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I live about an hour and a half away from Wilmington and love going there. They have so much to offer. As far a living goes a former client of mine suggested living in Hampstead over Wilmington. It is cheaper and a bit quieter and only a short drive into Wilmington.
I am looking to move to Wilmington and I saw your post of suggestion of Hampstead instead of Wilmington. Unless i just could find any, the houses seem to be all built by developers. I did not see older homes with any character like Wilmington has. I only saw garage homes with plastic siding. Is there a historic area there and I just missed it.
I am looking to move to Wilmington and I saw your post of suggestion of Hampstead instead of Wilmington. Unless i just could find any, the houses seem to be all built by developers. I did not see older homes with any character like Wilmington has. I only saw garage homes with plastic siding. Is there a historic area there and I just missed it.
There's this house, but I don't think it's for sale:
Hampstead is an unincorporated community. As such, there is "historic area". It's not that kind of place. I'm sure there are some random older houses here and there, but overall, it's a suburban area that's been primarily developed in the past 20 years or so.
Hi I am a 61 year old young horse, bicycle and kayak person..Single and no family.
Would I enjoy this area..?
Most of Wilmington will have no room to put a horse. However, if you lived 20-30 miles outside of Wilmington, you will find farmland. There are plenty of places to bicycle and kayak, however.
It will probably be tough finding a job in Wilmington, and you should not expect it to pay well. I think you might enjoy the Wilmington area better when you can fully retire.
For another realistic option look into Currituck and Camden County, which are both rural areas near the Outer Banks. The are close enough to the Hampton Roads area of Virginia that it might be possible to find a job in Virginia.
Hampstead is an unincorporated community. As such, there is "historic area". It's not that kind of place. I'm sure there are some random older houses here and there, but overall, it's a suburban area that's been primarily developed in the past 20 years or so.
Most of Wilmington will have no room to put a horse.
Let me modify that statement. There is the Whitebridge community in Hampstead that sells lots large enough to keep a horse on, and there are similar areas with large lots in Rocky Point. They are primarily places where you have to build your own house. IDK if you would want that or find it affordable.
I was hoping someone might clarify what "crime" is in Wilmington. is it random violent crime? Is it drug related crime? Is it concentrated crime? Is it theft and break ins?
I ask because I currently reside in a mid sized city in Upstate New York. My city is rated as the #1 city in America that is poverty stricken. Our crime is on par with Detroit, Chicago, and our big sister to the south - NYC. I am in Healthcare and it's common to see multiple gunshot wound victims, multiple stabbing victims in a week. Most of our crime is gang and drug related violence. There are always risk of theft and break ins.
My career and employer offers me the flexibility to relocate wherever there is a job opening and I have my sights set on Wilmington. I did a 4 night stay recently and loved quaint "downtown" Wilmington. The vibe of Wilmington is relaxed, pet friendly, and warm - at least those are the vibes I got. We wandered into a bar downtown one night and had a blast talking with locals. The drinks were cheap and we definitely drank more than we should have. We walked back to our hotel - a few blocks - and I never felt unsafe. I was impressed with the price of parking..$3 for 6 hours in a garage - I questioned the gate keeper - I actually felt guilty only paying $3 for parking! Here in NY, that would have cost $12-15.
Any insight on this "crime" situation would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!!
I was hoping someone might clarify what "crime" is in Wilmington. is it random violent crime? Is it drug related crime? Is it concentrated crime? Is it theft and break ins?
I ask because I currently reside in a mid sized city in Upstate New York. My city is rated as the #1 city in America that is poverty stricken. Our crime is on par with Detroit, Chicago, and our big sister to the south - NYC. I am in Healthcare and it's common to see multiple gunshot wound victims, multiple stabbing victims in a week. Most of our crime is gang and drug related violence. There are always risk of theft and break ins.
My career and employer offers me the flexibility to relocate wherever there is a job opening and I have my sights set on Wilmington. I did a 4 night stay recently and loved quaint "downtown" Wilmington. The vibe of Wilmington is relaxed, pet friendly, and warm - at least those are the vibes I got. We wandered into a bar downtown one night and had a blast talking with locals. The drinks were cheap and we definitely drank more than we should have. We walked back to our hotel - a few blocks - and I never felt unsafe. I was impressed with the price of parking..$3 for 6 hours in a garage - I questioned the gate keeper - I actually felt guilty only paying $3 for parking! Here in NY, that would have cost $12-15.
Any insight on this "crime" situation would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!!
I know what you are talking about, but is not what it is. It is in regards to concentrated poverty, which means that poor people of a certain background are concentrated into certain parts of a city/area that is also a high poverty neighborhood.
Also, the crime is not on par with any of those cities.
I was hoping someone might clarify what "crime" is in Wilmington. is it random violent crime? Is it drug related crime? Is it concentrated crime? Is it theft and break ins?
I ask because I currently reside in a mid sized city in Upstate New York. My city is rated as the #1 city in America that is poverty stricken. Our crime is on par with Detroit, Chicago, and our big sister to the south - NYC. I am in Healthcare and it's common to see multiple gunshot wound victims, multiple stabbing victims in a week. Most of our crime is gang and drug related violence. There are always risk of theft and break ins.
My career and employer offers me the flexibility to relocate wherever there is a job opening and I have my sights set on Wilmington. I did a 4 night stay recently and loved quaint "downtown" Wilmington. The vibe of Wilmington is relaxed, pet friendly, and warm - at least those are the vibes I got. We wandered into a bar downtown one night and had a blast talking with locals. The drinks were cheap and we definitely drank more than we should have. We walked back to our hotel - a few blocks - and I never felt unsafe. I was impressed with the price of parking..$3 for 6 hours in a garage - I questioned the gate keeper - I actually felt guilty only paying $3 for parking! Here in NY, that would have cost $12-15.
Any insight on this "crime" situation would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!!
Actually, NYC has a very low crime rate...lower than virtually any city in NC, for example.
Wilmington's crime rate is 65% higher than New York's. That said, most crime in Wilmington is not random...its drug and gang related, combined with intoxicated college students and tourists doing dumb things, and off season break-ins targeting vacation homes.
Here's some existing threads that might be of interest:
As a long time Wilmington resident, I can say this with certainty.
Do not let crime statistics deter you from moving to Wilmington.
Wilmington is city, a diverse city. It has million dollar neighborhoods, it has public housing. It has retirement type housing it has student apartments, it has a large historic district...it has just about every type of neighborhood you could think of.
Some of those areas have crime. The crime stats reflect that and the fact that Wilmington has less actual residents than it supports. For instance, when a criminal that lives in Leland commits a crime, it is across the bridge in Wilmington. When two military guys get in a fight downtown and one stabs the other, it happens in downtown Wilmington. When a college kid gets a DUI on his way back from Wrightsville Beach, it happens in Wilmington and many times is an out of town college kid visiting. Stuff happens in a real city. If you want to live in a retirement village with low crime inside of a gate, then you aren't living in a real living, breathing city.
And in my opinion, considering the amount of people that have moved to Wilmington and the surrounding area, I think the crime has actually gotten better in the past few decades. I think its was worse before and has been more marginalized now.
What is the general sense of Wilmington today? I made a brief visit a year ago, and it is difficult for me to square the early comments on this thread (obviously years old) with what we experienced. (But as I mentioned, my visit was very short). For example, there is some mentions of aggressive panhandling, and we didn't see anything like that. Rather, it seemed like a pretty cool, safe, smaller city. Loved the architecture, and the proximity to the beach. Couldn't really tell locals v tourists as an outsider, but walking/dining downtown, most people seemed friendly and relaxed. (Not sure of the board etiquette re whether it is better to start a whole new thread, or if it is ok to revive an already existing thread on the same topic).
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