Question regarding house hunting & sex offenders (how much, houses)

[NovaDragon]

For those of you that are, or have, looking for a home for your current or future family, how much has proximity to sex offenders weighed in on your decision? If you find that there is a sex offender that lives in the neighborhood you're looking at, do you automatically cross it off the list? Do you look for houses at the other side of the neighborhood? Do you ignore it completely and move forward with the house?

Obviously, sex offenders are people too and some times they made dumb mistakes when they were younger that they regret, but that they have to live with for the rest of their lives. But there are others that are still downright dangerous. How much does potentially living near one affect your decision to buy/rent a property? How do you gather the information to make a good judgment call?

Thanks.

[soulsurv]

You can google for the Meghan's Law national website that will list states and towns and most importantly the typle of crime. Obviously a true child predator is not in the same category as a nineteen-yr-old boy caught with his 17-yr-old girlfriend whose parents wanted him charged.

[midatlantic12]

Personally, I'd be a lot more worried about murder, armed robbery, burglary, or arson convicts who are out on parole living near me than a sex offender. However, I suppose that women and those who have children are more worried about sex offenders.