Tell me about Wilmington Delaware.

In My Humble Opinion
1

Ok, new opp is in Wilmington.

Previous opp never got back to me. In case any of you are wondering WTF? I was a government investigator for decades, finally specializing in Anti-Money Laundering civil investigations. Due to cut backs I took early retirement. I have a decent position, but what I am looking for is a decent paying position outside the SF bay area, where I can get a nice house for around $200K. Buffalo qualified and so does Wilmington. I prefer weather which isn’t too damn hot, which leaves out Az. But OTOH, we are Mousejunkies so Orlando would be a maybe.

So, recruiter from large bank in Wilmington has reached out. Pay is great. But Delaware? Checking Trulia etc shows nice houses for $250K or less, so that works. But neighborhoods? Crime? Weather outside what Wiki sez? Traffic?

What do my freinds here on the SDMB give as the Straight Dope?

2

Before you make any major life changes, it is always good to consult with other Dopers.
For,verily I say unto thee, we are smart, and we know the truth.

And we have discussed your situation before: in the classic thread Delaware does not exist
:slight_smile:

3

Crime’s a concern. It’s a very violent town, and the landscape is sort of permanently shifting, so the borders are never terribly clear between “nice” and “uh-oh.” This contributes to affordability; there are some beautiful homes, for sure.

Traffic’s not much of an issue.

4

I have actually gone off on this riff and gotten dudes to beleive it. :eek:

5

I live (and was raised) about 20 miles from Wilmington, and I went to high school in the city. The downtown is kind of a dump, but the outskirts and surrounding towns are pretty nice.

Crime is high and did I mention that most of the city is really shady? I would not feel safe walking around much of downtown Wilmington at night.

Weather is your standard mid-Atlantic stupidly hot and humid summers (although this summer was much cooler than average), beautiful falls/springs, crapshoot winters that can be mild or can be blizzard-happy. It rarely gets very cold, though – I can’t remember the last time it dropped into the single digits. Last winter was pretty cold with a cold windchill, but it was nothing like the Boston or Billings winters I’ve known.

Traffic – what’s traffic like for you in San Jose? It’s hard to say without knowing how to compare. It would not be a problem for you to live a ways out of Wilmington and commute. Wilmington is part of the great Northeastern megalopolis where every town blends into another, but it is also on the border between the megalopolis and rural lower Delaware and rural-ish Dupont country and southern Pennsylvania. So you can live in a bustling urban environment if you choose, or you can live out in the sticks, and still be within decent commuting distance of Wilmington.

6

Ah, good, a Local. Gallows Fodder, can you find me a place or two like Extended Stay America or Oakwood apartments, ie furnished by the month apt/rooms near Downtown?

If I get this I’ll be staying downtown on their dime for a while.

Then, I like your idea of the country .:cool:

7

It was six years ago tonight-- Halloween of aught-seven-- that I once and for all proved Delaware existed.

Or maybe I didn’t. There’s a chance I was in either Denmark or the Matrix.

8

I work for a bank that has a major office in downtown Wilmington. I have never lived there, but have traveled there a dozen times or so. Plus, I have a member of my team who lives there. The guy on my team lives in Wilmington, but the vast majority of people who work in our office do not. A whole lot of them live in PA. A good number live in outlying parts of DE or even MD.

I am pretty familiar with downtown Wilmington, not so much with the residential areas. Having said that, I don’t like it. Were I to move there (a possibility in the past), I would not live in Wilmington proper. There are plenty of places in the area, though, so no big deal.

Also, Wilmington doesn’t have much of a downtown. Not a bunch of restaurants or nightlife, and the only downtown hotels are the DuPont, a Courtyard, a Sheraton Suites, and a Doubletree. IMO, the DuPont and the Sheraton Suites are the nicest, the Courtyard is a fairly standard Courtyard, and the Doubletree is in the low end of Doubletrees. There are no extended places downtown, but may be a little ways away.

Bottom line is that it wouldn’t be my first choice of places to live, but there are plenty of nice places in the area, Philly is only 20 minutes away and NYC is a couple of hours, and I wouldn’t mind moving to the area for the right opportunity.

Let me know if you have any specific questions that an occasional business traveller may be able to answer.

9

Sorry, I don’t have an inside track with the furnished apartment market in Wilmington, I just live in SE PA.

10

Don’t piss off any Du Ponts.

11

Wilmington is sort of in a “tri-state area” with Philly and Camden, NJ. Some of the NJ suburbs near Camden are pretty nice, like Cherry Hill.

Delaware, of course, is not that big. Much of the southern part of the state is rural. Rehoboth is a big seaside resort town. There’s a ferry to the Jersey Shore that leaves from Lewes.

12

If you’re interested in other places on the East Coast and want to find decent housing prices, look at Lancaster, PA and York, PA. They provide easy day-trip access to Philly and Baltimore (Maryland) and aren’t that expensive. One potential problem is that the area is a hotbed for Christian fundamentalism.

13

I’ve driven through Wilmington on the way to Philadelphia dozens of times. Never struck me as a place I’d ever want to stop and visit for all the reasons already mentioned and one other… air pollution. There are a number of refineries around and just north of it and often the stench that hangs over the town is pretty heavy. Makes me think it’s not the healthiest of environments if you like to breath in and out. However, at night, the flames coming from the refinery exhaust stacks by the water do have a spectacular, sort of Blade Runner-ish, vibe.

14

I have family that lives just outside of Lancaster and while it’s very beautiful it can be a bit closed to new comers. It’s not as bad as it was, but still it can be a bit cold. Also it’s not that close to Wilmington.

I am looking to move to the Cherry Hill/West Chester area right now (I know that’s a big area) and I would recommend the OP look at parts of South Jersey and PA as decent options if he is willing to drive a short distance to work. Nice suburban areas, close to where you work but close to a lot of other stuff too. (I also hear a rumor that the only decent Mexican food on the eastern sea board is found around West Chester, but I haven’t verified that personally.)

15

Just grab something in the suburbs to live in; the commute isn’t killer.

Northern Delaware has been harangued by housing developments for the last 20 years or so; there are a ridiculous amount of new housing developments filling in all the open spaces with postage stamp yards. The houses are often bigger than necessary and now people are defaulting on them. It’s a new culture my parents really dislike. However, it’s still possible to find houses outside of the new developments in very nice neighborhoods and honestly that’s what I’d go for.

I do not recommend living in Claymont. Stay away from the Marcus Hook area. Do not go to Chester, ever.

As soon as you get to Arden, that and west of it are very nice suburbs. Suburbia around Talleyville has literally everything you could want; the place is packed with businesses, strip malls, and neighborhoods. You have a selection of every fast food and grocery store available in DE within 20 minutes of driving on 202, not to mention all the retailers. Wa-Was have great sub sandwiches and a great ordering system. Happy Harry’s is the pharmacy of choice. Grotto’s Pizza is the best local chain. La Tolteca has the best mexican.

Just to the west of that is Rich People’s country, with the DuPont Country Club and Montchanin. In between there’s a very nice state park called Brandywine Creek State Park that I recommend being within a nice distance of for relaxation.

Astra Zeneca is closing (has closed?) their pharmaceutical plant on 202 and so a lot of people will be out of work in the area; I don’t know what this means exactly about housing and jobs for you but I figured I’d let you know.

Getting anywhere from Wilmington is easy; trains run to Philly and you can get anywhere from there, so travel is fine.

It takes about 2 hours to travel the length of Delaware from top to bottom; crosswise across New Castle County and it’s about…40 minutes.

Going north into Pennsylvania from this area results in lovely attractions like Longwood Gardens and just plainly the nicest darn area I’ve ever seen around the Chadd’s Ford area. A bit far for Wilmington commuting though.

Seriously though go to Longwood Gardens. It’s amazing. Worth the trip.

Be aware that everything car related is done at the DMV; you go there for your car inspection. However, since DE is tiny they will print your new license immediately so you don’t have to wait for it in the mail. Also, the fees are low.

As to weather: humid. Gets cold in the winter but not usually below 20 more than a couple days, gets hot in the summer but not usually above 95 for more than a few days. Rains and snows rather normally. State’s pretty good about being on top of the roads in the wintertime.

16

They are? I was in their visitor center a couple weeks ago and didn’t pick up on this – should I have?

17

Looks like I had some old news, but it’s certainly not looking good. They cut over a thousand jobs at the Wilmington facility and that included most of the research department there. It was during this time that I had heard they were going to close the Wilminton facility entirely.

The new news is that part of the property is now for sale, but they’re not planning to cut any more jobs there (for now).

Well, I guess we will always have DuPont…!
Oh yes, while I’m back in the thread I forgot to mention the Charocial Pit is the burger joint of choice DrDeth. And you do know about the no sales tax but higher income tax, right? I assume people do but sometimes you never know. “The Home of Tax Free Shopping” is our real state motto (it IS on our welcome signs).

ETA: The DuPont thing reminded me, because DuPont is a huge polluter, that DE has a high rate of cancer incidence as opposed to other cities. So…yeah.

18

Cool, I love a good burger joint. If I get the job, I’ll check it out.:cool:

Yeah, actually overall De is lower than CA. No sales tax as you said, and a good portion of my rather modest retirement is tax-free. The rates seem about the same, hard to tell with brackets, etc.

19

Pass through it regularly on the way to Media PA. Been to the downtown once for a court case 20 years ago. Only thing odd is how close the power plant and industrial sector is to the downtown, gives it sort of rough dystopian feel.

20

I lived in Bellefonte DE from ages 9 to 16. The Pit was the place back then. And 495 was under construction (well, for the first time).