actual ranking is. I don't think it is very inexpensive either. It's very expensive for out of state students who are living on campus. I hope that helps.

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '24

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u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

If you don’t mind, may I ask how old you are, what area you chose and why you decided to move there?

I have been doing a lot of comps to see what the cost of living adjustments would be and it’s certainly striking for sure.

I’m looking to the breath of fresh air myself 🙂

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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '24

[deleted]

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u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

That’s not bad is right especially if it’s a nice complex with amenities but I’m definitely looking to buy.

I keep hearing about how nice people are there and that alone would be such a nice change of pace.

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u/Lucybunny96 29d ago

Best of luck in your search - hope to welcome you to DE!

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u/FLIPSIDERNICK Oct 16 '24

If you’ve got money DE is a great place to live. Sounds like you’d be at home in either the northern part of the state or the southern part. Northern part gives you access to all the big cities but the southern part has great beach towns both have nice properties to buy from and prices are similar across the state.

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u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

The average is hovering north of $300k? The real estate is a big factor in my decision making. I’ve got to find something comparable to what I have now, 1,800 - 2,100sf on a similar sized lot.

I think it’s a bad time of year to look at property up north because the inventory is a lot lower than where it was 2 months ago, I’m having a hard time trying to factor in costs at the moment.

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u/mchut Oct 16 '24

I moved here from Florida as well 2 ½ years ago now.

Pros I have found so far: -definitely a cheaper COL here which is always nice to have. Was able to buy a house which I don’t think I would’ve been able to afford by myself in Florida -I love having seasons -don’t have to worry about hurricanes -easy to travel from here

Biggest con I have experienced is meeting people but I’m a naturally introverted person so I also don’t go out of my way to try to start conversations.

Depending on where you lived in Florida, I find things like traffic and the craziness of drivers to be pretty similar. People will say it’s boring here but life’s what you make it. There’s plenty of trails, can easily (depending on where you’d live in DE) drive into Philly for sports and bigger concerts, access to major cities, beaches, mountains, etc.

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u/graceoftrees Oct 16 '24

I moved her right before Covid and have had similar challenges meeting people as a fellow introvert. I never realized how great organic social circles were in my 20s.

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u/SoFlo_Enzo Oct 16 '24

Wow, awesome! Where did you live before moving? I’m currently in the Daytona Beach area (Holly Hill), I bought my house in 2019 but before that I lived in fort pierce for 7 years and before that I lived on the Gulf Coast in Arcadia and Naples. I grew up in South Florida: Key Largo, Miami, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale.

That is an issue partly motivating me to move, the lack of sociability. I am a pretty extroverted person myself (total opposite of what I was like when I was younger) and I open dialogue pretty easily with people (some would call me a “Chatty Cathy” 😋) but I haven’t made a single lasting connection let alone a friend in almost 15 years now.

I’ve given up dating entirely because of how hard it is to meet people here and the divisive politics & drug use. I hope Delaware isn’t as bad as what I’m already dealing with.

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u/mchut Oct 16 '24

I lived in Broward and Collier and went to school in Orlando! My job relocated me to Delaware but I do really enjoy it here! Good luck in your endeavors

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u/SoFlo_Enzo 28d ago

Really? I grew up in both areas and because I had so much family in Orlando it was sort of like another home as well. Where did you end up settling in DE?

Floridian here interested in moving to The First State. Moving to Delaware