Best Park Ridge areas/neighborhoods (Chicago, Mount Prospect: insurance, house, buy)

[WeloveCHI]

We are relocating back to Chicago after being in DC/Virginia for the past 15 yrs. We can now afford around 1M home and are looking at either Park Ridge or Glenview. I'm a bit spooked though about (1) flooding concerns and (2) airplane noise in PR. If we are looking in the Manor area, are we ok???? Otherwise I'd rather just buy in Glenview and avoid those concerns altogether. PS seems the taxes are higher in PR too?! Thx in advance for any and all insight!

[amd555]

I would do with Glenview over Park Ridge. You can also consider Deerfield, northbrook or even Highland Park in this price range. Places a NW Subsurbs (arlington heights, mount prospect) you can even buy a huge 4000 sq ft home in that price range.1004 W Pendleton Pl, Mount Prospect, IL 60056 | MLS #09223951 | Zillow

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by amd555

I would do with Glenview over Park Ridge. You can also consider Deerfield, northbrook or even Highland Park in this price range. Places a NW Subsurbs (arlington heights, mount prospect) you can even buy a huge 4000 sq ft home in that price range.1004 W Pendleton Pl, Mount Prospect, IL 60056 | MLS #09223951 | Zillow

I would also pick Glenview over Park Ridge.

Have you looked into Wilmette?

[chet everett]

Park Ridge has a much more useful / walkable core for folks that rely on Metra and if you focus on areas near country club there is minimal risk of airplane noise or storm water issues...

[WeloveCHI]

We found a house we LOVE in Park Ridge, so we really want to try to make it work, but also need to know we are making a good investment. Anyone know more about flood zones / Manor area?

[chet everett]

There are maps that delinate the areas most at risk. There are categories like "50 year flood zone" 100 year, 1000 year. Areas that are adjacent to the DesPlaines River are much more of an issue. Odds of 100 year floods are supposed to be, on average once a century, but that matters more from an insurance standpoint. Many folks have taken steps to ensure that improper discharges into sanitary sewers won't flood basement...

Floods: Recurrence intervals and 100-year floods

Determining if a Waste Backwater Valve is needed

[Peer79]

Originally Posted by WeloveCHI

We found a house we LOVE in Park Ridge, so we really want to try to make it work, but also need to know we are making a good investment. Anyone know more about flood zones / Manor area?

The Park Ridge website is a good resource in that it links to the study done by Burke engineering which outlines the flood zones in town and the solutions that have already been implemented. I do not believe that the Manor Lane area is currently considered a high flood-risk area. I think that the flood control systems of the home in question are a greater consideration: does it have drain tiles, overhead sewers, a generator, how is the grading?

IMO, the airplane noise issue is generally overstated. There is a vocal minority of citizens who create a lot of discussion regarding the plane noise, but the potential results of their activism are limited at best. The pattern which has been in place for a long time is that landings come in from the east and impact the southern section of Park Ridge, which is far from Manor Lane. With the new "fly quiet at night" test pattern, there is an effort to disperse take-offs during the day which mean at times (I'm guessing maybe 20%) there will be some take-offs flying over the Manor Lane area. They can be annoying when they fly over at a steady clip, but that is usually not the case. Wind conditions also impact takeoff direction (the plane should not be taking off against the wind).

Glenview is a nice town with its own advantages, but I prefer Park Ridge's grid layout and the fact that it is adjacent and more easily connected to the city. Glenview feels like mostly disjointed and separate subdivisions which are not part of a cohesive grid. The transportation advantage goes to Park Ridge as well. I need to be close to highways for my job, and Glenview does not have a 294 S entrance close to much of the town.