Before You Retire To Delaware: The Truth about our Weather

If you're dreaming of the beach life in retirement, but wondering, do I really want to deal with snow again? Then this video is for you, because today we are talking about the truth of Delaware's four seasons. Hello, everyone. I'm Jen, your Delaware realtor. If you're planning on retiring near the beaches, you have probably seen pictures of Milton or Millsboro or Lewis or Rehoboth on a bright, beautiful beach day and thought that looks absolutely perfect. And while, yes, we definitely have those days, Delaware does have four seasons and each season comes with its own rhythm perks. And yes, even some surprises. Delaware sits in a sweet spot. So we're not as hot as the Carolinas or even Florida, but we're not as cold as, say, New England. I personally love living in Delaware because I love all four seasons. Now, yes, do we get some rainy season? One hundred percent. Do we have light snowfall a lot of times in the winter? Yes. Also, that as well. Do the falls and spring sometimes feel like they don't last very long? Yes, there are some years from. I really, really, really wish that those two seasons would have lasted a little bit longer. But truly, Delaware has four seasons. So let's just jump right on into spring to begin with. So spring lasts about, I would say, March to May. It's around the 70s. We have beautiful tulips coming in. We have daffodils. You have your cherry blossoms. I mean, everything comes to life. But also in the spring, it seems like we definitely get more rain. So we definitely have a rainy season. So that whole saying about April showers brings May flowers. A hundred percent. That is true. I sometimes wonder if there are times where I've moved to Washington State because there are sometimes weeks on end where it just seems like all it did was rain. But there also are some years, for example, last October, where we actually did not record one drop of rain in the entire month of October for Delaware, which is totally not normal. But I absolutely love spring. We're right around the 70s. That is not to say that we don't drop down into the 60s sometimes, where especially if you're from Florida, you may need a life jacket because that may be cold to you. For us, it is such a nice break out of the winter months. Really, really beautiful. Everything starts to come to life. You definitely see the daffodils. You're definitely seeing the tulips. You're definitely seeing the cherry blossoms, which is Delaware's known for their cherry blossoms. It is amazing to see everything start to come to life. Also, your grass starts to be green again. And then this is where the neighborhoods really start to look vibrant. OK, so let's move on to summer. So summer is normally around June towards. I know you're probably going to think I'm going to say August, but actually into September, it seems like anymore. When I first moved to Delaware back in 2013, summer really kind of ended in August. But then as I've lived here more, I have seen that September is kind of a weird month. We could be extremely hot. We could be slightly cool. It really depends on the year, honestly. So just this past September, we had hot weather in the beginning of the month, and then towards the end is where we started to see more fall weather. So for the summer, what you can expect, you can expect it to be in the 80s. Most likely, there are times where we top over into the 90s. There are some summers where we'll hit like in the 100s. I have never seen anything above like a one hundred and three. So we're not as hot as Arizona, but we're not as cool as, say, if you live in Vermont or anything else like that. Humidity is real. It is totally real here. Yes, it is humid. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It is. There are days where you walk out and you can just feel it. You're just. But then there are also days where it doesn't feel like that. But yes, it just seems like because our Delaware State Fair is always in July. It's usually like the last week of July. You know, it's fair week because it is hot and humid. I don't know why we have the fair during that time, but we do. And you just know you're prepared that it's going to be hot and humid. This is why you always look at how many days the fair is and you pick the coolest day it's going to be. Just a little tip. With that being said, we do get those pop up thunderstorms now. We this is usually how it works, you have a beautiful beach day, and then we usually get the storm right around like five, six o'clock. If we have a cold front coming in, we are definitely going to get a thunderstorm. It just happens that way. Middletown seems to have this bubble around it where you will get it will look like a thunderstorm is coming and then it just dissipates, which I really think has to do with the peninsula that we're on. Same thing with Lewis. Honestly, you will see the storm is coming and then it just kind of dissipates. So literally hit or miss depends if the humidity is really, really high and it drops down, honestly, even five degrees. You just know you're going to get a thunderstorm. Just kind of is what it is. It passes pretty quickly, so it's not really anything to worry about. All right. Moving on to fall, which to me, fall is like Delaware's best kept secret. I love, love, love fall. It is literally my favorite time of year. The trees start to turn. We have a bunch of festivals. The weather is beautiful. So in October is when we start to see the fall like weather start to roll in. So we will in the beginning of October, if we had a mild year, we may see temperatures still really in the 70s or 80s. And then towards the end of the month, we will start to see 60s. Sometimes 50s, high 50s. But for example, I can remember last year on Halloween, it was so warm. I had to turn my AC back on. Like normally, it's like you're putting on your kids costumes and you're trying to figure out how you're going to layer them up, where their costumes still looks good. Last year, I was trying to figure out how I was going to make sure that my daughter doesn't overheat in her costume because she was a chicken and it was furry and it was warm because normally Halloween is cold. Not so much last year. So I'm curious to see what we will see this year. So just just to give you an idea, some years are very mild and some years are cold. What a lot of retirees tell me about October is that it's almost like a second summer where they'll call it local summer. So that's normally September to October. And it's because the weather is still nice where you can go enjoy a glass of wine on the patio and not get attacked by bugs. You can take a stroll in the park. You can go kayaking. You can go sit on the beach. And it's well, one, you're not dealing with tourists and you're also it's still warm enough where you can kind of go in the water or just enjoy the breeze and a nice book on the beach. All right. Let's move on to winter, which seems to be everyone's least favorite. So, yes. Does Delaware get snow? We do. Now, like four years ago, we did not get a flake of snow at all. Nothing. Not one drop of snow. And honestly, if it's going to be cold, I want some snow. I know that I am probably the minority in that. If it's going to be cold. At least give me something. I don't want to look at brown grass with trees that have no leaves on it and it just be absolutely miserable. I personally want to see some sort of snow. I'm not talking. I don't want to foot. Now, I have clients that are from Buffalo, and they told me they had 72 inches of snow or something. And it took me a second to realize that is actually taller than me. And I was, oh, my gosh, that's that's an insane amount of snow. So, no, we do not have that. I would say great about Delaware in our winters. It will snow in the morning and by the afternoon it's melted. So you don't even really have to shovel. Really, the biggest thing you have to worry about is the ice that's under the snow or that it refreezes at night. So in which case, you know, you just have to put a little bit of salt down and make sure that you are taking care of your walkways and your driveway so that you don't slip. Now, in most 55 plus communities, you have snow removal. So you don't really have to even worry about it, which is really, really nice. Especially if you park your car in your garage, you have to worry about cleaning off your car, which is really, really nice. Also in Delaware, it is a slower season. There's not really much going on. I mean, they do try and bring more business into Delaware during the winter months. You'll have Shellville, which is down in Rehoboth. It's a whole Christmas festival like village. I mean, they have ice skating. You can have dinner in an igloo or a snow globe. I love it. Like I tell all of my clients about it. Honestly, I love when they start to come, when people start to visit in the Christmas months because I send them right there. Also, we have the outlets. They're shopping Black Friday shopping. There are Christmas lights galore. I mean, you have in Dover at the racetrack. They have you can drive through with all of these lights at Delaware Park in Newark. They also have a drive through festival with light. I mean, there are so many different houses that I can tell you about that do huge Christmas displays and you can see it for miles and you can see it off of a 95. It's just I love that time of year personally. And then, yes, in January, February, is it kind of dead? Yes, it is. It's cold. There's not a lot going on. We guess we get some kind of snow. And they do try and right around Valentine's Day, I feel like is when people start to come back out of their hibernation. And we are we do start to see little things going on in town or, you know, most people like to go out to dinner during that time. But a lot of times retirees tell me it's very cozy and they hibernate a little bit, maybe have some dinner parties at home. And then as soon as March opens back up, it's like everyone's coming out of the woodworks because we are starting to get that little break of the winter where, like I said, we're starting to see this spring weather, whether it is we're just in the 50s, which if you've been living in the 30s or 40s for a little bit, especially December, January, February. Kind of nice to have a day where it's 50. Now, don't get me wrong, there are days in January where it will randomly just be 70 degrees or 75 degrees or even 60. And it's so nice because it gets you out of the staleness of your house. You open up your windows, you go outside, you get the breath of fresh air, especially since everyone seems to be sick in the winter months because we're all stuck inside. It's really nice where you do get those random days where it's just 60 degrees, 70 degrees and definitely take advantage of those and go outside. So one of the biggest advantages of having four seasons is having a different lifestyle in every single season. So like I said, retirees tell me that they love the spring, kind of love the summer, but if they're from Florida, they're used to the humidity and then they love the fall. And then the winters are just cozy. They it's only a couple of months. They know that it's going to pass and it's not unbearable. That is one thing I will say. It is not like New England. It's not like Buffalo. You're not going to have tons and tons and tons of snow where you can't get out and do anything. It's really just enjoying the moment, maybe doing puzzle during your winter months or reading a good book. That's what people tell me that they absolutely love about Delaware is the variety of their lifestyles throughout the four seasons. That is Delaware's four season. So we have quite the mixture, beautiful, manageable and just full personality. And this is why I absolutely love living in Delaware. And I think you would absolutely love retiring in Delaware. So if you are interested in any 55 plus community, there is a link down below in the description for a full list of every 55 plus community in Delaware, what the HOA fees are, what it's included in there, what the neighborhoods are like, what the neighborhoods have, whether you're looking for an amenities rich community. I would absolutely love the opportunity to help you if you are interested in a full list of all the 55 plus communities in Delaware, what the HOA fee is, what the community includes, whether or not is an amenities rich community. That is in the link down below in the description is a full guide. And if you are interested in seeing any of the 55 plus communities in person, I would absolutely love to help you schedule a visit. There is a link for my calendar where we can set up a zoom meeting or a phone call to figure out what you're looking for. And then we can fully map out your visit to Delaware. I really hope this video helped. If it did, be sure to give me a thumbs up. Be sure to subscribe to the channel and I will see on the next one. Hey, if you are thinking about retiring to Delaware, you should definitely check out this video right here. And if you would love a full playlist on all Delaware has to offer for retirees, check out this playlist right here. 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