El Paso, TX

[LL2]

Have you been there? What's the city like?

I had a phone interview today for a position in El Paso. Not sure if my wife and I want to move there, but the position is a good one. My wife's folk's live in Texas, but on the other side of the state (and Texas is one big ass state). We drove through it once and it took like 12 hours! We have never been to El Paso. Pictures online of the city look nice with some small mountains surounding the city. Looks like the cost of living is a lot lower there than in Chicagoland.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

I've been there twice.

A sprawling stain of concrete, dirt, liqour stores, and angry people who yell at you in a language you can't even understand. The entire city is covered in a reddish-gray haze between the hours of 5 to 8 PM. (then it gets dark). The only place in america with an amusement park right next to giant, polluting oil refineries that spew toxic water into the drinking water of millions of mexicans who actually drink out of the Rio Grande.

Go there and you'll understand why the Mars Volta writes such fucked-up music.

Person 1: "Lets Go To El Paso!"

Person 2: "No thanks, I Choose Life"

[HarveyWallbangers]

It's not a place I'll likely visit again, but I enjoyed my trip down there. The people were friendly--especially the Latina girls. It's in the middle of nowhere in Texas, so I could legally drink in my vehicle (as long as I wasn't driving), and that was okay with me.


Their football stadium is kind of cool. It's carved out in this little mountain they have. They don't have sprawling mountains. More like a small mountain in the middle of the desert/prairie. Kind of interesting to see the two sides of the river though.

[Freak Out]

I've been there...seven years ago, thankfully it was a pass through. I would have to be compensated very well to ever consider moving there.

Harv....ever been to Louisiana? They have drive up daiquiri stands.
I can understand why they would have them being its so damned hot and humid but it's still kind of funny. They have open container laws to get federal highway $$$ but from what I can see they are not enforced.

[hoosier]

Don't cross the bridge into Ciudad Juarez. And especially don't let you wife cross that bridge.

[TPF]

My family and I are in the process of leaving El Paso.

Now, the reason is I managed (after 6 months of searching) to get a job in Colorado. I will say this about El Paso, it can be a nice place to live, depending on your situation. My wife and I are in our early 40s with two kids. We found that we would prefer a more active life with more amenities (Denver, in this case)

El Paso is very safe for its size, one of the top in the nation. It has a very large Hispanic population (obviously) but many of them function in the community like any other person. It isn't a town where the only think the Mexicans do is hard labor. Yes, you find that, but there are many Hispanics that would be your co-workers at your potential job.

The downs to El Paso is that it is, for the most part, isolated. Phoenix is a 6 hour drive away, San Antonio seven, and Dallas nine, though traffic can alter that. Also, there are areas of town that are very "blah."

The weather is love-it-or-hate-it. Winter is mild, maybe you'll get a half inch of snow. Summers, and this was one of my big problems, are hell. It was tiring waking up in the morning and having the temp. already in the 90s.

Whatever the case, good luck in your search. If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me.

[Freak Out]

The downs to El Paso is that it is, for the most part, isolated. Phoenix is a 6 hour drive away, San Antonio seven, and Dallas nine, though traffic can alter that. Also, there are areas of town that are very "blah."

The weather is love-it-or-hate-it. Winter is mild, maybe you'll get a half inch of snow. Summers, and this was one of my big problems, are hell. It was tiring waking up in the morning and having the temp. already in the 90s.

When I was there I was doing some audits for a client and I flew in...and there were a surprising number of Airlines coming in so travel to and from should not be that big a deal....but the summer heat was killer...of course I'm from Alaska so heat to me is 80-90F.

You could go explore some interesting terrain in Mexico!

[Tyrone Bigguns]

My family and I are in the process of leaving El Paso.

Now, the reason is I managed (after 6 months of searching) to get a job in Colorado. I will say this about El Paso, it can be a nice place to live, depending on your situation. My wife and I are in our early 40s with two kids. We found that we would prefer a more active life with more amenities (Denver, in this case)

El Paso is very safe for its size, one of the top in the nation. It has a very large Hispanic population (obviously) but many of them function in the community like any other person. It isn't a town where the only think the Mexicans do is hard labor. Yes, you find that, but there are many Hispanics that would be your co-workers at your potential job.

The downs to El Paso is that it is, for the most part, isolated. Phoenix is a 6 hour drive away, San Antonio seven, and Dallas nine, though traffic can alter that. Also, there are areas of town that are very "blah."

The weather is love-it-or-hate-it. Winter is mild, maybe you'll get a half inch of snow. Summers, and this was one of my big problems, are hell. It was tiring waking up in the morning and having the temp. already in the 90s.

Whatever the case, good luck in your search. If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me.

I hope in my post that i didn't imply it wasn't safe. El Paso is indeed a safer city crime wise than the national average.

One exception, a lot more rapes.

[Joemailman]

My brother lived in El Paso for a while in the '80's. While he was there, someone who grew up in El Paso won an Oscar. One of the national TV networks sent a crew to El Paso to interview the proud parents of the Oscar winner. During the interview, they asked the parents what they thought of the movie. The mother said, "We haven't seen it. It hasn't made it to El Paso yet."

[Harlan Huckleby]

Out in the west texas town of El Paso I fell in love with a mexican girl.
Nighttime would find me in Rose's Cantina,
Music would play and Felina would whirl.

Black as the night were the eyes of Felina,
Wicked and evil while casting a spell.
My love was strong for this mexican maiden,
I was in love, but in vain I could tell.

[BallHawk]

El Paso is alright. Spent time briefly there. It's kinda dirty, but the high desert can be pretty nice.

[BallHawk]

DP.

[TPF]

BTW, you may find this a useful site in your search. It helped a lot for me.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/el-paso/

[TPF]

My brother lived in El Paso for a while in the '80's. While he was there, someone who grew up in El Paso won an Oscar. One of the national TV networks sent a crew to El Paso to interview the proud parents of the Oscar winner. During the interview, they asked the parents what they thought of the movie. The mother said, "We haven't seen it. It hasn't made it to El Paso yet."

I've only lived here for 8 years, but people from around here take a lot of pride in their city and the people from it. The guy's name I do not know, but he won it for playing Salieri in "Amadeus" (one of my favorite movies)

Eddie Guerrero, before he died, was huge around here. I never saw him in person, but friends have said crowds of 50+ would huddle around him if he was seen in the streets. Crazy.

[Joemailman]

Out in the west texas town of El Paso I fell in love with a mexican girl.
Nighttime would find me in Rose's Cantina,
Music would play and Felina would whirl.

Black as the night were the eyes of Felina,
Wicked and evil while casting a spell.
My love was strong for this mexican maiden,
I was in love, but in vain I could tell.

Kinky Friedman Asshole From El Paso lyrics

(Chinga Chavin, Kenny “Snakebite” Jacobs)
We don’t have no lovin’s in El Paso
We don’t go to porno picture shows
We don’t swap our wives with our neighbors
And we keep our kids away from Mexico.
And I’m proud to be an asshole from El Paso
A place where sweet young virgins are deflowered.
You walk down the street knee-deep in tacos
Ta-ta-ta-tacos
And the wetbacks still get twenty cents an hour.
We don’t wipe our asses on Old Glory,
God and Lone Star beer are things we trust.
We keep our women virgins till they’re married
So hosin’ sheep is good enough for us.
And I’m proud to be an asshole from El Paso
A place where sweet young virgins are deflowered.
You walk down the street knee-deep in tacos
Ta-ta-ta-tacos
And the wetbacks still get twenty cents an hour.
I’m proud to be an asshole from El Paso
A place where sweet young virgins are deflowered.
You walk down that street knee-deep in tacos
Ta-ta-ta-tacos
And the wetbacks still get twenty cents an hour

Kinky Friedman Asshole From El Paso lyrics