You've posted (originally) in the professional forum, so I take it you want to do a CPL eventually?
If yes, then your PPL is a stepping stone. This means you have more options, you're not limited to EASA. You CAN do a PPL quickly - ideally the quicker the better. It is much easier to progress if you fly every day, and taking more than 6 months to complete a PPL is frankly ridiculous if it's not by choice. Ideally you will build your skills lesson upon lesson: the longer you leave it between lessons, the more your skills will degrade and the more hours you will take to finish. Make no mistake, the bulk of your time will be spent on ground school studies: my advice would be to pass all your exams before you start flying. Then you can bang out your hours in a month. I'd definitely recommend learning in the US for an FAA certificate: the weather is better, it's cheaper and there is only one ground exam. You get a licence on the spot without having to pay for licence issue. It's a no brainer. Of course, if you only intend to fly privately in Europe, of advise you to do an EASA PPL in Europe.