Is El Paso pretty? (Spring, Howe: low crime, house, landscaping)

[spark]

Hi everyone. This is my first post.

I'm a Canadian. Dad has to choose between moving to either El Paso or Florida for business reasons. He likes El Paso best from what he has heard.

I want to know what the scenery is like where you live. Is there a nice view? I'm mostly bedridden and housebound, so looking out the window is a big passtime for me. The satalite pictures and other pictures I've been able to find on the internet make El Paso look dry, kind of flat and smoggy. It looks like a big place that may be hard to get around in. I didn't notice any lawns or trees or parks. Can you grow a garden? I like that the weather is stable.

What is it like to live in El Paso? Thanks for the replies. (( ))

[Synopsis]

El Paso is definitely not flat, just look at some of the photos on the main city data web page or google images. It sits in the mountains, and is arid with low humidity. I find the climate there to be refreshing and not oppressively hot or humid like Florida or the Gulf Coast. It's all in what you like and I think El Paso is a fine city. It also has a very low crime rate according to statistics. It may not be for some people, maybe even not for me, but I think it's a city worthy of a second or third look.

[eptex]

Hello spark: I have been here in El Paso for 18 years. I am not a local. You may get a different opinion from a local.

El Paso is not flat. We are in a high desert. If you want green grass that is quite possible here. If you are moving into a nice area they will most likely have desert landscaping in the front and you will have grass in the back.

It's just that water is expensive here and you have to make a decision. We like grass front and back because we believe that it cools our house during the summer months. But that requires a lot of attention to the watering.

Go to scenic drive it's a must for newcomers! You can see the city at night with all the lights and you can look as far as Mexico.

Crime is low according to national statistics. Mainly petty theft. We have not had a break in but they tried to steal our F250 a few weeks ago.

[Trainwreck20]

I am a frequent business traveler to El Paso, but have never actually lived there. I think your perception of El Paso will be dependent on where you actually live. There are some very pretty mountains and views, mainly north of town, on up into New Mexico. If you need to see green, you will be hard pressed to find much. This lack of green can be very hard for some people (me included) to get used to, but other people don't mind at all.

I am sure you can grow a garden, probably most of the year 'round, but you will have to water it to keep it alive. It generally only rains during the summer (July/August) and may not rain AT ALL the other 10 months. The air is dry and pleasant, even when hot, which is really nice when you are coming from a humid area. There are occasional dust storms, though, which leave everything gritty . A lot of the 'smog' is actually from the dust, although downtown has its share of smog. The city has a similar problem as Denver and LA, in which pollution gets trapped due to the mountains.

[observe]

You mean pretty to the eye? Well I've been there a few times, and let me tell you El Paso is a very ugly city as far as looks go. The city is very industrial looking and has a large copper smelter right off the freeway, the city has no landscaping whatsoever and looks like it has no planning whatsover. Businesses and industrial areas are intertwined along I-10 and the parks have no grass. As for the Downtown area, it looks like a third world country, the city is way behind on Downtown re-development. But hey everyone is different, it may be appealing to you.

[boricuapower927]

The most beautiful thing in El Paso are the Franklin Mountains. Especially on clear nights when the sun is setting.

[Ankhharu]

I lived in El Paso for 3 years and I agree with Observe, El Paso is very ugly. If you venture out away from the city at night, on a clear night the sky is very pretty, and seeing the city lights from the distance, but other than that, no. Unless you were born in the desert or just have a love for the desert, you won't like El Paso.

[EnjoyEP]

Let me be a different voice of opinion -

I am a 30-year old male who was born, raised, and lived for the first 26 years of my life in the Midwest (WI).

After that, I moved my family to Albuquerque, NM. (We really like living in Albuquerque). From Albuquerque, we visit El Paso extremely often...I have now spent 3 or 4 day blocks in El Paso literally 20-to-25 times.

And frankly, I think El Paso is terribly pretty and scenic. Thus, there are people who find El Paso anything BUT ugly (the complete opposite - quite nice) who were not born and raised there. Admittedly though, I do very much like the desert, as it is a very beautiful entity if you see its beauty.

For instance, in El Paso, there are tons and tons - everywhere - of huge palm trees, many different species...all very tall. In comparison to what I used to see, growth-wise, in the Midwest, this is extremely beautiful!

Also, El Paso has a tremendous growing season - something akin to an 8b zone - and as such, things grow for much of the year. Sure, it is a desert, so very dry. However, with reasonable planting and corresponding watering (not wasteful watering), you can grow such a beautiful and diverse amout of plants, trees, cacti, etc.

Everyone in the desert years for the "green" of the Midwest. However, truly, the Midwest is "green" only from May until September! Since the growing season is so much longer in El Paso, you will see things in their "alive" state (eg: not the winter dormancy) and thus "green" much, much longer - truly from mid-February often times until the end of November!

Heck, believe it or not, I have seen a few very select orange tree clusters being grown in El Paso! Although due to freezing many years the trees produce mediocre fruit (in comparison to places like Phoenix, LA, or Southern Florida), just the smells of the orange blossoms in spring are so unique and beautiful!!

Also, being from the Midwest, I am used to a topography that is nothing but FLAT. You literally can see pretty much to the end of your block...that is it! El Paso, like Albuquerque, is very hilly and mountainous, and thus, you can see for miles and miles.

El Paso is nicknamed "Sun City"...why?...because the sunshine shines so often. The dry, sunny weather is a fairly big constant year round. The winters are great - 50s and low 60s in the warm sun - and the summers, while hot, are overrated to a degree...they come nothing close to the extremes of Phoenix, Tucson, Palm Springs, etc.

Surely, if you are looking for tons of water and lush green grass, El Paso wouldn't qualify (by nature of its high desert location). But if you are looking for some of the best year-round weather in the country (without exaggeration), huge beautiful palm trees, and an extremely wide variation of amazing desert plants and fruit trees, mountains, etc., El Paso ain't too shabby.

[spark]

I knew asking locals would be way better than looking at satalite photos! El Paso seems more appealing to me all the time. And for green, there's always house plants. Half of my house plants are cacti anyway. It's still not set in stone where we will live once we move, but my heart is in El Paso. Thank you all for your kind replies. If we move there, I am really looking forward to seeing the mountains and meeting the locals, and having that dry, sunny weather year round.

El Paso is beautiful to me.
(( )) Shannon

[councilor j]

I live in Albuquerque,I love the desert,but I think that El Paso has got to one of the ugliest cities I have ever seen.Once u enter El Paso you see smog and the slums of Juarez,Mexico off the interstate.The city looks kinda old.