Drexel Hill -Questions (Springfield, Broomall, Lansdowne: sale, mortgage, houses)

[Sassygirl18]

We have been avoiding considering Drexel Hill as a place to relocate to because the taxes are very high there and we are looking to escape high taxes (that's why we're moving out of Cherry Hill). But in investigating Drexel Hill further, there are homes in that area that have sale prices low enough that the low price "cancels out" the high taxes and the entire mortgage payment (including taxes) would be in our price range. So now we are considering Drexel Hill. I am planning to take a drive there to investigate.

My question is...do you consider Drexel Hill a "nice" area? Are there "bad" sections of Drexel Hill (areas to avoid?). Are some sections nicer than others? Is it a safe town? Do people take care of their properties, etc.? What are the people like in Drexel Hill? Professionals? Working class? Middle class, etc.? Is it a diverse area?

BTW, no kids, so school systems are not a concern to us.

Any comments are appreciated!

[orrmobl]

Basically you want to be as far to the interior or as close to the Havertown/Broomall border as can be. I moved from the area by Lansdowne/Clifton Heights - Baltimore Pike and Burmont Rd and it is going down like the towns it borders. Basically the further in you are from Lansdowne Avenue, Garrett Rd and Burmont Rd, the better...

The nicest area is Between State Road and Township Line Rd/Route 1 - big old homes, most expensive ones in DH so the best neighbors. This is where all my middle to upper middle class friends lived when I was growing up. DH is mixed overal but is so large it is kind of broken up - the borders have more minorities living there. In the center, its the more affluent whites and foreigners. All the neighbors in the nicer sections will be great. It is a safe, clean, if older town and you should enjoy living there very much - the schools were a deal breaker for us. I will say my old neighbors in DH were great...it was the new ones moving in that convinced me to move...

Also Pilgrim Gardens has smaller homes in a development built in the 50s or so - still have great architectural details but are smaller, small lots...but feature the Haverford School District - this is the most desireable area for young families...lots of people grew up there and continue to live there, strong Catholic contingent there and in DH in general - people often refer to their parish when you ask them where they are from...

[Sassygirl18]

Thanks orrmobl for your perspective. Very helpful!

[ZenFamily]

Thanks Orrmobl. That was helpful to me as well. I am also looking closely at Drexel Hill, particularly the school district. Is there anything more you could add about the schools or raising kids there. Our children are 2.5, 4, 12 and 15.
Thanks!

[orrmobl]

Your welcome - I posted the other stuff last year...I would not send my kids to Upper Darby High School. Drexel Hill Middle School should still be a great, safe place to attend. But the high school is full of illegal city dwellers and people living on the "other side of the tracks" parts of Upper Darby. UDHS had great programs when I went there and it may still have them, but your kids may encounter some rough characters there these days.

I'd either send them to Catholic school or move to the Springfield or Haverford School District.

[ZenFamily]

Thanks so much for the good advice. Do all Drexel homes feed into the UDHS school district? The homes seem so nice there - very much our style.

[orrmobl]

Yes, all but those in the section called Pilgrim Gardens which is a DH PO but Haverford schools. They are 50's style small to mid size colonial type singles, some fairly large but many built vertically into a hillside with sloping drives, small back yards and a hilly street in front.

Nice close knit neighborhood that is a cut above DH proper. But you will pay more for the houses and they are not the old charming stone styles also found in DH.

You should also check out Havertown and maybe Springfield which would have homes more like the rest of DH and much better schools...