Eastwood Home Tour

I wasn't able to attend the Eastwood Home Tour, but my husband Jimmy did.  He was so impressed.  But not just with the beautiful homes, but with the amazing people he met.  He was only able to tour 3 of the homes, but met several people along the way.  We even have an invitation to dinner with one of the residents once we move in!  :)

We are getting so close to our closing date, only about 2 weeks and a couple days!!!  I can hardly contain my excitement!  I'm excited about the 100 year old home we are purchasing, but more than that, I'm excited about all the amazing people I'm sure to meet.  This is just the neighborhood we were hoping for.... and the fact that it is a little rough around the edges, doesn't faze me a bit.  In fact, I really like it.  I have always preferred a neighborhood with a little grittiness to it.  :)  I read somewhere, a comment about living in an HOA master planned community... she said, "I'm not well behaved enough to live in one of those".  I smiled because I feel the same way.

Listening to my husband talk about the people he met and how open and friendly they were, made me so happy and content with our decision to live in Eastwood.  This is just the kind of neighborhood I want my kids to grow up in.  I want them to understand how important community is and why it is important to build those relationships with people.  I think my oldest already has a good grasp on why community is so important based on the answer he gave to a question on the Eastwood Academy application.  Joshua:  "I also know what a community is.  A small group of people that care and look out for each other.  A place like Eastwood."  I guess he does listen to me.  ;)

Interview with Joshua about moving to Eastwood.

Joshua, how old are you?

I'm 14 years old.

What school grade are you in?

I'm a freshman.

What do you think about moving to Eastwood?

I think it will be a fun new experience.

Why?

Because Urbana is boring and there is nothing to do.

What do you think of the school you will be attending?

I think there will be a lot more work and it will be a lot harder.  I think it's going to be much more sophisticated than UHS (Urbana High School).

Are you concerned about anything in regards to the move to Eastwood?

Yes, I'm worried I won't do as well in school as I'm going to a more advanced school.

Do you think Eastwood will be safe for our family?

Yes.

Is there any other place in Houston that you believe would be better for our family?

Not that I know of.

Why do you think your Mom and Dad want to move to Eastwood?

Because there are good schools and my Mom doesn't like the pearly white suburbs.

Do you like the suburbs, Joshua?

The only thing I like about the suburbs is they have pools in their backyards.  But other than that, not really.

Ahhh, you wish we had a pool....right?

Yes.

What do you think of the house we are buying?

Uh... it looks really nice kinda like the one we are in now.  It's very updated for its age.

Joshua, do you have anything else you want to say about our move to Eastwood?

There better not be any fire ants in our backyard is all I have to say.

Ok, thanks Joshua!

Interview with Matthew about moving to Eastwood.

Matthew, how old are you?

8.

What school grade are you in?

I'm in 3rd grade.

What do you think about moving to Eastwood?

I think it'll be really fun and I'm really excited about it!

Why?

Because here the people are a lot grumpier and I hate the weather and I want to get different friends.

What do you think of the school you will be attending?

I think it looks really awesome and it sounds like it'll be way better than the school I was in.

Are you concerned with anything with regards to the move to Eastwood?

Yes it has been troubling me about the trip there and selling our house here.  And I'm worried about the fire ants.  

Do you think you will be safe in Eastwood and feel comfortable living there?

Yeah.  

Is there any other place in Houston you think would be a better place for our family?

I think that every part of Eastwood sounds good and all the other places in Texas don't sound as good as Eastwood.

Why do you think your Mom and Dad want to move to Eastwood?

Because my Dad has a good job there and the schools are really good and they like the house.

What do you think of the house we are buying?

I think it looks really good and it doesn't look too small or too big. And I like that I have my own balcony.

Matthew, do you have any other things you want to say about our move to Eastwood?

(long pause) The ride in the car to Texas will be very annoying with my brothers and my dog in the car.

:)

Interview with Christopher about moving to Eastwood.

Christopher, how old are you?

12 years old.

What school grade are you in?

7th grade.

What do you think about moving to Eastwood?

I want to.  I like the idea.

Why?

Cuz I think it's going to be fun to be around a lot of kids who are different than me.  It's going to better than where we are now because I think the people will be nicer in Texas.  We are not going to all look the same and I will be unique and I like that.

What do you think of the school you will be attending?

I'm really looking forward to school.  It seems like a really good program.  I think teachers really care about the students and how they do.

Are you concerned about anything with regards to the move to Eastwood?

The only thing I'm sorta worried about is finding out I live next to a drug dealer.

Really?

Well, as long as the drug dealer isn't a gang member.

Hahaha, okay ;)  Why do you worry about gang members and drug dealers in Eastwood?

Cuz it's in the city and cities have gangs sometimes.  But, I'd rather do that than safe, little, "perfect" suburbs.  I like the hubcaps in some of the yards in Eastwood.  :)

You mentioned the suburbs, why don't you like the suburbs?

The suburbs are like dark, sad and depressing.

Why do you say that?

It seems like all the same looking houses pushing in on me.  Outside of that it's just plain, nothing is around suburbs.  The people all seem the same. It's like they all do the same thing.  Like they are all programmed to do the same thing at a certain time.

You saw and experienced Eastwood, do you think it will be safe for us?

I think it will be perfectly safe as long as we don't try to join a gang and we go about our normal lives.

Is there any other place in Houston that you think would be better for our family?

None of the places I've seen so far seem as unique or exciting as Eastwood.

Why do you think your Mom and Dad want to move to Eastwood?

My Mom thrives on the thrill in living in the city in a neighborhood like Eastwood.  My Dad wants to be really close to his job and family and he wants to make my Mom happy.

What do you think of the house we are buying?

It looks really nice.  It has really good looking rooms.  And there is a little shed in the yard with electricity.  We can use that shed for our hangout area.

Christopher, do you have any other things you want to say about our move to Eastwood?

I better not lose my xbox in the move!

:)

Eastwood Today

In my quest to learn all I can about Eastwood, I came across this beautiful black and white photography book of Eastwood.  All I can say is AMAZING!

Enjoy!

http://issuu.com/bmercer/docs/eastwood-3

The End of Suburbia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3uvzcY2Xug

The end of suburbia is an awesome documentary about peak oil and what it means for us.  It really takes a good hard look at the suburbs and how completely unsustainable they are.  To quote James Howard Kunstler, "suburbia, an extreme, car dependent living arrangement" and "the greatest misallocation of funds in the history of the world."

I don't know why people choose to live in the city versus the suburbs and it would be silly to speculate.  However, one of the big drivers for our family is the whole unsustainable suburbia.  We feel the fact that Americans make up 5% of the worlds population but consume over 25% of its resources is just plain wrong.  We really try to live our lives in a way that we are aware of what we consume and what our actions do to the global community.  I believe that someday, people will be leaving the suburbs in droves.  The spit and polish that they have now won't last.  There is nothing historic or special or sustainable about them.  James Kunstler has said many many times that he believes the suburbs will be the slums of tomorrow.  Even in car dependent Houston, I believe this to be true.

Another side to this story is community.  People in the suburbs generally don't have community.  They don't really know or depend on their neighbors.  I know this sounds like a very broad brush stroke over the entire population in the suburbs, but I really believe it to be true.  People in the suburbs are TOO comfortable.  Life is a little too easy, you might say.  In the inner city you really need to know your neighbors.  You may need to depend on them someday.  Also, in a community like Eastwood, people are all working towards a common goal that really can only be accomplished if we work together.

This is what I want my kids to have growing up.  I know its certainly not perfect and bad things happen.  But, its the people you surround yourself with that matters.  Relationships are truly priceless.  I can overcome almost anything in life if I have a community surrounding me that supports and nurtures me.  It's too bad that most people today don't really feel like they need that kind of community.

Lantrip Elementary

My husband and I spent the most time at this school.  We again met the principal and magnet coordinator.  And once again, were just completely impressed.  I know my youngest son's old school wasn't so great in Illinois, but I didn't realize how bad the administration there was until we met the administration at Lantrip. I would say that Lantrip made my son's old school look like a joke.  The school has a magnet program for environmental science.  This magnet program was started in 1975 by Dora B. Lantrip.  Recently, Lantrip received its top award from the Department of Education, naming the school a National Blue Ribbon Award School.  In addition to the magnet program for environmental sciences, Lantrip also has a vanguard program.  This school has state of the art science labs, science fair competitions, specialty field experiences, an outdoor learning classroom with a greenhouse and a Renzulli research lab.  I have researched and explored schools everywhere we have ever lived for our kids and Lantrip is one of the very best I have ever seen.

Something else that really struck us was the large number of parent volunteers we saw come and go during the time we visited the school.  We were also impressed with how at ease the teachers, administrators and students seemed at the school.  I feel very lucky that I am able to send my son to such a wonderful school right in our neighborhood!

Light Rail Expansion

This is something everyone in Eastwood is excited about.  Being new to the area, I didn't understand the signifigance of the light rail in Houston.  But here is what I'm told.  The light rail will bring (everyone hopes at least) much needed retail to the East End.  Can it really make that much difference?  I've also heard that people in Houston have a strange relationship with public transportation.  Kind of like, only the poor ride public transportation.  This is not the case where I'm from.  We don't have light rail, only buses, but being that it's in a college town it is very widely used.  My kids and I used it quite a lot.  I assumed that we would use public transportation often in Houston, but realized very quickly that Houston's bus system isn't as extensive as the one I'm used to.

I think all the construction on Harrisburg must be for the light rail expansion... being new, it's just an educated guess.  See the brick building on the left?  Wouldn't that be a great spot for a neighborhood organic grocery/cafe/coffee shop?

Bohemeo's

Loved this place!  While we were attending all our appointments on the East End, this was our place to hangout while we waited between appointments.  I loved the Mexican Organic coffee.  I also really liked that they made each cup fresh and they made it in a way I had never seen done before, but maybe I'm just not as "worldly" about coffee as I thought I was.  ;)  It was similar to how you make coffee using a french press.  Also, the women behind the counter were great!

Jackson Middle School

Now, onto the middle school for my middle child.  Okay, so this is maybe the least impressive school, but that is only in numbers.  There are other things to consider than just the numbers.  If I had my choice, maybe I would put my son in Project Chrysalis.  A charter school for middle school.  Too bad they have no room for anymore kids.  They have a total population of only 175 kids and they are housed at Cage elementary school.  Their numbers are impressive.  Very similar to Eastwood Academy.  One thing that did turn me off from them a bit was the inability to visit with the administrators of the school.  I called and called and couldn't get an appointment to meet with anyone at the school.  Here is what I was told.  Once I have applied (my son actually applies) and my son gets an interview, then and only then can we take a tour of the school and meet the principal.  I didn't really like this.  So, onto Jackson Middle School.  What a total difference in availability of staff!  We were able to meet with the magnet coordinator and the principal.  They were both fantastic people.  We were nervous about Jackson Middle school because our middle son has Muscular Dystrophy and we are always a bit more nervous about him fitting into a school.  After talking to the principal and magnet coordinator for quite some time, we were put completely at ease.  Then we were able to tour the school and were very happy with what we saw.  The teachers had control of the classrooms, the students seemed to be listening and learning.  There was nothing we saw that concerned us.  It was all positive.  Plus, the school was beautiful.  I also should say, that we have talked to a few parents who absolutely love the Jackson!

I talked to some Moms at the National Night Out in Eastwood this past week about schools.  They had only elementary school age kids, but were already looking to the future at middle school options.  They are talking about starting another charter school with help from the former principal of Eastwood Academy.  This is exciting and these women seemed very well equipped to see this through!  So, who knows what the future holds for my youngest!

Eastwood Academy

I consider Eastwood Academy the little "hidden jewel" of the East Side.  Everyone knows about Carnegie, Debakey, Lamar and Bellaire.  These are the schools EVERYONE wants to get their kids into.  You know what that means.... highly, highly competitive!  When I called and talked to the magnet coordinator for HISD she basically said it was super tough to get into one of those super popular schools.  I kind of sat there thinking, "damn.... wth am I going to do now???"  I want to live in the loop, I need to be close to all the things in downtown, I want my husband to have a very short drive to work that doesn't involve the Houston highways.... but what would I do if I couldn't get the school situation ironed out?

I almost gave up at this point.  Almost threw in the towel.  Almost considered Kingwood, the Woodlands, or maybe Clear Lake.  I mean, wasn't that what all the other engineers my husband worked with chose?  So, I looked at those burbs.  Well, all the schools looked okay.  No need to apply.  You just live in the right neighborhood in the burb and bam! .... your kid was set.  Well, that just didn't sit well with me.  I knew in my heart that the suburbs were NOT for me.  They NEVER have been for me.  But how was I going to make this school thing work?  This required more research.  Research beyond the recommendations I was getting.  This required thinking outside the box.

And then it happened.  I discovered Eastwood Academy.  Okay, maybe I didn't exactly discover it like know one knew a thing about it.... but as far as our family was concerned I had discovered it!  As I looked at the numbers I was totally blown away.  How could this amazing school be here smack dab in the neighborhood I wanted to live in and no one had really mentioned it?  Was it like the rest of the East Side? Was it looked at like the "ugly step sister" of Houston?  I called the school.  They had openings for this year in 9th grade!!!!  Thank goodness no one else really knows about this hidden gem!  Yes, it was predominantly a hispanic school with a rather high number of economically disadvantaged kids and we are white middle class people.  However, this may be a deterrent for other white, middle class families, but not for us.  We were totally stoked!  Then after our visit to the school, we were just blown away.  This was the perfect school for our kids.  Could it really be?  I had found a neighborhood with a strong sense of community, very close knit core group of people, 2 miles from downtown, 5 miles from hubby's work and GREAT schools???  Cha ching.... jackpot!

My son is currently typing out the necessary essay for admittance into the school.  Next he will answer all 10 questions on the application.  Finally he will ask one of his teachers to give him a recommendation.  If all this looks good along with attendance record, report cards and test scores, he will then have an interview.  Once this is completed, assuming all goes well, he is on his way to an excellent education.  I will keep you posted!

http://www.eastwoodacademy.org/

Really wish I had pics.... those will come soon!

Rusk Street Eastwood

Jimmy and I took a walk around the neighborhood, well mostly along the street we will be living on.  We walked to downtown from the street our house is on just to see how the walk would be.  It didn't take us very long to get to the city center.... maybe 45 minutes and we were walking very leisurely, taking our time as we explored places and took pictures.