Moving to Wilmington for work, where to live for singles? (Newark: apartments, rental)

[80srockstillrules]

Hey all,

I'm moving from NY to Wilmington for work next month. I'm in my late twenties, male and single. I did some research on the city-data and found these places suitable for singles but need your inputs -

Trolley Square: Everyone say it is good for Wilmington but considering it is a very small area, and outside of it is pretty bad, do you recommend living here or in PA?
Newark: as I come to know, it is good bustling university area but then has problem of mugging/thefts happening in broad daylights from cars etc. Can anyone verify this? Do I need to discard this?

PA: West Chester: read reviews that there are some areas in West chester which are horribly bad, can you suggest me directions/areas which I should avoid and which I should look at?
PA: Media: some people have stated it is good place, but mostly for couples and with kids. But then some say good for singles looking to bars/restaurants and meet people. Which one's correct? Is it better than West Chester for a single 20s guy?

I'm looking for a studio/1 BR upto max $1k. I am looking for some kind of place which has low crime rate (especially seeing wilmington statistics I m concerned!), has party places, some nightlife, places to eat around, get groceries and fitness clubs to go to. Need to buy a car, but open to safe public transportation routes and commute up to 30-40 mins.

Any other area/cities/suburbs that anyone can refer me to?

Much appreciate your help and comments!

[Pocopsonite]

There is NO place in WEST Chester that is "horribly bad." You are probably confusing Chester, a blighted city located in Delaware County, PA, with West Chester, the county seat of Chester County, PA. They are 15 miles apart geographically and a gazillion miles apart aesthetically and culturally.

West Chester is a college town, but the University has less overall influence on the town than is the case in Newark. Because it's the county seat, West Chester has some very nice retail and restaurant establishments that serve the population of lawyers and associated professionals. There's also a major regional hospital, recently acquired by University of Pennsylvania.

Trolley Square would be fine, if you have some street smarts, especially because you're working in Wilmington. You could also consider apartments and rental condos down by the Riverfront if your job is in that part of town.

I don't know a thing about rental rates, or the singles life, so I'm not going to try to address those. Have you also posted in the Philadelphia forum for opinions about Media and West Chester?

Just so you're aware ('cause I'm not sure this is true in NYC): When you see that an apartment is in West Chester or Newark or Wilmington, that does not necessarily mean it's in the town limits. The West Chester mailing address encompasses a huge area -- it takes 45 minutes to drive from the southern part to the northern part, with the town -- just a few square miles -- kindof in the center.

So get to know the ZIP code maps for the area you're exploring. Do not assume that a West Chester address will put you in walking distance of all that the town has to offer. Wilmington does have a terrible crime rate, and Trolley Square IS in the city, but there are many, many lovely, completely safe areas with a Wilmington address that are not in the city limits and have absolutely no worries about crime.

[Mike Selvaggio]

Lived in Wilmington and worked here all my life. I would vote for Trolley area for convenience and definitely young lifestyle. Parks around, dog friendly, outside night life.
If your prefer the pedestrian and get to know others experience, this would be a great choice.

[80srockstillrules]

Thanks Pocopsonite and Mike. On the West chester thing, thanks but I didn't mistake it for chester. People in one of the post said that in West Chester, North and West up from the church has pretty bad crime rate. But anyway, that's just one view. need to do due diligence there.

I didn't know about the zip codes, will do that research and also post in Philadelphia forum to get views on Media and West Chester. Appreciate your help.

Is there any other area in Wilmington / PA which I could look into?

[Mimidae]

"Newark: as I come to know, it is good bustling university area but then has problem of mugging/thefts happening in broad daylights from cars etc. Can anyone verify this? Do I need to discard this?"

Yes, you need to discard this. It's really minimal, but in a town with not a lot of crime, it's made a big deal of if someone is mugged a few times a year. It's as safe as any town in PA. It's just not a very exciting town once you've been to every bar on Main street a few times.

Even the crime around Trolley Square is over-rated. If you're not buying drugs, you're fine. My grandmother lived a block away from one of the "bad areas" for 60 years. In that time, she had her house broken into once in the 1970s, she had the side wall of her house 'tagged' once in the 2000s, and had her car stolen once. In a 60 year period, living outside of an alleged bad neighborhood, that's not bad. I have other friends who similarly live very close to bad sections that have not experienced any crime yet. The crime is almost exclusively within the drug community. Which doesn't make it any less tragic, but it's not something the majority of Wilmingtonians are affected by.

I myself have worked in downtown Wilmington for the past 7 years, and I park many blocks away in all directions just to save money on parking. I've never experienced any crime or threats of crime. And I sometimes come in to work or leave work at really odd hours. Twice an older white guy tried to panhandle on one of my long walks to my car. That's it.

Not to say that there's not crime ever, but if you take away the drug-related stats, Wilmington is really as safe as any other small city.

I should add that I've lived in Philadelphia and Baltimore, so I have a higher sense of ease in cities. Certainly I've experienced more threatening situations in either of those cities, both of which I love and recommend.

[Mimidae]

Also consider Brandywine Village, Cool Springs - both just a little east of Trolley Square and walking distance to downtown.

North Wilmington is very safe and has the gyms, restaurants, shopping...not SO much the nightlife. There are a couple of good brewpubs there now - Two Stones and Ulysses. The town of Arden has several good cultural events throughout the year. And it's an easy drive to both downtown Wilmington, West Chester, Newark or Philly for when you do want nightlife. Just stay west of the I-95 dividing line in North Wilmington, although apartments are cheaper east of there. Not that Claymont is bad...it's just, eh, a little more run down, so in your case it's not worth it when you have your choice.

[80srockstillrules]

That's great! thanks, yeah I don't do drugs but take your point. Brandywine Village and Cool Springs I heard are for people with kids but can definitely go visit and see if the vibe makes sense. Town of Arden is something new! thanks. need to look into it.