Tell me about Wilmington, DE

[Anonymous]

I have the possibility of relocating there for work, and know basically nothing about it. Is it a nice place to live? What is the culture like? Are there good public schools? Looking for any and all opinions. I am currently a biglaw attorney and have been living in Capitol Hill for 6 years and have a toddler. We like the urban environment and love the Hill community, but I could do with less crime, a bigger yard, spending less for a crummy house, etc.

[Anonymous]

I've traveled there a few times for work. Wilmington has a fine and tidy downtown of corporate headquarters with some nice restaurants. The downtown is absolutely empty in the evenings, though. Kind of like 'Golden Triangle' area of DC ten years ago. Good for grownups with beautiful homes to go home to in the suburbs.

[Anonymous]

Thanks. OP here. I traveled there once for an interview during law school and had roughly the same impression (downtown full of corp headquarters and fancy restaurants, which totally empties outside of business hours). If anyone has a feel for what the actual areas people live in are like, that would be much appreciated as well!

[Anonymous]

It's a nice small town but agree with PP--you would want to live in the suburbs. Living in downtown Wilmington would not compare to living on Capitol Hill. I don't know much about the schools as I didn't have kids when I lived there but in terms of general safety, it's very safe and clean. And with the difference in cost of living, you could easily afford a great house and still send your kids to private school.

It is a small city so it would be a big change from DC but Philly is really close if you want that big city feel (I lived in Wilmington and commuted to Philly). Also, Newark is a great little college town and U of Delaware is a nice campus. Of course, the Delaware and Jersey beaches are about an hour away so that's a plus as well.

As long as you aren't someone who has to live in a huge metropolitan area, I think you would be happy there. The people are very nice but there isn't a lot of diversity so if that is important to you, Wilmington may not be for you!

[Anonymous]

I grew up not far from there. I have friends who still live in the area. The city itself went through a revitalization process 15ish years ago. Not really sure the outcome, honestly. Most of my friends who live up that way live in the suburbia.

Delaware itself is a nice place to live - kind of nondescript, honestly. There are malls and playgrounds and public, private and parochial schools. I know there are a couple hip neighborhoods in Wilmington proper, but the names escape me at the moment. Yes, corporate buildings, many banks headquartered there. Most of my friends who still live there work in that industry. Easy to get to Philly and Baltimore from that region, and the Delaware beaches are a quick trip as well (an hour and a half).

I don't know that I would leave DC for DE, but it is a nice area to grow up in.

[Anonymous]

I have cousins who live there and they say the public schools in Delaware overall are terrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a nice small town but agree with PP--you would want to live in the suburbs. Living in downtown Wilmington would not compare to living on Capitol Hill. I don't know much about the schools as I didn't have kids when I lived there but in terms of general safety, it's very safe and clean. And with the difference in cost of living, you could easily afford a great house and still send your kids to private school.

It is a small city so it would be a big change from DC but Philly is really close if you want that big city feel (I lived in Wilmington and commuted to Philly). Also, Newark is a great little college town and U of Delaware is a nice campus. Of course, the Delaware and Jersey beaches are about an hour away so that's a plus as well.

As long as you aren't someone who has to live in a huge metropolitan area, I think you would be happy there. The people are very nice but there isn't a lot of diversity so if that is important to you, Wilmington may not be for you!

PP here. I would imagine that if you wanted to stay in a large city, you could live in Philly and commute to Wilmington. I believe there are trains that run between the two cities. Most people do the opposite commute since living in DE is cheaper (kind of like DC and Baltimore) so I would imagine traffic coming into Wilmington from Philly wouldn't be terrible. I am just guessing though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have cousins who live there and they say the public schools in Delaware overall are terrible.

My SIL teaches in a Delaware public school and she would agree with this. She said she would never let me send my kids to her school. She is on the Delaware shore though so northern Delaware may be better. But the COL is so much lower so private school would probably be much more affordable than here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have cousins who live there and they say the public schools in Delaware overall are terrible.

My SIL teaches in a Delaware public school and she would agree with this. She said she would never let me send my kids to her school. She is on the Delaware shore though so northern Delaware may be better. But the COL is so much lower so private school would probably be much more affordable than here.

My cousins are in Wilmington--but they all send their children to parochial schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have cousins who live there and they say the public schools in Delaware overall are terrible.

To be fair, many of my friends who still live there send their kids to Catholic schools. I went to a large Catholic HS that was known for its academics, and I was living just on the other side of the line in MD when I applied there (we moved into DE just as I was starting HS). My only experience with the public HS's was through my neighborhood friends who went to the local school. At that time (early 90s), they were still bussing kids from the rough parts of Wilmington into the suburbs for integration purposes.

[Anonymous]

My inlaws live there; my husband grew up in northern DE. Parochial school, or private school, seems to really be the norm in at least my small-ish sample size of upper middle class professionals.

I kinds like northern DE - it's very different from where I grew up (very rural and poor) and where I live now (DC urban). To me, northern DE is just one vast suburb. Southern DE - the beaches - is very different, much more rural.

I think it's not a bad place to raise kids, the geography is interesting and mostly pretty, so outdoor sports are good, and of course the beach is relatively close. I think being Catholic might offer ways to fit in and make friends more easily. You could do well with a big house and nice yard. There is a lot of wealth in DE. I think if we were ever to move there, I'd worry about my kids developing suburban ennui - my husband is full of those typical suburban high school stories or drinking and partying.

We've rarely gone out in Wilmington - there are nice places, but as other shave said the city really empties out after business hours.

[Anonymous]

I don't know that you have to be Catholic to fit in. I was the poster who went to the large parochial HS - I was only "technically" Catholic (meaning I was baptized and went through communion by age 8) at the time and didn't practice at all. My parents have since declared themselves atheists and I'm agnostic-leaning atheist. Plenty of my friends who went to that school were not Catholic. You don't have to be to attend.

[Anonymous]

I grew up there and loved it. We will probably move back in the next couple of years. I know of a few attorneys who have moved back as well. Obviously a great place to practcie law. The private schools are great - big campuses, good community. The charters schools have become very popular. Housing,outside of Greenville, is much less than here. A lot fo people live over the PA line for the public schools, so you may want to explore that.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in Wilmington. It's a great place to grow up.

I went to Tower Hill PK-12th grade as the public schools aren't all that great.

That said the Odyssey Charter School is supposed to be wonderful. It's really hard to get into though.

As far as where to live, look at 19806, 19807 and Hockessin which is 19707.

The other thing you could do is move to Kennet Square PA and do the Unionville/Chadds Ford schools which are excellent.

Good luck!! I'll check back on the thread to see if you have more questions.

[Anonymous]

The Wilmington area has really good private schools, like Wilmington Friends. It's a comfortable place to grow up, but yes, you need to be okay living in the suburbs.