What is Marcus Hook Like ? (Philadelphia, Chester: sale, crime, houses)

[rcovph]

Can anyone give me any information on the Marcus hook area? Does it have a downtown area? How are the schools? What other towns does it share a school with? Anything would be appreciated. We are looking around this area and I stimbled across Marcus Hook but know nothing about it.
Thanks

[rainrock]

Chichester school district. Marcus Hook sits on the Delaware River and is about a mile from the Sunoco oil refineries. Its not great.

It borders Linwood,Chichester, Chester and Claymont Del. You might want to check this town out in person before making any drastic decisions.

[soulsurv]

It actually has a great deal of pollution, I would think, being so close to the refineries. It's not a place I would ever consider living.

[ApartmentNomad]

I am not that familiar with it, but I used to catch a train from Marcus Hook to center city Philadelphia, and it seemed like a pretty unpleasant place, physically dominated by oil refineries.

[rcovph]

Thank you so so much for your input. This is why this forum is so valuable.That is information I would not of had and a realtor trying to make a sale wouldn't alwaystell us. What about the garnet valley area and schools?
We are feeling if we don't go to Westchester or malvern that's about it?

[rainrock]

Garnet Valley usually ranks very highly on the state standardized testing.

Garnet Valley is a brand new area. 15 years ago it was all farmland. Today there are probably 15,000-20,000 people who live in that area. I believe the people who live in Garnet Valley have been using Marcus Hooks zip code over the years although that has changed this year. The two areas are night and day in just about every category imagineable.

I've heard a few people tell me while looking up crime info on Garnet Valley they are given Marcus Hook data. There is no crime in Garnet Valley,(rated the safest community in metro Philadlephia-by Philadelphia Magazine) its a sea of single houses with no commercial or retail businesses at all to lure people into the neighborhoods.

Maybe there was just a misunderstanding confusing GV with Marcus Hook zip codes.

[loose cannon]

Stay out of Marcus Hook and nearby Delaware County places like Darby and Eastwick. They are God Forsaken pits with gangstas and white trash factory workers with a lot of missing teeth!

[passdoubt]

Marcus Hook is a very working class town. Everybody in town worked in a factory/refinery. The town was pretty much built to house workers for those industries that once dominated the Delaware River waterfront.

Like most places with that history, it's economically depressed today. The school district isn't really that bad though. It has a number of operating businesses and a fairly pleasant (if stuck in a time warp) downtown area. If you're looking for a very affordable home, I'd look here before other places that are in the same price range. I don't think Marcus Hook is comparable with Darby or Eastwick. But if you have more money, it's not a place where many people would voluntarily move.

Garnet Valley is just suburban sprawl. Same as most other. McMansions and vinyl sided tract houses, strip malls, housing developments with the words "Reserve" "Estate" and "at" in them. Nobody's really looking at moving to Marcus Hook and Garnet Valley... Marcus Hook is 80 year old rowhouses and twins.

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by passdoubt

Garnet Valley is just suburban sprawl. Same as most other. McMansions and vinyl sided tract houses, strip malls, housing developments with the words "Reserve" "Estate" and "at" in them. Nobody's really looking at moving to Marcus Hook and Garnet Valley... Marcus Hook is 80 year old rowhouses and twins.

I have to disagree about Garnet Valley. Yes it is typical suburban sprawl, but people are moving into Garnet Valley in droves. For the past 15 years its been growing at about 40% every 5 years. Its professionals with young families moving for the quality school district and no crime.

Marcus Hook and Garnet Valley are on completely different life cycles. Marcus Hook has faded into the sunset while Garnet Valley is just starting out.

[passdoubt]

Sorry, what I meant to say was that nobody is looking at both Garnet Valley or Marcus Hook. People looking to move to Garnet Valley would never move to Marcus Hook. People looking to move to Marcus Hook either would never move to Garnet Valley or can't afford to.