Purchasing in Park Ridge : Country Club vs. Olde Park Ridge area? (Niles: houses, neighborhoods)

[chicagolove]

We are moving from the city to the suburbs, and we have narrowed it down to Park Ridge. My husband and I both work and commute north to Deerfield/Lincolnshire, and we have two very young kids. We have walked around the downtown area several times, and have done a lot of research online. We like a few houses in the country club area, and a few in the Olde Park Ridge area. We want to be an easy walk to the Park Ridge train station. Can anyone speak to the differences between these two neighborhoods or point out things we may not be considering?

This is what we've come up with:

"Pros" for the country club area include a marginally better commute, less airplane noise.

"Pros" for the Old Park Ridge area include being closer to the Community Center and Centennial Park.

Both Field and Roosevelt look to be great elementary schools, and would both feed into Maine South. In terms of our lifestyle, we are the types to actually take advantage of a walk to everything location on the weekends. I also anticipate our kids being involved in sports throughout their childhoods.

We really want to find the perfect fit. We'd love to spend under $600k, but could actually afford quite a bit more than that and will spend more to get our dream house.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[chet everett]

If your "real" budget is somewhere way above $600K i probably makes sense to look at stuff closer to the CC, but othewise your money will go probably go farther clooser to Roosevelt, some folks like the option of using the Edison Park train station too...

[middle-aged mom]

Why not let the house/property/value be your guide?

[chicagolove]

Thanks for your responses.

I guess we're just trying to determine if one neighborhood will be a better fit for us than the other. Maybe I didn't ask my question clearly enough, but are there positives or negatives to either neighborhood that I haven't mentioned, or as an outsider, would be unlikely to know?

[chisub]

We are honing in on Park Ridge as well and it is so hard to know the feel of an area as an outsider just driving through or hanging out for a couple hours on a weekend. Do you want to be near the train to go into the city on the weekends? I like both those areas and the train is just a perk, but I'm sure you realize it won't take you to work. Sorry if that's an obvious fact that you've considered already, but you can definitely get more bang for your buck if you are on the edge of those neighborhoods, but not exactly a quick walk to the train.

Anyways, I'm hoping you get some answers from people that live in the area or know it well!

[chicagolove]

Thanks, Chisub! Yes, we won't be commuting on the train, but want to be near it for getting into the city and in case one of us ends up working downtown in the future. Also, would be good for resale if we ever have to move.

[chisub]

I just saw a great house that was listed around 550k, but went Contingent by the time I logged back in that evening so we aren't even able to look at it (3 days on the market). We also have two young ones (1 and 3), so I'm starting the preschool search now and I know there is a preschool fair at the library in January if you are interested.

[chicagolove]

Yes, we saw that one too! The well-priced homes seem to be moving very, very quickly. We've been casually looking online for about a year or so (won't be able to move till summer probably but want to keep an eye on things) and I've noticed that happening 3 or 4 times. Thanks for the tip on the preschool fair. Our kids are 26 months and 4 months right now so we have a little time yet, but I may check it out. Good luck to you in your home search!

[ACM79]

I moved to the "County Club neighborhood" (close to the Niles border, just south of Oakton) this past summer and have been very happy so far. It's quiet and obviously not as close to the train station or Centennial Park but the air traffic noise doesn't seem bad at all. In general I liked more of the housing stock south of Touhy but we excluded this area in our search based on the anticipated increase in air traffic over southern Park Ridge due to the upcoming O'Hare expansion. So far noise has not been an issue at all for us in our current location. We have two little kids and have loved Field School so far as well.

I would spend some time specifically walking around the houses you are considering to listen for the airplane noise, and review the documents posted on this forum about the effect of O'Hare runway expansion on future noise levels in various sections of Park Ridge. Overall it is a great community and we're very happy to be here.

[Bob From Elm]

There are a lot of pluses for both areas, C-love. The Country Club does have a lot of very, very nice homes. Olde Park Ridge has a real cozy type feel with it's winding streets and some odd sized lots. And yes if you are close to Belle Plaine your going to have to turn up the T.V. a few times a night but you get used to it.

I've been selling homes in Park Ridge at Elm for a long time, selling many homes in both areas. I think it really does come down to your individual wants and needs.
Good Luck, it's a great community! You will love it.