Is Southern Delaware the New Florida for Retirees?

You could say that I'm disloyal to my home state of New Jersey. But I'm not the only one. Many retired folks from New Jersey are moving to Delaware. Retirees are still moving to Florida but Delaware is a hidden gem. It's close to the New York metropolitan area and proximate enough for relatives to drive to.

I am intimately familiar with the state of Delaware because back in 2007, my mother in law and father in law moved to Delaware to escape the high taxes and inflated cost of living in New Jersey. They sold their home in New Jersey, where they lived for 40 years. They were able to purchase a brand new home in a community built by Ryan and NV Homes and now live ten minutes from the Delaware beaches.

Since we spend so much time visiting my in laws in Delaware, I have met many of the homeowners in their community. None of the other community members who I have met so far are actually from Delaware. They are from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York and New Jersey. This informal poll paints an interesting picture that demonstrates how Delaware has become the new Florida for retirees.

The main reason Northeasterners are flocking to Delaware is the low or practically non-existent homeowner taxes. My in laws' tax bill is $100 for the entire year. Their tax bill in New Jersey topped $9000 in the year that they moved!

With the advantageous homeowner taxes and affordable real estate being the main reason for retirees moving to Delaware, there are many secondary benefits as well. Delaware has three counties, which run from north to south, along the Route 1 corridor. The southernmost county, Sussex, is where the beautiful Delaware beaches are located (and where my in laws live).

The abundance of beaches, the presence of beautiful Cape Henlopen State Park and the Delaware Bay provide many opportunities for outdoor recreation. And did I mention that the admission to the beaches is free? The State Park charges $4 per car for in state residents and $8 per car for out of state visitors? Most popular New Jersey beaches are not free. You must pay a hefty fee on a daily basis to use our beaches.

Another lucrative benefit of living in Delaware is that they have no state sales tax. In New Jersey, we are also exempt from sales tax on clothing. But there are taxes on everything else such as non-food grocery items, electronics, home furnishings and restaurant food bills. In Delaware, all of these types of items are exempt from state taxes.

Retirees enjoy a slower pace of life in southern Delaware. This is especially apparent to people who have moved from such frantic, high-stress places as New York and New Jersey. The people seem to be in less of a hurry and more relaxed.

The reasons why southern Delaware is more appealing to retirees, other than working families with school age children is two-fold. There is a lack of high-paying corporate jobs in this part of the state. Most of the financial and banking jobs career opportunities are located in Wilmington, Delaware, in the northern part of the state.

The other reason that southern Delaware is not ideal for families is the mediocrity of the public school system, compared with the other states in the northeast. According to the website www.statestats.com, the state rankings of overall public education ranked New Jersey number 4 and Delaware number 26, for the 2006-2007 school year. In the same study, New York ranked #16, Maryland ranked #18 and Pennsylvania ranked #10.

If southern Delaware becomes the new retiree haven as predicted, I wouldn't be surprised to see the taxes and real estate values increase. However, I don't think they will rise to the exorbitant levels we see in the other parts of the Northeast. Delaware is a great spot to retire, and I'm sure the area will rise in status as a premier retirement resort area.