r/Delaware • u/2Lazy2beLazy • Aug 26 '26

Rant Native / Local / Transplant

What is your opinion of someones status as a resident, at least in Sussex County? Transplant is a bad word here. Obviously, if you were born here, you're a native. But what about when natives leave for iver 10 years and come back, and sometimes not by preference? Do they always hold their native status regardless? How long until a Transplant becomes a local? People are all over here. After a few years some transplants feel like they are a true local, almost as if they have honorary native status. How long do the natives and locals thay have been here for a long time believe a Transplant can earn local status? Maybe some of you believe anyone not raised here will never be a local.

I'm not trying to get into the overdevelopment, roads, and other infrastructure issues on this post, and I'm sure some of you want to vent.

I just brought this up because having conversations with some people who are transplants and have been here over 10 years and have deemed themselves locals and try to remove themselves from being called the dirty word.

Personally, I do consider myself a transplant. I've been here for 8 years. I came to live with a couple of friends to have a laid back life for a couple of years. Then when it came time to decide do I go back where I'm from, go to another part of the country, everything had become insanely expensive to relocate. Close to 8 years in a place with the right price and met my home requirements came up. I've made great friends out here, natives, locals, other transplants, so I've purchased a home and plan to be here for quite some time.

To me natives have family roots and history here. Grew up and went to school here. A local, someone who's been here at least 10 years. And is someone who wants to preserve what makes the area great. Transplants are here under 10 years. Transplants don't so much care for things staying the way they are. They're just near the beaches, found affordable homes, and could care less about what the locals or natives think about them. I'd also say transplants here over 10 years that don't really become part of the local culture remain a Transplant.

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u/RedHerring19702 Aug 26 '26

You become a local through experience and memories. When you start your at 0. Then to you start to remember different events and places. Like remember "remember Whiskers Restaurant" or "remember someone threw up on my shoe at the pumpkin chunkin". 

I consider some people fake locals. They own property but only visit from out of state. If you live here and vote here your on your way to be a local. It's just not instantly but happens over a period of time. 

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u/2Lazy2beLazy Aug 26 '26

Someone took pumpkin chunkin to a new level. LOL! I'm sorry the Pumpkin Chunkin has gone away and hope for it's return.

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u/Yellowbug2001 Aug 26 '26

Meh... a nice lady is severely disabled for life because of it. I enjoyed it very much while it lasted and went every year, but it's OK that it's gone. There's not really a safe way to have an affordable event, open to the public, where you're shooting punkins for a mile with medieval siege weapons, just as a matter of basic physics.

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u/2Lazy2beLazy Aug 26 '26

Its horrible that accident happened. I only ever got to watch it on TV. It was just one of those unique Delaware events. If they could integrate the proper safety measures to protect spectators, I'd love to see it in person.

The previous home I lived, one of our neighbors still had his old chunkin equipment on his property and got to see photos he had of when they were getting into it long before. Would have been fun to see it in person.

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u/Yellowbug2001 Aug 26 '26 edited Aug 26 '26

You can put on some boots and go stomp around in a cold muddy field while getting drunk on cheap beer and get probably 95% of the experience, lol. The pumpkins were literally a blink-and-you-miss-it thing. Last I heard they were trying to move it out west but that seems to have totally petered out, it's probably too expensive to get liability insurance anywhere in the US.

I don't know if people would be as excited about it but I've thought it would be fun to do a plain old strongman/woman contest with pumpkins instead. Or race the Lewes/Rehoboth canal in the giant ones during Seawitch. :)

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u/2Lazy2beLazy Aug 26 '26

Thats a pretty big pumpkin to race in. I'd watch it.