Moving to El Paso with military (Dallas, Portland: fit in, transplants, car insurance)

[pete's wife]

I was wondering what El Paso is like? We have never been there so I am nervous about moving there. I have 2 teenage kids, which I try to keep out of trouble. Please give me insight about El Paso in general, Ft. Bliss and if any units are getting ready to deploy, and the gang and crime rate in El Paso. Thanks for all your help everyone

[Muhnay]

Originally Posted by pete's wife

I was wondering what El Paso is like? We have never been there so I am nervous about moving there. I have 2 teenage kids, which I try to keep out of trouble. Please give me insight about El Paso in general, Ft. Bliss and if any units are getting ready to deploy, and the gang and crime rate in El Paso. Thanks for all your help everyone

Hi, I am the resident El Paso Basher. I think I tend to be honest and fair, while others here tend to blow flower scented smoke up your keister.

But really you don't have much to worry about. You'll either love or hate El Paso and Fort Bliss, there are many changes going on here, gangs are back on the rise here, but El Paso is still rather safe. We do have the highest car theft according to the El Paso Times, so if you drive a Chevy or Ford truck you may want to make sure its locked up good here. We also have a real high drunk driving and death ratio here, and Fort Bliss is really cracking down on it. Most of the units here, just returned, and I hear will be here for sometime. Fort Bliss is not run like many of the other military bases/post I have been stationed too.. I always say there is the Army way and then there is the Fort Bliss way, but with so much attention here now, its starting to be the Army way and less of the Fort Bliss way. Its something you cant explain so much as you have to experience to understand.

El Paso is 88% Hispanic, and that can cause some troubles to some. Spanish is also pretty much needed to get employment here, unless on post. El Paso is hot and dry.. so if your used to humid weather, or green then you may not like El Paso much as it is mostly brown here. The weather is nice, you can BBQ just about any day the dust is not blowing.. and there are things to do.. just have to think outside the box a little bit. We have Paint ball on Biggs, and the bowling alley on Fort Bliss is one of the best in the Army. Lakes and water.. not much unless you drive 2-4 hours away. We do have a water park near by in Anthony and Western Playland is also out there. We have the El Paso Diablos a minor league baseball team, and 25 cent hotdog nights are great. UTEP college football is gaining popularity...

El Paso is not all bad.. I dont like it here, but you may.. I wish you all luck in your new assignment, and welcome you to El Paso, and Fort Bliss.

[malamute]

I think Muhnay's description is pretty fair and honest. It's hard to predict who will like it and who will not like it here. A lot of kids don't have problems with the gangs -- it all depends and the gangs will generally leave the uninterested kids alone. It'll depend on your girls mostly, if they're attracted to the idea of going over to Juarez to drink, if they'll ride around with kids who drink and drive recklessly, or they go to the unchaperoned beer parties outside of town, then there could be problems but otherwise it's pretty safe especially if your kids aren't driving around at 3 am. There are worse places.

Moving with teenaged kids would be tougher because depending on where they're from and what they're used to, they may not adjust too easily, they might think it's boring here but that's not all bad because a lot of kids look forward to going away to college then.

Peer pressure is like anywhere, if they get in with good kids, you won't have problems here and there are a lot of good kids here. If they get in with rowdy types, or drug using types, it's just like anywhere but can be more dangerous than some places because of gang violence here that usually does not result in killings but often enough in stabbings and other violence.

[HIGH!Lonesome]

Hello I'm the resident outcast of this particular forum and I like to welcome you to Americas second safest city and one of the very few places that is still afordable, liveable and freindly.

El Paso's proximity to the Mexican border gives it an overwelming spanish speaking population, but yet El Paso is as American as apple pie, obviously Fort Bliss massive military expansion has brought you to a very different kind of culture shock, one city as the poster under your post mentioned you'll either love it or hate it, good luck to you and yours.

[el borracho]

how old are your kids boy or girl ?????/

[pete's wife]

Originally Posted by pete's wife

I was wondering what El Paso is like? We have never been there so I am nervous about moving there. I have 2 teenage kids, which I try to keep out of trouble. Please give me insight about El Paso in general, Ft. Bliss and if any units are getting ready to deploy, and the gang and crime rate in El Paso. Thanks for all your help everyone

My kids are 14 and 15 till September. I hate humid weather and snow. So I think the weather there is a good thing. As for spanish I guess I will have to go learn spanish. We also lived in Milwaukee Wisconsin and the gangs and crime rate there was high. My kids had friends in gangs but knew the rules, and they would tell their friends they will not join because I would flip my lid so to speak. I don't have a truck so I am safe there. I hope it all goes well

[pete's wife]

One boy and one girl El Borracho.. My son is older and watches out for his sister

[malamute]

Originally Posted by pete's wife

My kids are 14 and 15 till September. I hate humid weather and snow. So I think the weather there is a good thing. As for spanish I guess I will have to go learn spanish. We also lived in Milwaukee Wisconsin and the gangs and crime rate there was high. My kids had friends in gangs but knew the rules, and they would tell their friends they will not join because I would flip my lid so to speak. I don't have a truck so I am safe there. I hope it all goes well

The weather here is great. Murder rates here are low, in the gang fights here, there may be stabbings but they generally try to avoid deaths. I'm sure Milwaukee is quite a bit worse as far as gang violence. The good thing about gang violence is that they tend to leave others alone, it's gang on gang for the most part.

You don't necessarily have to learn Spanish, but then you're limited to certain parts of town. There are people here who never learn any and they do fine, you just have to accept you won't understand conversations going on around you and social events can be strange if you're left not knowing what anyone is talking about.

If you drive the right vehicle, one that the thieves don't want, you won't have to worry much about auto theft.

[nixau27]

I have been here in El Paso for 6 yrs and I can't wait to get out! Waiting to sell my house, been waiting 6 mos. now. El Paso is okay, after a few yrs. you get use to it. There's a lot of "transplants" that's really helpful and very nice. It's true abt. the DWI's as well. So be careful. Your car insurance will go up as well since most people here does not have car insurance , so you'll have that burden on top of ridiculously high property taxes. You don't really have to worry abt. not speaking Spanish, I don't and I did just fine. Goodluck!

[EnjoyEP]

Hi pete's wife -

Originally Posted by pete's wife

We also lived in Milwaukee Wisconsin

That is somewhat ironic...if you look up at the upper right-hand corner of my "posting" box, I am currently living in the Milwaukee area right now! (And lived here the bulk of my life outside of a 4+ year stint recently in Albuquerque, NM which is a city 250 miles north of El Paso).

I have never lived in El Paso, but have visited 20+ times between 2003 and now and have family in the city, so I have become quite familiar with it through an "outsider's" point of view.

As others have stated previous to me, El Paso tends to be a quite polarizing place. Folks usually tend to either really like / love the area, or really dislike it.

My wife and I fall into the camp of the former (we really like it and are currently nosing around job opportunities that would relocate us to the El Paso area). Others though are really not fans of the city for varying reasons. While it is probably true of most any place / city in the country / world (some folks will like them and some will hate them), I find El Paso and other similar cities in the Southwest (such as Albuquerque, Tucson, etc.) to be especially polarizing.

First, a few quick references that were made in comparison to Milwaukee:

Originally Posted by pete's wife

We also lived in Milwaukee Wisconsin and the gangs and crime rate there was high.

As malamute indicated, gangs / violent crime rates are much higher and more problematic as a general rule up here in Milwaukee.

However...

Originally Posted by pete's wife

My kids had friends in gangs but knew the rules

El Paso is like any big city and has gangs / rough patches of kids. In my opinion, kids in that really impressionable 12 - 15 year old range are incredibly vulnerable and impressionable, so it doesn't matter whether it is El Paso, Milwaukee, Portland, Indianapolis, or Dallas...if kids are looking for trouble they'll find it with no problem.

I know I am probably just preaching to the choir, but I would say it would be best to really, really REALLY encourage your kids to stay away from kids in gangs, etc. Even if their intentions are genuinely good and pure, they are still kids and are very susceptible to peer pressure, the need to fit in, youthful indiscretions, etc. - they'd be at risk hanging out with gang members in either Milwaukee or El Paso.

Having said that...

Originally Posted by pete's wife

I hate humid weather and snow.

I do too. That is why El Paso is especially (and the region in general) appealing to me. I love the weather in El Paso. You'll find very low humidity levels (except for the July through early Sept. monsoon season which even still is relatively low compared to most of the rest of the US) and snow is next-to-non-existent (average of 5 inches per year in the city, most of which melts within hours).

The weather is so nice compared to Milwaukee I cannot even completely explain it adequately - you'll love that aspect of EP.

Originally Posted by pete's wife

I was wondering what El Paso is like? We have never been there so I am nervous about moving there. I have 2 teenage kids, which I try to keep out of trouble. Please give me insight about El Paso in general, Ft. Bliss and if any units are getting ready to deploy, and the gang and crime rate in El Paso. Thanks for all your help everyone

You've gotten some good information from other posters above. Again, El Paso tends to be polarizing - my wife and I really like it, as many others do, and other really dislike it.

A few things to bear in mind in generalities of a few reasons why El Paso is so polarizing:

>It is a desert
Some people love the desert like me. I love the vast, bright, wide open blue skies and 310+ days of sunshine a year. I love the year round warmer temps and hot sun. I love palm trees and cactus / cacti everywhere. I love that there is only on average approximately 9 inches of rain per year and 5 inches of snow per year. I love the dry air and lack of humidity (and much, much lower numbers of mosquitoes than you get in more humid areas). I love the mountains and don't really mind not having lakes/rivers, etc. I love the evening cooldowns that you don't get in the more humid Southeast.

Other people find the desert to be "brown" and thus they miss "green". They like the more lush lawns, trees, forests, plants that require more water, etc. They like more regular rain, clouds, etc. To them the "brown" is uglier.

This is just a matter of personal preference. Some people love living in a desert city, others really don't.

>It is a border city
Most stats show that El Paso is 75% - 80% Hispanic / Mexican, which, can be intimidating to Caucasians or black folks or Asian folks, etc., visiting El Paso for the first time (or to those I know that moved initially to EP). This just is what it is. El Paso revolves strongly around the Mexican culture (food, culture, lifestyle, and yes, Spanish language even though English is the only one necessary to navigate through stores / the city).

Again, either you will likely not mind this or even like this, or it will annoy the bejeebers out of you. With El Paso literally being a stone's throw across the Rio Grande/Bravo to Mexico, I am quite certain this is something you are expecting. However, those that don't expect it can be in for culture shock in comparison to say, a Milwaukee.

As some of the locals above have pointed out, I have never needed Spanish to survive when I have been out and about in El Paso. English has been the only thing I have used (as I know very little Spanish). However, yes, depending upon the profession, some jobs will require Spanish usage (usually this will be stipulated in the job description when applying).

For me, I really like El Paso because of the weather, the mountains, the cost of living/housing, the pace of life, the culture, and the food. But others have reasons for really not liking it.

I think it'll only take a few months for you to realize if El Paso "fits" you or not, and if not, hey, enjoy the weather while you can and then keep exploring for that next city!

(I guarantee you though, compared to Milwaukee, even if El Paso isn't as great a fit for you as it is for me, come January, you'll appreciate being able to be outside rather than digging out 10 inches of snow!!)