relocating to Wilmington

Hi,

My son will be graduating in May and has accepted a position with a law firm in Wilmington. We will be in the area around March 19th to look for places to live. We don%26#39;t have a clue as to where to start to look. He is single and would be looking for an apartment or townhouse. Does any one have any suggestions as to where to start to look? Are there areas that should be ';avoided';? How is your rush hour traffic? -any information you can pass along would be appreciated. Thanks.

relocating to Wilmington

Go to www.city-data.com and you will find all the help you need.

Paul

relocating to Wilmington

Hi,

I am a Newark, Delaware resident, native, born in Wilmington....and can give you some recommendations if it%26#39;s not too late.

Here%26#39;s a good article:

www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article鈥?/a>

Downtown Wilmington has a few new condo residences, there is ';City Center'; in the Nemours Bldg at 10th %26amp; Orange, very nice ...and Expensive.

There are also some brand new condo buildings being built on the Christina River, one tower is already up, I think they rent and also sell condos. Also there is a brand new townhome development on the riverfront....the area is in the midst of being revitalized, and borders on some bad areas, but all that will be going away in the next year or so. Good investment opportunity.

Also ';The Residences';, on Market %26amp; 9th street, this website has all 3 areas: http://www.theresidences.net/, very upscale (and expensive probably)

The Trolley Square area in Wilmington is very hip and close to downtown, where your son probably will be working (?). Lots of apartments, and some condo buildings, and many great townhomes in the area. Best areas are between Pennsylvania Ave to Shallcross Ave, north of Van Buren Streets. Areas to avoid : Van Buren St north to Broom between Pennsylvania Ave west to 4th street - thats a bad area. East of Pennsylvania Ave is very nice. Also nice is Rodney St north to Union and 10th to Pennsylvania Ave. But it%26#39;s hit or miss. The bad area seems to be from 8th street west over to Chestnut, and north -south from Jackson up to Broom.

There are also some new residences going up in the ';Ships Tavern'; area, which is near the train station, Martin Luther King Blvd, %26amp; Between King %26amp; Market streets. There are apartments being rented there. Up %26amp; coming area, many being renovated there.

Traffic coming into Wilmington on I-95, rts 48 (lancaster ave), rt. 13 is very heavy at rush hour. Trolley square area is within walking distance.

The Pike Creek area, outside of Wilmington (about 30-40 min west) is very nice...and expensive. There are some beautiful condo %26amp; townhome, and single family homes there. Dealing with the rush hour traffic coming to Wilmington from there would be a pain in my eyes though.....but it depends on the person i guess.

Feel free to email me if you have any more questions.....

MIke

try www.delawareonline.com, also www.apartment.com.

Look in NEwark, Bear, New Castle, Middletown (a little further out) Wilmington. Good luck!

Hi!

I was born and raised just outside of Wilmington near the Christiana Mall area, and from 25 to 32 I lived in Pike Creek. Mike gave you a very informative reply. There are areas in the city proper that are experiencing a %26#39;rebirth;%26#39; gorgeous architecture, good planning, etc. However, a lot of those places aren%26#39;t quite there yet. I don%26#39;t care what anyone says, I don%26#39;t want to be near the train station/ bus station once it gets dark... not yet anyway; things are changing though, and I moved to Georgia 1 1/2 years ago (a lot can change). Just ask the realtor a LOT of questions.

Trolley square IS great. Lots to do, lots of young people, easy access to the downtown area. A real vibrant neighborhood feel. No real commute issues. But you pay for it. I had a lot of friends out of college that lived around St. Anthony%26#39;s and that was a nice area too.

Bear and especially Middletown are a longish commute. There%26#39;s lots of housing going up very quick, very %26#39;family%26#39; centric, but probably not what he%26#39;s looking for at this point in his life. Property is new, which is great in DE because there%26#39;s only so many new developments (most areas outside the city are already developed with ranches and split levels from the 70%26#39;s... and hey, DE is only so big). However, they are putting in SO much, sometimes they%26#39;re right on top of each other, and don%26#39;t always hold their value. Just my opinion and a general observation. I have friends there who LOVE it.

A good investment is Pike Creek. It is also a bit more family oriented, but the property value is great there and there will be a good return on any investment (also, with close access to the Newark area, there%26#39;s a lot to do, but you%26#39;re not stuck in the middle of a college town). I lived near Goldey Beacom College and worked at Wilmington Hospital, took me 30 to 35 minutes to get there at 3pm, and about 26 min. when I had to be there by 7am.

I used to think that I-95 and Rte 202 were nightmares. If you weren%26#39;t headed to where you were going by 3:30pm, you might as well wait until 6 to leave... but then I moved to Atlanta... Wilmington got better looking real quick. One good thing I can say about Delaware is that there are a lot of little short cuts, once you learn them, you%26#39;re gold.

There are a lot of great areas just over the PA line too. Chadds Ford and Kennett Square are pricey but wonderful.

Northern Delaware is a really great area. I miss it a lot. Easy access to the beach is of course great. But you%26#39;re also close to Philly, Baltimore, D.C., and NYC. It%26#39;s great to drive into Trenton, and take the New Jersey Path train up to NYC for $14 round trip and not have to worry about your car. AGH! I miss Delaware! I hope he enjoys it!

Suzanne

Hi,

I am a Wilmington native and a lawyer at a firm in Wilmington. I would strongly recommend Trolley Square for your son. It%26#39;s more expensive but it%26#39;s where a majority of the young associates and some paralegals live (other than in the Residences in downtown Wilmington, although many have moved out of there because of rent increases). Depending on where he ended up in Trolley Square, he would be able to walk to work. However, most associates end up driving because of the hours they work. Some people do find townhomes or apartments in Pike Creek or around the Christiana Mall area, but find that it puts them a bit farther from their co-workers and friends than they%26#39;d like.

As others have pointed out, the rush hour traffic coming from the south into the city (anything up 95) is bad, but the traffic coming into the city from Rt. 52/Penn. Ave or Rt. 202 is not bad.

There is also an apartment complext on Rt. 52 near the intersection of 52 and 141 that he may want to consider. It%26#39;s popular with young professionals working in the city as well.

P.S.- Warn him: Newport and Elsmere are speed traps.

We run an Insurance Agency in the Trolley Square shopping center. This area (19806) is often a first residence in Wilmington. We see young professionals like your son all the time. The nightlife is in walking distance, which can be a huge saftey factor with young people. I also recommend that for his car insurance, if he lower his Comprehensive deductible to ZERO. Glass and vandalism claims do not make rates go up, and are historically higher with the on-street parking and proximity to clubs. Also, being new to the area he may not know right away where to avoid.

In the past 20 years, almost all the new construction development went south and west of Wilmington, the farms became tract houses and the roads were not improved to handle. Most of the city is old, but nice for the most part. North Wilmington is more developments, but 30-50 years old.

Traffic is bad at AM rush and on I-95 South from 3-6PM.

I love the post about Newport and Elsmere being speed traps, the other poster is exactly right!!

Congrats on your son%26#39;s success!

I disagree with Tommygurl%26#39;s suggestions. For a single guy working at a law office in Wilimington the suggestions made by MikeNewarkDE and GA-Suzy are good advice. Most of New Castle is a dump (except for the Old New Castle near the Delaware River), Middletown is too far of a commute (not a place for a single person) and some areas of Bear are on par with New Castle.

my daughter and her fiance are considering accepting positions in the wilmington area. both have lived in the midwest all their lives. they have 2 large dogs and a cat, so are more interested in rental houses. where is a good area for them to look? also, what are the main differences they are going to notice between mid-missouri and delaware?

I will be relocating to Wilmington from Chicago in July. I really appreciate all the information posted already about neighborhoods!

What is the new apartment building at Christina Landing like? I know it%26#39;s expensive, but how is the area? I%26#39;m single, 27, and don%26#39;t know people out there so I don%26#39;t want to be too isolated, but I also want a comfortable place to come home to.