is sunset heights a safe neighborhood in el paso? Im think of going to college in El Paso on Scholarship for music... (Houston: fit in, crime) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

7stringguitarguy · 03-29-2013, 11:52 AM

I have a few questions.. I have lived in other places.. I used to live in Hawaii to go to school, and racism was kind of a problem at times, because I m white, and in my early twenties at the time. Well actually, Im half mexican , half white, but i appear completely white. I had no real problems in my hometown of Los Angeles. I know el paso is a latin majority which im kind of used to.. Some areas of Los Angeles are completely one race like all white or all mexican or chinese , korean etc few neighborhoods are mixed some are.. i know this kind of dumb question but do white people live in el paso?

TexasNexus · 03-29-2013, 03:22 PM

I'm going to give you my story about moving to El Paso for college. I don't pretend that my experience is universal, but you can take it for what it's worth.

I moved out to El Paso in the mid 1990s to attend UTEP on scholarship for engineering. I was thrilled to get such a good offer and excited to be moving to the mountain west. I had no pre-move trepidation about moving to a predominantly Hispanic city. I'm from Houston, so being around Hispanic/Mexican people is no big thing. I had dated Latinas in high school and felt like I would probably fit in okay at UTEP despite being in a 20% (at the time) Caucasian minority. I took 5 years of Spanish dating from junior high school, so I also had a familiarity with the language and culture of Mesoamerica.

When I started school in EP, though, I felt after a while like I was a foreigner going to school in a Latin American country. I tried joining a few social groups but mostly got the "hey, look at the tall gringo" stare from fellow students. The amount of Spanish spoken also kinda made me feel left out, and it was NOTHING like what I learned in my school days, so I couldn't follow most conversations.

The most depressing thing to me, though, was that Hispanic girls at the school seemed to have something very much against dating Caucasian guys. This is a real problem given that 80% of the student body is Hispanic. I have always been attracted to Hispanic girls (and some of them to me) and dated a few at my 35% Hispanic HS in Houston. The attitude in EP, though, seemed to be against racial mixing, and Latinas were expected to find a nice, educated Hispanic man to marry. There is a lot of Mexican pride in the EP populace, which I don't really have a problem with, especially the cultural pride. I think that a lot of the girls just want to be with Hispanic guys who share their culture and sensibilities. Understandable, but it didn't make my social life much fun.

That said, I loved UTEP, loved the campus architecture, my classes, my profs, the vibrancy, etc. I transferred to A&M after two years, but I would still recommend UTEP. I loved Sunset Heights as well, with all the unique historical architecture there. I never felt like I was unsafe in that neighborhood at all. El Paso has its dangerous areas, but compared to Houston, EP is Candyland. Some areas of my hometown resembled a war zone in the early 90s. The Franklin Mountains are tremendous.

I returned to the area when I got transferred to EP by the State about four years ago, and I’ve found attitudes to be much the same and maybe even a little more exclusionary toward “Anglos” (a term I hate). I enjoy being out west and living in such a unique place, but I do feel kinda limited by not being Hispanic here. My $.02….

malamute · 03-29-2013, 08:41 PM

There are some white people in El Paso.

Sunset Heights is probably as safe as any other neighborhood here. I don't hear of any problems there.

AnonymouseX · 03-29-2013, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 7stringguitarguy

I have a few questions.. I have lived in other places.. I used to live in Hawaii to go to school, and racism was kind of a problem at times, because I m white, and in my early twenties at the time. Well actually, Im half mexican , half white, but i appear completely white. I had no real problems in my hometown of Los Angeles. I know el paso is a latin majority which im kind of used to.. Some areas of Los Angeles are completely one race like all white or all mexican or chinese , korean etc few neighborhoods are mixed some are.. i know this kind of dumb question but do white people live in el paso?

Crime wise El Paso is small potatoes. It is consistently rated one of the safest cities in the country.

There are indeed white people in El Paso but don't be fooled. El Paso's culture is Mexican.
And it is awesome except that El Paso sucked.

7stringguitarguy · 03-30-2013, 05:25 PM

Thanks for the info.. thinking about it now, especially from what TexasNexus said.. i m not so sure if El paso is right for me.. I don't think UTEP's Music Department will be not a problem but i probably will not fit in the school which is a problem... I have mixed feelings about it. I think the smart thing probably to do is go some where else...

mistabinks · 03-30-2013, 05:53 PM

The happy and content population, for the most part, do not frequent this forum. You are only going to hear from the people who don't like El Paso or experienced something negative.

Univision recently passed NBC in TV ratings nationwide. Spanish and Hispanics are becoming more of a presence nationally. Of course it will be an issue in a border town.

On the flip, I am 38, have a career, a side small biz, do not speak Spanish, and it's rarely been an issue.

unnativeelpasoan · 03-31-2013, 07:15 AM

I think you would be wise to listen to what TexasNexus says. El Paso sort of has a tendency to ostracize outsiders... And then get upset when we bring up this problem, and say that it must somehow be our fault! That we are just not nice enough or don't try hard enough. Whatever.

And by "outsiders" I don't really mean non-Hispanics, I just mean people not from here, but TexasNexus is totally right about the dating thing. In general Mexican-Americans here are mostly interested in dating their own.

7stringguitarguy · 03-31-2013, 12:57 PM

im not saying its el paso's fault. it is a personal "problem" for me , meaning that Utep probably will not work out for me. I have been trying to find the right school for a while. I understand the world doesn't revolve around me. I have no family in El paso texas. I think i have made my decision on this one.. El Paso is not for me.. thanks so much for info guys..

blue_915_tib · 04-03-2013, 09:18 PM

Sunset area is pretty peaceful. i have a friend that lives in that area and currently attends utep and whether we go out at night or hang outside his porch, we've never seen anything out of the ordinary. As far as your claim about the Mexican/Latino women here, I beg to differ. I currently work at Ft. Bliss (civilian) and speak with the soldiers of all ethnicities and even though they say there isn't much to do here, they sure dolove the women here and haven't had to deal with any kind of discrimination, etc in the dating scene.

kidicarus89 · 04-04-2013, 09:25 AM

Sunset Heights is a great neighborhood. Reasonable rents, walking distance to bars downtown, plus in the next year or so its going to get a lot more awesome with the baseball stadium and the proposed trolley that'll run through the area. I'd recommend it. As for being ostracized being an outsider, I'd say that's a dated assumption from the 90s. Things change, and the fact is that there are a lot more different groups moving to EP (due to military, med school students, UTEP students from further away), so its not the stagnant podunk that even I remember just 10 years ago. There's a good amount of new blood coming through now.