Retirees Flock To Delaware - Information for Buying and Selling Real Estate in Rehoboth Beach Delaware

For Frank J. Mirenzi, the "where-to-retire" question was a snap. Delaware had lower taxes than Bowie, Md., and it had a great beach area. So he and his wife moved to Rehoboth Beach about three years ago.

"I have no regrets whatsoever," he said Thursday. "I like it even when the traffic's jammed - like it was yesterday."

Mirenzi is one of thousands of retirees who have moved to Delaware over the past decade - helping to secure the state's spot as an attractive retirement destination.

Census Bureau figures released Wednesday show that Delaware is No. 5 in the nation when it comes to drawing residents 65 and older. Based on figures derived from Census 2000, bureau researchers said about 2,679 more seniors moved into Delaware between 1995 and 2000 than moved out, giving the state a rate of 24.9 new senior citizens for every 1,000 residents overall.

Nevada was No. 1 by far, with Arizona, Florida and South Carolina above Delaware.

"It's largely the Sussex County effect," said Ed Ratledge, director of the Center for Applied Demography and Survey Research at the University of Delaware. "I would say 100 percent of their growth is driven by migration. And when people move down there, you also create a demand for other services - plumbers, retail, whatever. Others move in as a result."

In overall terms, Delaware ranked 11th nationally in rate of growth by relocation - with about 17,383 more people moving in than moved out. Nevada led the nation on that list, too. The numbers do not include people moving to the United States from other countries.

By contrast, Delaware's neighbors - Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey - all lost more people than moved in, both overall and in senior groups.

When the Census Bureau looked at state-to-state relocation, it found that Delawareans who moved out chose Pennsylvania more than any other state. And the No. 1 state people left for Delaware was Pennsylvania - a trend among adjacent states that was seen nationwide for the most part.

Nationally, though, the biggest state-to-state relocation was seen in the 300,000 people who moved from New York to Florida.

Census officials track the relocation of seniors in part because of the potential impact on communities, such as Sussex.

"That's one thing the Health Care Commission has been looking at for quite a while - the adequacy of primary care physicians in the area," Ratledge said.

Ratledge said many move to Delaware from more urban areas, too, and expect a level of service that might not be in place.

Mirenzi sees some need for improvement in Sussex County.

"It's slower, lower Delaware," he said. "We need more police. We need more people supervising construction. … It's like the wide-open range. And some roads need major upgrading."

But still, he said, it's a great place to retire. About 60 percent of his neighbors in the Villages of Old Landing are retirees who moved from somewhere else, said Mirenzi, who is treasurer for the residents' board of directors.

"I would say for price of housing, taxes and the beach - they'd all be 10s," he said.

And the summertime traffic in Rehoboth?

"I'm used to Washington, D.C., traffic," he said. "This is nothing."

Reach Beth Miller at 324-2784 or bmiller@delawareonline.com.

Graphic: Population change among 65 and older

Relocation of residents by county

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