Drexel Hill. What's the catch?? (Philadelphia, Darby: 2013, houses, neighborhood)

[SkyVector]

Hi all. We're moving from Texas to Philadelphia, and our home search has led us to Drexel Hill. The homes are beautiful and well within our budget. What I can't figure out, is why the homes in that part of town are priced lower than most other surrounding areas?

From research on this forum, it seems the property taxes are higher in Drexel Hill. But coming from Texas which has the highest property taxes in the nation, I'm not fazed. In fact, although the property taxes in Drexel Hill are higher than the average for Pennsylvania, they are still lower than what we pay now in the northern Dallas suburbs.

So other than property taxes, and less than average public schools...is there a catch to Drexel Hill? How nice of a place is it? We would like easy access to Center City by way of public transport plus a relatively quick drive to the airport for me. It seems like there is a trolley line in Drexel Hill that gets you into the city in about 40 minutes, and the drive to the airport is around 30. Anything else I should know about the neighborhood? Anything that I should be concerned about? Or better yet, what are all the positives and great things about living there?

Thanks for all the info!

[Flyers Girl]

The catches are what you mentioned - the high property taxes (for what you get) and less-than-stellar public high school. That said, school is what you make of it, and I know plenty of people whose children went to UD schools and did fine. There is nothing inherently wrong with Drexel Hill, though, but I would recommend staying further north (i.e., closer to Route 1). The SEPTA 101 trolley goes through Drexel Hill, but none of the DH stations have parking. While it would be beneficial to live within walking distance for this reason, the trolley is more towards the southern, less-desirable end of Drexel Hill.

[1ondoner]

Keep in mind that Texas has no State Income Tax while you will be paying 3% PA State Income Tax and at least 1% Income Tax to your local township in ADDITION to your RE tax bill.

With the new tax code, your TOTAL state and local tax deduction is capped at $10K. They don't call PA a high tax state for nothing. Welcome to the Keystone state.

Originally Posted by SkyVector

From research on this forum, it seems the property taxes are higher in Drexel Hill. But coming from Texas which has the highest property taxes in the nation, I'm not fazed. In fact, although the property taxes in Drexel Hill are higher than the average for Pennsylvania, they are still lower than what we pay now in the northern Dallas suburbs.

[SkyVector]

Originally Posted by 1ondoner

Keep in mind that Texas has no State Income Tax while you will be paying 3% PA State Income Tax and at least 1% Income Tax to your local township in ADDITION to your RE tax bill.

With the new tax code, your TOTAL state and local tax deduction is capped at $10K. They don't call PA a high tax state for nothing. Welcome to the Keystone state.

Yeah, I'm aware. Honestly taxes don't bother me. Texas more than makes up for the lack of state income tax anyway..by way of extremely high property taxes, expensive toll roads everywhere that are unavoidable, etc...

And we have little to show for all those taxes other than an ever increasing number of super fancy toll roads that link all the sprawl to one another.

[timeEd32]

NJ has the highest property taxes in the nation and it's not particularly close.

[MarketStEl]

A comment on Upper Darby's schools from a childless black gay man:

The Upper Darby School District is indeed "less than stellar," as Flyers Girl put it, but it doesn't stink either, and Upper Darby High School, thanks to the township's ethnic/racial mix, is definitely the most diverse public high school in Delaware County and quite possibly the most diverse public high school in the Philadelphia suburbs, period.

If that matters to you at all, you'd be getting yourself a bargain buying in Drexel Hill in terms of all the other attributes people look for in suburban homes.

And at least looks-wise, even the "less desirable" southern part close to the 101 and 102 trolley lines look pretty damned nice to me.

I pay attention to schools and education because I edit this section. I do, however, hold some views on public education that go against the grain of the conventional wisdom.

[chessimprov]

Drexel Hill is slightly less convenient to go to the highway and into the city, but ironically, I think that also helps it develop more of a community vibe and being family oriented. What I've read and experienced with Drexel Hill in the past, but reading what you write now helps me appreciate Drexel Hill more for it's differences. It's worth considering as a place to live.

[DXBtoFL]

The houses are old - pros and cons.

You get the quality of older houses built for an upper middle class market circa 1920s, which was a fabulous time for home construction quality.

You are also getting houses approaching 100 years old. High maintenance. Expensive upkeep. Replacing old electricity and wiring isn't cheap.

It's similar to Mount Airy in the city for these reasons. Beautiful houses but maintenance comes at a cost and not everyone can afford it, so properties start looking shabby especially when replacements are of inferior quality.

From what I can tell, younger people would rather stay inside the city and take a smaller rowhouse in places like Point Breeze or Bella Vista, while families with children are very focused on schools. Drexel Hill does not strongly appeal to either demographics, and that means houses are going cheap. The high taxes makes it even less attractive.

[Mdez]

Drexel Hill is a nice area, so you shouldn’t have safety concerns. I think the biggest reason why the houses seem to be priced lower than they should be is because of the school district- the majority of Drexel Hill is within the Upper Darby School District, which is a pretty bad school district statistically.

[JacksonPanther]

Drexel Hill appears to be majority white (by a great margin). Total population is falling, which means taxes will get worse without some innovation from leadership. Housing stock is old, but maintained.

What are the actual borders of Drexel Hill? Google drops the name right on top of the junction where the 101 and 102 split. Where is the supposedly undesirable southern DH versus the desirable North?