Difference Between West and North Suburbs?

[chet everett]

Not sure that I would really call Park Ridge "close" to Itasca, long distance and heavy traffic along the NW Tollway and the area around Schaumburg which is another notorious choke point in the region. Although I like Park Ridge a lot, you need to decide what factors are most important to your decision. PR is very close to O'Hare, easy rail commute to Chicago, good schools, nice core of local businesses, central location with reasonable commute to a variety of locations...

Towns south of Itasca along 355 will have many of the same qualities and generally a much shorter commute to work.

Towns north of Itasca near 53 or the surface streets similarly will have many of the good qualities and likely provide options to avoid the worst choke points in the region compared to towns that lie further out along the "diagonals" that roughly radiate out from the Loop along E-W and NW corridors.

[wjj]

Another thing to consider with Park Ridge is that with the new runway that just opened at O'Hare, air traffic patterns have changed and I believe some previously quiet sections of PR are now hearing the roar every few minutes.

PR to Itasca is not an easy commute. I would stick to some place with easy access to Rt. 53/355 - whether that be a northwest or a west suburb. Lots of options have already been mentioned.

[ToriaT]

I'd skip the northern suburbs including Park Ridge. Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Bloomingdale would be your best bets. Elmhurst, Naperville, Downers Grove are nice too but slightly further away from Itasca but doable. Hinsdale is probably the nicest Dupage Suburb...very expensive homes and further away. If you concentrate on Wheaton and Glen Ellyn you should be able to find a very nice home with reasonable distance to Itasca. The parks, shopping and amenities are fabulous.