I find this complaint strange. As I recall, Newark was overdeveloped even back in the '80s. After being away from Delaware since the '90s and recently returning, I find the overdeveloped areas are still overdeveloped and the serene areas still serene. Newark is a college town, which tend to be developed and growing, as do downtown areas. It's where the most people live or work, so, makes sense they would build housing, restaurants and stores to supply the demand. In CA people would complain about the overpopulation of Starbucks. I spoke to a manager there and he informed me that Starbucks does not make the decision to expand, the people do. When a store becomes overwhelmed with customers to the point that customer service declines, they open a nearby chain. The customers get sick of the line at the one store and flock to the new one creating balance. Now, because people in Southern California are so sick of Starbucks over-development that they created, a lot of indie coffee shops are popping up. There were tons of indie coffee shops before Starbucks which most closed down after the initial excitement of Starbucks. Kind of like how Blockbuster killed the mom and pop video store and the then indie Netflix and Blockbuster high prices, killed Blockbuster. People build for demand. In the '80s most people worked for DuPont, Hercules, and chemical companies. Now it's the banks and pharmaceuticals in Northern DE. On the verge of a recession, everyone was downsizing all over the country. Delaware is below the national average in unemployment and has always had a strong, thriving economy. Just because the industry changed, as things do most places, doesn't mean it's heading in the wrong way. I would hardly consider Downtown crumbling but more needs a facelift, which they've already started on. Downtown Los Angeles once looked like an apocalyptic zone but now it's one of the coolest places to find a loft apartment, or go to a bar or restaurant. There is still a seedy element but things don't change overnight. Downtown Wilmington has typically been more of the poor part, so, what do you expect? Washington DC used to be the crime capitol and a dump and now it's thriving and hip. I got a great public education in DE and a great childhood. I would raise kids there. Unless there is some big industry boom, DE can only expand so much. It's not like it's NYC or Philly. I haven't lived there in 25 years and I find where I grew up almost unchanged. There are a few more stores, a few more houses, but nothing major. Coincidentally, I looked at an 100-yr-old farmhouse on the Newark/Hockessin border, a few weeks ago, and it was a beautiful area. There is some suburb development there, old and new, and there is a small strip mall a few miles away, but there are still plenty of twisty, winding country roads and farms. There are plenty of beautiful places in DE, plenty of which they can't develop anymore. It seems like an easy solution to go there, or, if that's not affordable, move to one of the numerous small, cute towns on the East Coast. Everyone I know from Delaware love it.
Abhd | Austin, TX | Report Abuse