what to expect in our move to texas (El Paso, Howe: to rent, house)

[Mrs Perkins]

So two days ago my husband told me that we will be moving in El Paso Tx next year by june, I am so happy because after 3 years we will finally moving states thou I love Georgia and south carolina because we are both salt water person. at first they told us that we are moving to hawaii or germany and i am 100 % excited but then all of a sudden we got texas. I am not quite excited because as far as I know there is not that much water area plus its in the border so pretty much mountains. (no harsh comments)
So i did few research and I am not that satisfied with the answers online.
I NEED HELP, few questions
1. Where is the best place to rent a house? I am looking for 1 or 2 bedroom, safe community, pet allowed, near the base if possible and at the same time near groceries, shopping etc. Is house on base is better than off post?
2. Is it hard to find a job in there sepcially if i am not that fluent in spanish? and is there a lot of places hiring?
3. what are the things that we can do in El Paso tx?
4. Is the weather good?
PLEASE! I need answers help me please

[joqua]

You should scroll through the various thread headings in this forum first. There is a ton of information already waiting for you in various threads. Here's a good thread to begin with, and you can add any specific questions you might have to it after reading through it:

//www.city-data.com/forum/el-paso/261809-el-paso-good-bad.html

Here is one reference specific to military transferees:

http://fortblisshousing.com/

There is a huge variety of off-post housing to choose from, depending on your budget/needs/tastes.

[kparker313]

1. We live on post. The quality of housing depends a lot on rank. The link above ftblisshousing will show you pictures. I can point to where they are on maps of Bliss if you want. We are very happy on base, though I hate not being close to a grocery store. The commissary is great and fine, but is a major PITA if you just want to grab something quick and get out of there.

2. I don't know; I am at home.

3. There are SO MANY things to do in El Paso. El Paso 411 is a great Facebook page to follow.

4. I like the weather. We got here in mid-July and yeah, it was hot. Hot and dry and windy - then came monsoon season which kept EP way cooler than a lot of other parts of the south. It was 29 yesterday morning and 34 this morning but the sun just makes everything feel so much warmer.

As said above, definitely read through the older posts, there's a LOT of good information and answers to your questions.

[Mrs Perkins]

thank you so much my first time on this site

[tomjayden]

Hey get ready for the worst driving experience of your life. People here are very impatient, when stopping for the red light they try to switch to the empty lane at the very last moment. Get ready for my many more surprises which you haven't experienced anywhere in your life.

[ZSP]

Originally Posted by tomjayden

Hey get ready for the worst driving experience of your life. People here are very impatient, when stopping for the red light they try to switch to the empty lane at the very last moment. Get ready for my many more surprises which you haven't experienced anywhere in your life.

I've driven in many, many cities all over the US and Europe and have seen bad driving everywhere...driving in El Paso has changed over the years but it's nothing worse than other places. All bad drivers do not live here.

I don't know where you live but it's not pleasant reading such a negative post.

[kparker313]

I agree, I've definitely seen worse driving - Miami especially and Nashville, for a city of its relatively small size has the worst/jerkiest drivers ever.

[Army_Guy]

Originally Posted by Mrs Perkins

So two days ago my husband told me that we will be moving in El Paso Tx next year by june, I am so happy because after 3 years we will finally moving states thou I love Georgia and south carolina because we are both salt water person. at first they told us that we are moving to hawaii or germany and i am 100 % excited but then all of a sudden we got texas. I am not quite excited because as far as I know there is not that much water area plus its in the border so pretty much mountains. (no harsh comments)
So i did few research and I am not that satisfied with the answers online.
I NEED HELP, few questions
1. Where is the best place to rent a house? I am looking for 1 or 2 bedroom, safe community, pet allowed, near the base if possible and at the same time near groceries, shopping etc. Is house on base is better than off post?
2. Is it hard to find a job in there sepcially if i am not that fluent in spanish? and is there a lot of places hiring?
3. what are the things that we can do in El Paso tx?
4. Is the weather good?
PLEASE! I need answers help me please

The drivers here are pretty bad, a lot of the bad ones have yellow plates that say "Land of Enchantment."

Seriously though, a lot of slow moving traffic in left hand lanes and if you believe what the Army tells you, drunk drivers.

1. You might consider staying on post. His commute will also depend on which unit he is at as Bliss is a huge post. The commute from main post to east Bliss is 10.5+ miles. East side El Paso seems to be popular, housing is cheaper there than the west side but traffic isn't very good on the east side. I personally prefer the west side even though the commute is longer and housing seems to cost more.

2. It seems like a decent amount of non-Spanish speaking spouses (mine included) have a difficult time finding work. If you browse some employment ads, you'll see a lot of them require fluency in Spanish.

3. I live a boring life so I couldn't tell you much. However, I do like eating and there are a lot of great food places here. I also enjoy biking, it's a bike friendly city, IMO. El Paso has a lot of history.

4. I think the weather is good. Yes, it gets hot, I'm sure he's experienced hotter but it's dry. I've been stationed in GA and LA and I have an absolute hatred for the humidity, I can withstand hot temperatures but humidity is where I draw the line. We get over 300 days of sunshine a year. Even though it was 30 this morning, the sun kept you warm. But I will also caveat that weather doesn't affect me as much as it probably would for most people.

IMO, El Paso gets a bad rap and most of the people who I have heard that badmouth it have never even been here.

[atrabilius]

Where is the best place to rent a house? I am looking for 1 or 2 bedroom, safe community, pet allowed, near the base if possible and at the same time near groceries, shopping etc.

You might also want to consider the northeast side as well.

[Mrs Perkins]

2. I don't know; I am at home.

3. There are SO MANY things to do in El Paso. El Paso 411 is a great Facebook page to follow.

4. I like the weather. We got here in mid-July and yeah, it was hot. Hot and dry and windy - then came monsoon season which kept EP way cooler than a lot of other parts of the south. It was 29 yesterday morning and 34 this morning but the sun just makes everything feel so much warmer.

As said above, definitely read through the older posts, there's a LOT of good information and answers to your questions.[/quote]

what neighborhood are you guys in? we will be moving by may. if we decide to live on base how many months in advance we need to call for the housing?