Hi there, Lela.

Not sure if you’ve gotten an answer to this yet but here’ my two cents:

It’s awesome that your son is considerting UT. It’s a great schoo.l An amazing job opportunity at the university is what brought me here. I’m relatively new so I couldn’t give as much advise as a native or long time resident, but I will say that overall Austin is relatively low on crime compared to more popular destinations such as L.A., Chicago, Atlanta, etc. I currently reside in NW Austin and it’s about as safe as you can get (pricey but not as bad as downtown Austin). If you ask any of the locals, they’ll tell you any area is safe but I only have experience with the NW and South parts of town. I don’t think I’ve gone anywhere in the city where I felt an actual fear for my life. I will say however that the few times I’ve been in East Austin I’ve seen some interesting things and there is a a debate on whether locals consider it the bad part of time. My best advice is for you as a parent to help your son research the city and the best areas to stay and above, please stop by and visit before making the decision. It really makes life a breeze when you taken the time to visit and get a feel for the place.

Hopefully this helps a bit.