January 19, 2010, the new  Sussex County Profile 2010 was unveiled at a luncheon at The Brick Hotel in Georgetown, Delaware. Representatives from the Chambers of Commerce from Lewes, Milton, Georgetown, Seaford and many others joined with the Sussex County Council members and business leaders to network and celebrate the progress business is making in the county. The cover photo says it all!

I was pleased to be invited as a member of the board of the Milton Chamber of Commerce.

Read an Associated Press article today reporting that Delaware is the 22nd happiest state in the country! People in the sunny, outdoorsy states – Louisiana (#1), Hawaii, Florida, Tenessee and Arizona – say they are the happiest Americans. Delaware ranked in the middle at #22, but that topped our neighboring states with

• Maryland – #40
• Pennsylvania – #41
• New Jersey – even unhappier at #47
• New York – the unhappiest state in the country!

Other studies that rated states on criteria ranging from availability of public land to commuting time to local taxes – quality of life and happiness tend to go hand-in-hand.

That’s good news for Delaware and probably why so many people from the surrounding states are relocating to Delaware. Don’t worry, BE HAPPY … in Delaware!

Anyone that has been reading this blog or receiving our email newsletters knows that Bill and I have been avid supporters of Jack Markell. Well, today I had the pleasure of watching Jack take the oath of office and become Delaware’s 73rd Governor. I now live in a state where I know the Governor! WOW.

He is going to be an excellent Governor and Delaware will be a state in the news for so many reasons. Jack is committed to alternative energy like solar and wind. Jack is dedicated to making our schools the best in the nation. Jack is determined to foster entrepreneurship and to help businesses grow. With Jack in the state house and Joe Biden as our nation’s Vice President, you will be very glad you chose to stay or move to Delaware. Goodbye Dela-Where? Here we are, as they say in our state song, in “our Delaware”.

There will be no Inauguration Ball in Delaware this year. Instead, Governor Markell will lead a weekend of service. He launched a new website www.betterdelaware.org to inform Delawareans and encourage everyone to volunteer their time to those in need in our state. That tells a lot about the man Jack Markell.

Before Active Adult communities, what did people do when they retired? Some went fishing or discovered artistic talents and began painting. Others indulged a passion for gardening or relaxed with a good book. What’s your passion? You can find unique properties throughout Sussex County, Delaware, like the home pictured below. There are affordable homes with water views on our many ponds and rivers and this peaceful setting  just might be your vision of  the perfect lifestyle.

To take a tour of this adorable cottage on Hearns Pond, just click on the photo above. Everything has been totally redone, inside and outside.

When you begin your search for your perfect retirement home, don’t limit yourself to new communities until you’ve seen what else is available in Coastal Delaware.

If the only reason you are thinking of a move is lower taxes, think again. Over the years of raising a family and advancing careers, taxes that go up every few years are overlooked. But, as we get ready for retirement or a change in career, concern about cost of living moves up the list. All of a sudden, the idea of moving away from the neighborhood, selling the family home and relocating somewhere new, with lower TAXES, seems like a great idea. It may be, but low taxes alone are not enough of a reason.

We are talking about our life after all and there are a variety of ways to reduce our cost of living if and when we can actually retire!

Move locally. Do you love the town you live in but your house is more than you can handle? You could sell your home and buy a smaller home or even a condo in the same general area. Do you live in an area where prices have come down significantly? If you own your own home outright, you could take advantage of a good opportunity to buy now and wait to sell your own home when the market improves.

Update your existing home and make it more energy efficient. Replace old doors and windows. Replace an outdated furnace with a state-of-the-art efficient HVAC system. Replace your old water heater with a new Tankless Water Heater. Add Solar panels to your home. Install a wind turbine in your back yard. Take advantage of both federal and state tax credits and grants for your efforts and watch your monthly gas and electric bills go down.

Remodel your home and add features that will make your home more livable in the future. Find room for a first floor master suite or add on to your home to create more first floor living space. Update your master bath with a new spa bath and walk-in shower. It’s not only fabulous looking, it can be built barrier free. Convert an extra bedroom into a home office or space to pursue your new hobby or craft.

Doing small things can get you excited all over again about your home, your town and your life. If this works for you, stay where you are and send me an email saying “Thanks Kathy”. If not, give me a call and we’ll find you a new home here in Coastal Delaware.

What an Election Day in Delaware yesterday! Not only did our candidate win the Governor’s race, but Delaware’s own Joe Biden is the next Vice President of the United States! So listen up Boomers. For all your friends who say Dela-Where? when you tell them  you are moving to Delaware when you retire, you will not have to explain where Delaware is much longer. We are on the map and in the heart of the next administration. When Joe Biden comes home to Delaware he probably won’t be on the train next time, but in a helicopter with his security detail.

We back Jack Markell for Governor of Delaware, as you can see in this photo taken back in August at the Delaware State Fair. For those of you who live in Delaware and are registered to vote, we hope you will take a few minutes to visit Jack’s web site and get acquainted. This is such an important time in Delaware and in the rest of the country; we need leaders with the business experience and political acumen to take us in the right direction.

Visit Jack Markell now!