This is a post I wanted to do around New Year’s Day, which is always a good time to take stock of things we’re grateful for. But then other ideas came up, which has given me even more time to think about all of the great reasons to live and work in Delaware.
Start with your low tax bill
Our taxes are among the lowest in the nation, which is a big factor in the migration of so many new residents from states where they are much higher. Retirees who’ve lived for 20 years in a house worth about a million dollars in Lewes’ historic district might pay around $1,500 a year in city and county taxes. Purchasers of a newer home worth about the same amount in Rehoboth – one of Delaware’s most high-value zip codes will pay about $300 a month, or $3,700 a year, which is a remarkable bargain if you’re moving here from New York or New Jersey. And if you cast your net toward central or northern Delaware you’ll continue to be surprised by the affordability of your city and county taxes.
While we also have to pay transfer taxes that are typically divided between the buyer and seller, this is a one-time charge. Click here to learn some of the reasons why our taxes are so low, and how that drives our robust economy https://www.choosedelaware.com/press-releases/delaware-has-one-of-lowest-tax-burdens-in-us/.
Savor one big impact of that low tax bill – lots of new homes!
We work with a lot of people who lived in homes for many years before moving to Delaware, and many are delighted to see so many new neighborhoods where they’ll have the opportunity to select finishes and paint colors and create yards and gardens to suit their less-yard-more-leisure lifestyles. Many new neighborhoods are amenity-rich, with clubhouses for social events, pools, walking trails and tennis or pickleball courts.
Major developers and small companies and entrepreneurs who drive the development of these new communities recognize the appeal of these low taxes for both retirees and people in the thick of careers who want to save money and build equity for the future. When you’re ready to begin your search you can save a lot of time at various links at the Active Adults Web site, where you can search for neighborhoods based on your lifestyle https://www.activeadultsdelaware.com/delaware-lifestyles/, and locations from north to south https://www.activeadultsdelaware.com/neighborhood/ that are within close proximity of everything you love to do.
Pick up that active lifestyle and run with it!
If you’ve spent a little bit of time on that pickleball court you know how much fun the game is – and how quickly you can become proficient for competitive play. It’s certainly challenging, with so much back-and-forth and side-to-side movement, but the slower pace of the plastic ball compared to the often brutal velocity of a cross-court tennis forehand gives you a lot more time to react and perfect your strokes.
But that’s only one way our environment drives health and fitness. In addition to the walking trails being built into many communities, you’re never far away from state parks and other places where it’s easy to go for long strolls or brisk jaunts surrounded by beautiful sights. Ditto if you’re into biking. Our terrain tends to be flat all across the state, which gives folks at various levels of fitness lots of options for exercise that’s easy or increasingly challenging.
With so many options in the great outdoors!
Most neighborhoods around our state are close to YMCAs or fitness clubs where you can use all kinds of low resistance equipment to improve your strength and cardiovascular fitness. Many are also within an easy drive of vast parks and nature preserves where you can walk or run or bike for miles with beautiful sights around every bend. The Delaware State Park https://destateparks.com/ system offers 26,000 acres, with so many treasures, from Brandywine Creek, White Clay Creek and Lums Pond up north, to Killen’s Pond in central Delaware to Cape Henlopen and the treasures of Fenwick Island if you’re near the beach.
Best of all, these parks are protected forever through our robust network of elected and public officials and volunteers who value the environmental stewardship that keeps them pristine and safe for all kinds of activities.