Middletown : Delaware

Middletown is a small but very rapidly growing town of almost 19,000 near, as you might guess, the middle of northern Delaware. The population doubled from 2000 to 2010, many of them affluent families moving from nearby cities. While the downtown is old and in places run down, you can tell this was once a prosperous town. Some of it is being restored. But meanwhile there is tremendous growth just outside of town with huge malls and housing developments.

There are new active adult communities being built in the area (see link at top right).
This has led to fairly high (and stable) median home prices here, about $275,000 in 2012. 

The area has  a rural feel and there is a lot of new development added on to a faded town center. The result can feel and look like urban sprawl and congestion.

People who want to retire in Delaware but be away from the main population centers.  It is good for people looking for active communities.

Construction, manufacturing, and retail are important here. Unemployment is below the national average.

Middletown is located in northern Delaware and above Dover.  The average January temperature is in the low 30's and the average July temperature is in the high 70s.

There are many chain restaurants in the new shopping areas. The Olde Tyme Peach Festival is an annual tradition that attracts thousands of visitors each August. The movie the "Dead Poets Society" was filmed here at St. Andrews, a private boarding school, as well as at the Everett Theatre.