Possibly relocating to El Paso from Nebraska (Houston, Dallas: for sale, neighborhood)

[Caltep]

The Franklins today were spectacular. My favorite sight is a sunny fall day like today heading in the direction of the mountains (west to east). Very clear and crisp and the mountains are so defined against the blue sky.

Originally Posted by meredithmyoung

Okay, well at least that gives me options of places to go with the children. My husband called me from El Paso last night and said it was really pretty! Although he came in at night and the lights he saw were of Juarez?
He got a better view the next day and said the mountains were really pretty. The job is in El Paso, that is why we are currently looking at the area.
Another location were we could live is Las Cruces, NM but from what I can see, it is much smaller and would offer less in the way of shopping and things to do. Plus don't most people come to the airport in El Paso when they fly out?
And.. What is this I hear of outlets? Where I live now we don't even have a Target, so I have to travel about 40 minutes or so to go to the neighboring town to shop there. If I want something besides TJ MAXX or JCPennys I have to go a littler over an hour in the opposite direction.
I also read the posts on the schools in the area and I think public is the way to go, but if you want P.E. or Art we would need to find outside of school.

[Muhnay]

Ahh yes and the crisp air.. makes one feel alive doesn't it?

[6 FOOT 3]

Originally Posted by DesertDog

Muhnay
Thanks for the info
6/3
Thanks for the reps

No problem Desert Dog....as i appreciate your positive postings (God knows we need them..lol..).

What's this as i see you have 26 reps...well it's time to raise it to 30 .

[Caltep]

Fine fall weather and a Friday...unbeatable combination.

Originally Posted by Muhnay

Ahh yes and the crisp air.. makes one feel alive doesn't it?

[bree~]

Hi everyone, I just found this site today. I wish I had known about it before moving here, there is some great info. OP, I would definitely pick El Paso over Las Cruces. There is better shopping here, but the shopping is still not great for a city this size. If you like normal mall stores and such, then the shopping is fine. I miss some of the more "upper crust mall" stores. I loved window shopping there, but couldn't afford to buy much LOL. But El Paso does not have really great shopping. Same with the restaurants. I miss some "normal" chains like Carrabba's, Panera, Einstein Bagles and other typical places that they just do not have here.

We are military and are now in housing here, so this is no longer an issue with us and the info may have changed since we looked into buying. Some realtors suggested Anthony (TX, NM border) for buying a home. Apparently the property taxes are much less in NM than they are in TX, however TX has no state tax, so I'm nto really sure how all that would work.

2 of our children are in school. They love their school and their teacher and I have not had an issue with EPISD. I will say that they have some of the nicest high-schools I have ever seen in my life here. They are gorgeous and appear to be rather high-tech.

It's funny, I know that El Paso is 80% Hispanic yet I never thought of myself being a minority here. I mentioned to one of my kid's teachers that it takes us forever to get through Costco because everyone stops and talks to the babies and touches them. She said, "Oh, that's because you are white. They aren't used to seeing blond babies." I never realized that until she pointed it out. My point is that I have never once felt uncomfortable here. People are, for the most part, very friendly and there seem to be no racial divides here.

We like El Paso. I won't lie though, I will be ready to PCS when the time comes. I was born and raised in the midwest, I am used to seeing grass and trees (leaves changing specifically). I also like to shop more than I am afforded the opportunity to do here. The zoo is adequate (we have a membership and take the kids once or twice a month) and you can certainly find things to do with the kids. You seriously could not ask for better weather. There are also a lot of cool things within a 2-3 hour drive. We have been to Riudoso, NM, Roswell, NM, Tombstone, AZ, and T or C, NM recently. We were supposed to have gone swimming at Balmorhea today, but birthday boy and I are ill. Carlsbad caverns are only a couple of hours away too. So far the Juarez business has stayed in Juarez, so I feel safe in this city.

[mistabinks]

Great post Bree.

[danieloneil01]

Ditto to the nice post. And nice name, my dog has that name.

[Mingtha]

Originally Posted by mistabinks

I do think of El Paso as a melting pot. Yes, Hispanics are the majority here. The great thing about El Paso is anyone can live anywhere. I do think of us as a melting pot because there is no Black side of town. There is no Asian side of town. Everyone is intergrated. You can have a Hispanic neighbor to the left, a White family in front of you, and a German family to the right. I like that. Please note I am not claiming we are the most integrated city in the world but we are pretty good.

Amen to that! I have been saying this to people for a long time... it is so true!!! I no longer live in El Paso, but I can tell you El Paso IS much more integrated than most US cities. I currently live in Houston and the "segregation" (not just racially but financially as well) is very blatant in H-Town.

I miss El Paso terribly. I could go to just about any part of the city and not feel uncomfortable. That's what I loved so much about El Paso. Sure, there are some "richer" neighborhoods than others, and some are more prone to crime than others... but for the most part, though, the City as a whole is very well blended socioeconomically.

Another big plus about El Paso is the low crime rate. Even though Juarez is notorious for drugs, crime and prostitution, El Paso thankfully is not. A holdup at a convenience store would make headlines!!! Compare that to Houston, here, where EVERY day there is news of a shooting, murder, rape, car chase etc...

Another thing I know now (from having the experience of living elsewhere) is that El Paso is a very CLEAN city. Yes, it is brown, dusty, little vegetation, etc... but for the majority if the city, most neighborhoods are well kept... even the lower-income areas. Even the Lower Valley area, studded with trailers, tires, scrap yards and half-built houses, is decent compared to what I have seen here in Houston. I never knew what true BLIGHT was until I moved here. There are some very unkempt and trashy buildings/structures/houses all over Houston. Not just isolated here or there, but whole neighborhoods. All the green vegetation in the world doesn't make them pretty...

El Paso, on the other hand is clean, wide open, sunny and spacious....

I'd move back to El Paso in a heartbeat if I still had family living there and I had a good job opportunity.

[Mingtha]

Originally Posted by Muhnay

Ahh yes and the crisp air.. makes one feel alive doesn't it?

You can't imagine how much that resonates with me!!!! Sigh. That is what I probably miss the most. I now live in Houston, which is WAY too congested and polluted for my taste.

I long for the days when I could take a deep breath of fresh desert air after a summer evening rain..... and feel alive!!!

[alliswell]

Another thing I know now (from having the experience of living elsewhere) is that El Paso is a very CLEAN city. Yes, it is brown, dusty, little vegetation, etc... but for the majority if the city, most neighborhoods are well kept... even the lower-income areas. Even the Lower Valley area, studded with trailers, tires, scrap yards and half-built houses, is decent compared to what I have seen here in Houston.

I totally agree with you on that one. The people, the surroundings, nothing is super "trashy". Some places are a little rough around the edges, sure. But I agree compared to other places, you don't get that feeling of "blight" or that everyone's given up. I've mentioned the children of EP before. I have lived in places where you'd be out and about and you would see just the most pathetic little uncared for creatures that would just break your heart -- always with their mother, never see a father. All they needed was a bath and a clean shirt and fed regularly. I have not seen that here in EP. In EP, it immediately struck me how much you see dads with their children - as much as you see them with moms and most of them don't have a hair out of place on their heads.