Number of things to consider here. I'm going to guess that you're not quite ready to change careers here, so the private is the ultimate goal. That changes things. When you get your private, will it be basically to have done it and maybe occassionally go fly around to keep the rust off, or are you planning to buy an aircraft? (word to the wise, an airplane is a giant hole in the sky in to which you throw money OR If it floats flies or ####s, it's cheaper to rent. You get the idea.) Presuming the former, you should look for a place that will have aircraft you want to rent, since one of the rudest surprises newly minted PPLs tend to get is that without ten billion hours, places will require a very long "insurance check out" to rent to you if you didn't do your training there. I'm presuming this won't be a big problem for you, since I imagine you just want to fly "because it was there", but I want to make sure.
Cost is a real issue, and you'd be surprised how much costs can vary. A little Mom and Pop FBO in a rural area with a couple of thirty year old cessnas can be substantially cheaper than an operator in a major metro area with a fleet of brand new cirusses or diamond-stars, although with fuel prices the way they are, this gap may have narrowed. In addition to the cost benefit, you're more likely to find an instructor who will be around for a while, rather than one who will get hired at american eagle before you solo, out in the boondocks or at least in the smaller FBOs. There are very good, mature younger instructors, but as a general rule, I'd prefer to go with an older guy. They're more curmudeonly, they have a set way of doing things and you'll likely be expected to do it their way, but they're probably instructing because they like to, not to check in some box on an airline application. Again, there are exceptions to this rule...if you find a young guy you like and think isn't just putting in his time, by all means give him a chance.
And here we come to the biggest issue. Your instructor. What kind of plane you fly, how much it costs, where the FBO is, etc all pale in comparison with getting along with and being able to learn from your instructor SOP when a new guy walks through the door is to point to the next guy who is sitting around without any students and say "Keith here will be your instructor!" Not so fast, white man. Take the time to meet a few of the instructors. You are the customer here. IF you find one you like (and not just like...feel like you can learn from. There are plenty of great guys I wouldn't want to teach me to open a door) AND the rates seem ok (good is not a word that will ever apply...as I said, it's getting more and more insanely expensive with fuel and insurance problems) I'd STILL recommend looking at at least one other place, just for comparison's sake. You'll need to look at your instructor's schedule, too, Is it realistic to expect him to be available when you want to fly? What about the airplanes? Look at the airplane schedule. Is it almost totally full? That can make things difficult. Likewise, being almost totally empty may indicate that the place is in economic trouble.
Finally, there are two different curricula for PPL training: Part 61 and Part 141. Part 141 is a much newer, much more structured program, and allows, theoretically, for you to get your license five hours sooner. I would take the value of this with a box of salt. Sure, you can get a PPL in 35 hours under 141 vs 40 hours under 61, but few people get their licenses in either 35 or 40 hours anyway. Part 141 tends to be the kind of place where instructors wear "airline pilot" monkey suits, there are hour long "briefings" before every flight, and there is a "dispatch" office that will decide FOR YOU whether or not that crosswind is too much to fly, etc. Not my cup of tea, but it does offer the possibility of a slight financial incentive. Speaking of which, it's been five years since I've been in the flight training game...some things may have changed. One I'm sure of is the cost, which has nearly doubled. But there may be other things, too.
In short, my personal preference, had I been smart enough to be an attorney and fly as a hobby, would be to learn with an old, experienced, curmudgeonly instructor in an old, steam-gauged (as opposed to "glass cockpit" computer screens) airplane at a small airport. Take that for what it's worth. I can't say that's what would be right for you. The only hard and fast advice I can give is to go out, look around, and kick the tires before you start. You'll be dropping a lot of money on this, so if you don't like something, look for something you like more. Oh, and if anyone tries to get you to put money "on deposit" rather than "pay as you go", run don't walk. Those places have a bad tendency to disappear in the middle of the night with your money.
Please keep me advised and give me more questions to answer in more detail than you probably wanted
