Parkridge IL (Chicago, Des Plaines, Park Ridge: apartments, rental, townhouse)

[sara le]

My family and I need to move to Chicago for 3 yrs for work related reasons. My husbands worksite will be in Parkridge. I have two elem aged children. Schools are very important to us. We are used to living in very clean and safeneighborhoods. We need to rent a home. So what are the good school districts around Parkridge? Should we just rent in Parkridge or find other surrounding cities.

I would really appreciate any advice.

Thank you

[MassVt]

If you're accustomed to nice, clean neighborhoods, with good schools, then Park Ridge is right up your alley. You'll also have access to the Blue Line for subway transit into the heart of Chicago..

[MSchemist80]

It depends on your budget but Park Ridge is a very nice upscale inner subburb. I'm not sure how many rental houses are available though.

[sara le]

Thank you both for your replies. Im not sure if Im being realistic but my budget is 1700

[4122]

You wouldn't be able to afford Park Ridge, but there are other towns where you can afford rent a nice house and still have a reasonable commute to Park Ridge.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by sara le

Thank you both for your replies. Im not sure if Im being realistic but my budget is 1700

Frankly it would be hard to find a family sized apartment in Park Ridge for $1700/mo let alone an actual detached home.

Park Ridge is a really desirable town that is ideally located for folks that want / need to work near public transit into Chicago, or O'Hare or even the greater range of north / northwest / near west suburbs in the region. Additionally there are top notch schools, a lovely mix of shops, dining, local amenities such as parks / library all withing walking distance of the mostly well kept core of town.

Some folks gladly pay about double your suggested budget...

If you are limited to $1700/mo you likely would be forced to choose areas with much less desirability / much smaller apartments.

[4122]

You could rent in a town with decent schools and get a decent house, but you won't find anything within your budget in Park Ridge.

[MidwestRedux]

As others have said, you are going to have very few options in your price range.

Your best option is probably going to be a townhouse in a more remote northwest suburb. You can probably find a place in your budget in a nice town, but it will be a pretty lengthy commute to Park Ridge.

We explored moving to the Chicago area with a similar budget for a short term rental with the idea of buying a place afterwards for $300,000ish. Park Ridge was one of the places we really liked on paper.

We gave up and moved to Minneapolis instead. The desirable parts of the Chicago area were just too expensive and congested.

What part of the country/metro area are you coming from? Knowing that may help us make more specific recommendations based on what you're used to.

[sara le]

Thank you all for replying back. My husband really doesnt want to live more than 20 min from work. He will be doing medical research at Luthern Advocate Hosp in Parkridge. We used to live in Ann Arbor MI. Currently we are living in Long Island NY, our move to NY was temporary. Its been a year since we came to NY.

Im not looking for a rich wealthy area, I just want my kids to feel safe playing outside and at nearby parks. I would to be in a clean area. I have a daughter that is beyond her grade level. I just
want her to be in a school that has a good rep.

I guess our max budget would be 2000.

[Fighting Fungus]

If you rent in park ridge, the part that falls with Maine South highschool is better than the part that ties in with Maine East. Lutheran general section of park ridge will tie in with maine east. If you are looking strictly for safety than I would say Niles or Des Plaines Unincorporated is a good bet. The school scores are a little lower being this area has many immigrants and ESL. It's very diverse area with many East Indians, Polish, Assyrian, Chinese, and Mexicans.