The Official El Paso Chattin' Thread (Dallas, Midland: hotel, trip , housing)

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by 6 FOOT 3

Good luck to you EnjoyEP and don't feel bad about moving as most of us have done that in our lives. In the last 20 years i've lived in Albuquerque, Jacksonville Fla, Norfolk VA, Waycross Ga, Alamogordoi etc...

Thanks 6-foot. Wish me luck...we'll see how the job thing shakes out! I know to most it sounds crazy that we're looking to do this only after 5 or so months (some of our boxes still aren't unpacked), but it is like dating the wrong girl. If you know she is wrong, why keep dating her for 3 years before breaking it off - at least that is the thought process I am using!

Hey, did I see you were considering maybe heading east to Jacksonville? Say it ain't so! If so though, that is cool...Jacksonville would've been one of my top choices for a city to relo to, but my wife and I just concurred that we really like the dryness of the Southwest. If so, best of luck!! But like me, you'd have to keep posting in the NM and EP forums still from afar!

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by kathleenssal

Hi Enjoy EP

Good luck in your job search. I, too, am looking - mostly in the LC area.

Hi kathleenssal -

Thanks so much for the kind words! Good luck to you too...I think I would probably be opting to live in El Paso over Las Cruces only due to me liking living in a bigger city, but Cruces is great - just great - for a city of its size. I would easily and happily work in Cruces and commute to-fro El Paso if that is what it took.

Originally Posted by kathleenssal

Interesting that you state you like the vibe of the LC-El Paso-Alb. corridor. I find it has an appeal as well.

Happy New Year!

Yeah, I think either you love it (the region of Albuquerque - Las Cruces - El Paso) or you hate it...it seems like it is a very polarizing area, and even moreso the farther south in that corridor you go! However, I am just in the camp of really being entranced by it. I think if you love the area like I do - and the desert - and you leave it, you really can't leave it because it gets in your blood.

There are other folks here - some are longtime El Paso residents - that just despise EP too...it is just again very polarizing and a case of different strokes for different folks I guess.

I wish you, a fellow-Southern NM lover like me equally the best of luck in getting to the region soon!!

[Taylorcraftbc65]

I would LOVE to go up to Minnesota, or Wisconsin for Oktoberfest every year.
To be able to immerse myself in German, and Nordic culture for about six weeks, and speak as little English as possible. It would be a LOT cheaper that going to Munchen, so I could do it EVERY year. THEN I would high tail it out of there before the snows hit. (I was Medicallly retired from the Army, and the osteo arthritis that I have prevents me from living up in snow country no matter how much I LOVE to cross country ski). That is why I'm looking to build a houseboat in Seabreaze, Tx., and once built, live aboard it around Rockport, Tx. Dec. through March, it is too cold for me at my place just outside Cornudas, Tx. in the winter. Brie

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by EnjoyEP

El Pasoans - ........It was a really hard decision and we agonized over it for some time. Ultimately we went with friends and family and moved back to the Milwaukee, WI area in July. WRONG call. While it is very unconventional we realize (to move again so soon after moving cross-country once) we are determined to try to get to the El Paso - Las Cruces - Horizon City area in the next few months. Yes, we really do like the El Paso area that much. Seriously though, understand some of you don't like it, but we love it and are hopeful a professional opportunity comes through for me so we can be El Pasoans soon.

I sincerely hope that you get what y'all want...and are happy! Life really is too danged short to live where you don't want to be! Maybe it will happen sooner than you think!!

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

I sincerely hope that you get what y'all want...and are happy! Life really is too danged short to live where you don't want to be! Maybe it will happen sooner than you think!!

Thanks Cathy, to another West Texas / Southern NM lover!

Here is the lesson I learned after deciding upon relocating to the Midwest - cross-country - and then five months later regretting it so much that I am actively looking at getting into El Paso/Las Cruces:
I am an idiot!

Oh well, I guess now I am at least acknowledging that I am an idiot and trying to right my wrong and change course! I guess I just made things a little bit more complicated on myself.

[6/3]

Originally Posted by EnjoyEP

Thanks 6-foot. Wish me luck...we'll see how the job thing shakes out! I know to most it sounds crazy that we're looking to do this only after 5 or so months (some of our boxes still aren't unpacked), but it is like dating the wrong girl. If you know she is wrong, why keep dating her for 3 years before breaking it off - at least that is the thought process I am using!

Hey, did I see you were considering maybe heading east to Jacksonville? Say it ain't so!

Possibly...as i can't take anymore cold winters. Every morning its 18 to 22 degrees as i thrive on SUPER HEAT. I keep hoping that EP gets better as i would luv to move back there also as it's winters are milder than northern NM. I feel like i'm up in Colorado...lol...

Yeap i definately prefer the dry over the humidity.A couple of years back i was in Phoenix in august and it was 115 degrees and i was loving it but there's no way i'd live in that city as it's too HUGE like LA and i really miss southern NM.

So hopefully either Jacksonville, El Paso or Alamogordo in the coming year....

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by EnjoyEP

Thanks Cathy, to another West Texas / Southern NM lover!

Here is the lesson I learned after deciding upon relocating to the Midwest - cross-country - and then five months later regretting it so much that I am actively looking at getting into El Paso/Las Cruces:
I am an idiot!

Oh well, I guess now I am at least acknowledging that I am an idiot and trying to right my wrong and change course! I guess I just made things a little bit more complicated on myself.

No, I strongly disagree with that assessment!! You just found out (albeit expensively) that WI wasn't the right move for y'all.

Just out of my own curiosity......what made you decide to choose EP/LC over ABQ?

There is one thing I just absolutely HATE about EP...and that is the traffic...though I know it is not as bad as San Antonio/Austin/Houston/DFW...

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by Taylorcraftbc65

I would LOVE to go up to Minnesota, or Wisconsin for Oktoberfest every year.
To be able to immerse myself in German, and Nordic culture for about six weeks, and speak as little English as possible. It would be a LOT cheaper that going to Munchen, so I could do it EVERY year. THEN I would high tail it out of there before the snows hit. (I was Medicallly retired from the Army, and the osteo arthritis that I have prevents me from living up in snow country no matter how much I LOVE to cross country ski). That is why I'm looking to build a houseboat in Seabreaze, Tx., and once built, live aboard it around Rockport, Tx. Dec. through March, it is too cold for me at my place just outside Cornudas, Tx. in the winter. Brie

Taylor,

You might try the Tulsa Oktoberfest as an alternate. It's supposedly one of the top ten Oktoberfests in the World (number 2 in the US). I don't think there's a lot of German spoken but there are plenty of German people there; they fly in the bands from Bavaria every year. Below are a few links. Tulsa is number 2 behind Columbus, Ohio.

"Tulsa, OK
Oktoberfest: October 20th-23rd

It's a surprising spot for Oktoberfest, but there are few cities that host a better German festival than Tulsa. In fact, Bon Appetit magazine calls it one of the top German food festivals in the U.S. and USA Today included the city in its list of Top 10 places in the world to celebrate Oktoberfest.

To support these accolades, Tulsa brings in several bands from Bavaria, sets up a slew of cool European shops and kiosks, and offers 20 food stands for your dining pleasure. As visitors munch on Landjaeger (German-style beef jerky) and Kassler Rippchen (grilled, smoked pork chop), they can take in beer barrel-racing, the ceremonial keg-tapping and an extensive parade. Put it all together, and it's clear that Tulsa goes all out for an annual Oktoberfest to remember.

Must-do: Check out the straight-from-Bavaria bands that solely visit Tulsa and experience what their unique sound is all about."

Tulsa Oktoberfest 2007 Thank You (broken link)

Tulsa Oktoberfest 2007 Home

AskMen.com - Oktoberfest in America

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

No, I strongly disagree with that assessment!! You just found out (albeit expensively) that WI wasn't the right move for y'all.

Well, thanks for refuting my idiot claim, Cathy! I still do feel quite like an idiot (because of that expensive thing) but I guess that is what life is...we are mortals, and thus we make mistakes. I just wish in this case I had a good deal better foresight!!

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

Just out of my own curiosity......what made you decide to choose EP/LC over ABQ?

Well, I absolutely love Albuquerque. I think more than many...I really love it. However, there are four "firm" reasons I like El Paso more than Albuquerque and one "feeling" reason. They are as follows:

Firm -
1) The weather.
Frankly, people that move from the north to the south always do so largely because of the weather. We can act like the weather isn't a big deal in life, but to people like I and my life who love spending time outdoors, it is. I love Albuquerque's year-round climate. However, I even much more prefer El Paso's. Albuquerque's year-round climate to me is a solid A- or B+ and El Paso's is an A+. When spring winds/dust are your biggest problem weather-wise, it doesn't get much better.

2) The cost of housing / living.
I can buy a nice, newish house in El Paso in a nice area for $120K to $135K...that same house in Albuquerque would be $180K to $200K and up here in the Milwaukee area would be well over $200K. To a young family with my wife choosing to stay home with the kids, having a low mortgage payment but being able to be in a nice, spacey house is a great combo. Granted, wages in general in El Paso are lower than many big cities, but the jobs I am pursuing there would actually give me a RAISE from where I am. Thus, my salary goes up, but my mortgage goes way, way down... makes great sense to me!

(And while property taxes in Texas are higher than in New Mexico for sure, Texas has no income tax, which really helps out a great deal!)

3) The people
My wife grandma lives in El Paso and the church we go to in El Paso we really enjoy a great deal, so while we wouldn't know many in EP, we'd have some connections via my grandmother-in-law and church which would be uplifting for us.

4) The gardening
I know it may be somewhat unconventional for a straight male in his young 30s to get a kick out of gardening, but I really got to enjoy dealing with cacti, palm trees and fruit trees while in Albuquerque. Obviously, in El Paso, the climate is so much even more conducive to growing these items and a much bigger variety of them. It is a hobby for my wife and I and we'd really enjoy being able to do it in EP.

Feeling -

As much as I love the culture and vibe of Albuquerque, for whatever reason, I have just always had a passionate feeling in my "gut" that I cannot explain about the Borderland area. I felt it from the first time I drove down I-25 from Albuquerque, past Las Cruces, into I-10 and El Paso. The area just really excites and fascinates me every time I go there. I cannot quite articulate it or explain it...I just really love the vibes of the city. Many find El Paso to be an "ugly" city...to me, the mountains, the desert landscaping, the rolling hills, the palm trees, etc., are just so beautiful. I love smelling Mexican food as I am out and about. I love the sunshine of the Sun City. I love driving over a hill at night on Yarborough Dr. and seeing the millions of twinkling lights below in Mexico. I love the almost haunting nature of Mount Cristo Rey. I even like seeing the old Barrios, etc., in central EP and yes, in Juarez...it is gritty for sure, it is "real."

I cannot fully describe why I love it the way I do. I just absolutely love that area. Plus...for the reasons I love Albuquerque...living in El Paso you are always a quick, easy freeway drive of 4 hours away from the Duke City!

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

There is one thing I just absolutely HATE about EP...and that is the traffic...though I know it is not as bad as San Antonio/Austin/Houston/DFW...

Yeah, see, you are talking to a native of the Milwaukee, WI area (metro area of 1.7 million people) with much experience thus in the Chicago area (metro area of 10+ million people) as Chicago is only 75 miles south of Milwaukee. Thus, to me, El Paso's traffic is laughable. Heck, I think El Paso has better traffic than even Albuquerque, and to me Albuquerque's was pretty paltry.

Cathy, your questions have a way of getting me REALLLY fired up about the Borderland! Now I wish I were down there, but alas, I am up in 10 degree Downtown Milwaukee. I guess if I close my eyes hard enough and imagine...

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by 6 FOOT 3

Possibly...as i can't take anymore cold winters. Every morning its 18 to 22 degrees as i thrive on SUPER HEAT. I keep hoping that EP gets better as i would luv to move back there also as it's winters are milder than northern NM. I feel like i'm up in Colorado...lol...

Hang in there Harry, no, if you were up in Colorado, instead of 18 or 22 degrees this AM, you would've been more like 5 degrees (Colo Springs) or 10 [quote=6 FOOT 3;2396346]degrees (Denver). Even if you lived in Denver, you'd get roughly 60 inches of snowfall per year!!

But your point is well taken. I think Albuquerque's climate is pretty darn mild in the winter, but it is always so much warmer and more mild in El Paso...Albuquerque's winter is kind of a mix, temperature wise, between El Paso and Denver.

Originally Posted by 6 FOOT 3

Yeap i definately prefer the dry over the humidity.A couple of years back i was in Phoenix in august and it was 115 degrees and i was loving it but there's no way i'd live in that city as it's too HUGE like LA and i really miss southern NM.

Yeah, Phoenix's summers wouldn't be ideal for me, but I could deal with them. But the size of the city and the traffic are just too much for me there, not to mention the very high cost of housing which has occurred.

Harry, maybe as an alternate you should consider Tucson. I would do Tucson easily except that the cost of housing there is too high for me compared to El Paso / Albuquerque / Cruces. Tucson has better weather in my opinion than Phoenix...much more mild winters than Albuquerque...and is a great size!

Originally Posted by 6 FOOT 3

So hopefully either Jacksonville, El Paso or Alamogordo in the coming year....

Well, if we both end up in EP in the coming year, I will buy you a Tecate and we can toast the Sun City! Otherwise, if you end up in Jax, I think that is a great choice too...although, I see the low in Jax this morning was 19 degrees! But that aside, like I said, I think Jax is a great choice and would be tempted to pursue it as an alternate to the SW but my wife prefers the dry of the SW (and I do too).

Good luck Harry!!