The half-acre of land that we’re considering is located right near the school I’m working at part-time, and it’s right near Henry’s daycare. That means I drive by it pretty constantly, in an attempt to get a feel for the neighborhood. The land is at the end of a tiny little cul-de-sac (with basically only one or two houses). On one of my trips, I saw a neighbor sitting on his back porch, so I decided to introduce myself and ask questions about the neighborhood. Specifically, I’m worried about the crime rates in the neighborhood. He told me about a website that will send you alerts about crimes that happen

As part of my process for trying to start Austin’s first public Montessori school, I’ve started doing home visits with families who are interested in enrolling their children in the school. On one of those visits, I stumbled upon an awesome little neighborhood in East Austin. My dream all along has been to live in East Austin, since that’s where I want to start the school, but I want to make sure we settle in a safe neighborhood, since Henry’s circle of independence will need to grow wider and wider as he gets older. I’ve been the victim of crime four times in my life (I’ve had my car