Moving to Fort Bliss (Dallas, El Paso: sales, crime rate, landscaping)

[ArmyWife94e]

Im sure this has probably been asked before but here it is again. My husband has been offered Fort Bliss and is trying to decide if he wants to take it or not. We are currently at Fort Sill (Oklahoma) He will be going to 2 /1 armored division. Hes been in 16 years and we have been stationed all over the world..except Texas. What is Fort Bliss like, El Paso area, Is it safe, we were told that no one speaks english and the crime rate is high..is this true? We cant decide on if we want to stay here or go to Bliss. What is the weather like... Here in the summers it can get to 115. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[jaxart]

Have you tried reading through other ongoing threads about just this topic? There are a number still quite current and with lots of info from military wives and others in the military concerning living conditions in El Paso area.

[mistabinks]

Originally Posted by ArmyWife94e

Is it safe, we were told that no one speaks english and the crime rate is high..is this true?

1. People speak English in El Paso. El Paso is a bordertown so Spanish speakers do exist. Like Jaxart stated, there are many current threads that will answer your questions and give you a vibe about El Paso.

2. I have to question the integrity of the people you asked about El Paso. Maybe hearing the words "El" and "Paso" made them automatically assume nobody speaks English here. Maybe that also made them assume the crime rate is high here. It is not. El Paso is routinely in the top 10 of various safest city ratings. Ciudad Juarez is a mess but that is in Mexico. There is isolated spillover violence but nothing that would make El Paso dangerous.

I would be more concerned about the people you are talking to who give you such bad information.

[Gary Siete]

El Paso is 75% (?) Hispanic but most are bilingual and are 2nd, 3rd, 4th... generation American and very "Americanized". Some stores hire staff who are not fluent in English (shelf-stockers at Walmart, clerks at Big 8 Supermarket..) but most are bilingual. It is hard to get a counter or sales job if you are not bilingual. As mistabinks said, El Paso consistently ranks high in safest-city lists. Some areas of town are better than others but crime rates are relatively low everywhere. El Paso is very much a suburban city.
El Paso is in 100's during the summer but I prefer its dry heat to the midwest heat and humidity. Your biggest adjustment will be desert landscaping, lack of green, and pace of life. I've been here 5 years and unfortunately may have to move next year- and will miss the low cost and the laid back atmosphere.

[XChucoresident]

You do not have to worry about crime in my hometown of ELP..it has one of the lowest crime rates in the country...not at all like here in Dallas where I live..

[Mrs.S]

We are also a military family and have been living in EP for a couple weeks now. I really feel silly for ever worrying about moving here. It's so nice and I think most of the negative things I had heard were probably from people who have not lived here. I feel very safe and the people we've met are extremely friendly! The mountains and sunsets are beautiful. I think it does help to know a bit of Spanish but if you don't you'll still be absolutely fine.

[jaxart]

I have known MANY military who CHOSE El Paso for their RETIREMENT home! And I suspect some of them hated it when they were in the military living there. I recall when Ft. Bliss was a "boot camp" and the GI's hated the desert drills, etc. But obviously, in their dotage, they find El Paso to be a desirable alternative for retirement.

[armywifeandmom]

Originally Posted by ArmyWife94e

Im sure this has probably been asked before but here it is again. My husband has been offered Fort Bliss and is trying to decide if he wants to take it or not. We are currently at Fort Sill (Oklahoma) He will be going to 2 /1 armored division. Hes been in 16 years and we have been stationed all over the world..except Texas. What is Fort Bliss like, El Paso area, Is it safe, we were told that no one speaks english and the crime rate is high..is this true? We cant decide on if we want to stay here or go to Bliss. What is the weather like... Here in the summers it can get to 115. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi fellow Armywife.

We came to Fort Bliss at the end of this summer. My experience was different from yours in that I only heard positive things about this city and Fort Bliss itself.

Don't listen to all that nonsense about high crime rate (it's very low, in fact it's one of the safest places we have ever been stationed) and especially the nonsense that no one speaks English...that actually made me giggle out loud!

This may be a border town and it's culture reflects that (the history of El Paso is fascinating also) - but it is an American city and English is spoken here as well as Spanish. I have yet to meet anyone that did not speak to me in English.

I am very happy with the public schools my children attend and I have no complaints. In fact, they all love it here.

You can live off post if you wish, it's perfectly safe. We do live in on post housing because we unfortunately will only be here until next summer (I have to admit that this is the first time we have been stationed somewhere that we regret that we will have to leave, and as a matter of fact it's the first place we've considered to retire to!). There is a lot of new housing here as well as older quarters, you can see what's available to you (given I don't know if your Husband is Commisioned or a NCO I can't really predict what will be offered to you). We are enlisted and live out on Biggs which is lovely.

Another thing, there is so much to do in this area! A lot of free fine arts, festivals, zoo, travel to major sight seeing~ the list is endless. We are headed to Hueco Tanks this weekend ourselves. We went to White Sands national monument a few weeks ago.

You'll love El Paso and Fort Bliss and so will your children. So come on down you won't regret it

[armywifeandmom]

Oh and the weather, it's not much different from what you are used to up there in the summers with the exception that there is very little humidity here (it is the desert) and it's much milder than what you would expect. Summer is always intense in OK or TX but down here it seemed much more tolerable because of the very low humidity.

[yrusse1]

Originally Posted by ArmyWife94e

Im sure this has probably been asked before but here it is again. My husband has been offered Fort Bliss and is trying to decide if he wants to take it or not. We are currently at Fort Sill (Oklahoma) He will be going to 2 /1 armored division. Hes been in 16 years and we have been stationed all over the world..except Texas. What is Fort Bliss like, El Paso area, Is it safe, we were told that no one speaks english and the crime rate is high..is this true? We cant decide on if we want to stay here or go to Bliss. What is the weather like... Here in the summers it can get to 115. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

You'll love the rich culture, wonderful food and surrounded by the beautiful Franklin mountains. I believe, because we share the area with a huge military base, a medical school and UTEP the makeup of the city is changing. It is predominately Hispanic but many many military families have chosen to remain in El Paso even after leaving active duty. I'm a REALTOR with over 30 years of El Paso & Ft. Bliss community experience. So believe me when I say this is a dynamic city of 700K+ with a growing economy. Feel free to email me if you have any more questions.
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