I saw an ad for a reasonably renovated rowhome in Darby for only $75K! This suspiciously seems to be too good to be true. The only neighborhoods that I know of that offer houses priced that low are generally the less safe neighborhoods, such as Kensington, Southwest Philly, North Philly, etc. So I am curious -- how has Darby been these days? Is it going downhill, or is it a stable area? Also, how are the taxes in that area? Just curious...thanks!

Darby is one of those places where people love to tell you how great it used to be (and I'm making the assumption you're asking about Darby borough). I have some relatives who used to live there close to the shopping strip on Main St. I remember visiting them back in the early 70's when there was still a somewhat vibrant shopping district there. I can still picture Playtown, Guy & Ed's Records and, if I remember correctly, Kresge's (now K-Mart for the under-40's). By the late 70's, most of these places were gone and in their place a ton of vacant storefronts. Middle class residents were departing every bit as quickly but that also had a lot to do with the consolidation of school districts in SE Delco that was taking place at the time. By the 80's, Main St. looked like a wasteland. I drove through there recently and it doesn't look like it's changed a whole lot since then.

That said, there are a lot of nice, older homes in Darby and the place has quite a history. There's not a lot of violent crime but it is considered a lower-income neighborhood and there is a fair amount of Section 8 housing. You're more likely to encounter the occasional domestic dispute or have your car broken into than be held up. However, the school district is terrible and the word pathetic isn't strong enough to describe their governing body. Mayor Paula Brown makes the local news frequently with her assorted colorful exploits.

If this doesn't scare you and you're not worried about schools, then yes, the housing is a bargain. Plus, it's a very convenient location with easy access to multiple forms of public transit.

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I live in Yeadon, which is right next to Darby. Taxes are quite high there actually higher than Yeadon's. There is also a 1% wage tax in Darby. Crime is an issue, but it doesn't compare to the extremely violent crime, that Phila. is dealing with. If you are thinking about moving there, I would look in the Lansdowne Park section of Darby, near BVM church and Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital. That section looks pretty decent for the most part.

Thanks for the feedback. I knew $75K in the suburbs was too good to be true.

The school districts are terrible? Ugh that is a turnoff right there, since I'm hoping to be settled down with a family within the next 5-10yrs or so. Although I'm aware that Philly school districts aren't the best either, to say the least.

The high taxes and car vandalisms doesn't sound too good either.

Thanks for the info. I think I'll continue to keep my house search to Philly, especially Northeast and the surrounding Northeast suburbs. But I have a few friends who aren't looking to (probably ever) have kids, and they're looking for a good deal on a house, so perhaps it'd be a decent area for them to look.