Lubbock vs. El Paso (Dallas, Austin: to buy, college, restaurants)

[AirportFan]

Make your vote on which of these 2 cities are better.

[Poncho_NM]

I would prefer El Paso over Lubbock...

[case44]

Problem with me is, I like both cities, and each has something to offer.

El Paso: Downtown skyline is more definitive, plus they have the Franklin Mountains. There's also no shortage of great gorditas in that area, which you can't get in most other Texas cities. They've got palm trees. Lots of history all over town. Great military heritage in the city. Transcontinental Interstate 10 runs through the heart of the city. Has instant access to three states (two in the U.S. and one in Mexico).

Lubbock: Music city with a rock and roll history. Better barbecue than what El Paso has. Texas Tech has more national sports coverage than UTEP. Wider-open spaces. Largest concentrated medical district between Dallas and Phoenix. They've got windmills, windmills, and windmills.

Both cities have a favorite steak of mine. In Lubbock, it's Cagle's, and in El Paso, it's Cattleman's.

[Pink90]

El Paso is bigger and, I'd assume, would have more to do.

[TxAzMark]

I would prefer Lubbock over El Paso. I am biased as a TTU grad. However, Lubbock is a very clean city w/great medical & educational centers, yet is a very diverse economy. El Paso always seems dirty to me; probably due to being across the river from Juarez. The El Paso-Juárez region is the largest bilingual, binational work force in the Western Hemisphere, which is pretty impressive. It always seems more like NM than TX to me.

[Bo]

I've been to both cities in the past 6 months. I prefer Lubbock. It's flatter and it's easier to get around in.

[Westerntraveler]

Lubbock

[AirportFan]

Lubbock is cleaner and better maintained. The problem is, there is absolutely nothing to do. El Paso has more entertainment, but it is dirty. It has gotten cleaner since 2012. 2012 and before, it was even dirtier. El Paso is not a well maintained city and is run down and old. Both are different in their own ways.

Lubbock: More modern, well maintained, amazing college, better medical centers, easier to drive in, nice people, all farmland scenery.

El Paso: Very old, run down, UTEP is ok, we have UMC, really hard to drive in if you don't know the laws, people are nice but cliquish, better entertainment, better scenery.

I can see why more people prefer El Paso. There is more to do and there is scenery. Lubbock is all farmlands, but the people are cool there. However, if your extroverted, Lubbock would be a much better city. El Paso is way too cliquish and so many introverted people. Most extroverts are often lonely in El Paso and never really make any friends. It's not impossible, but making friends in El Paso requires a lot of effort, like the most you will ever have to put in. Not sure if any other places in America are like that. I've noticed Boston people seem the same way. Also, El Paso is not a city to meet women. Almost every girl in El Paso is taken, and the single girls are either moms or very fat. Lubbock is a better city for dating.

[magnum0417]

As a Zonie, El Paso all the way. I love NM as well and El Paso really should be in NM. More diverse culture with plenty of New Mex Sonoran Mex and Tex Mex restaurants wrapped into one. The scenery is nice with the prettiest mountains up in Las Cruces.

Lubbock is isolated and subject to ridiculous temperature swings and volatile weather being east of the mountains that protect El Paso and Las Cruces from the tornados and harsh Alberta Clippers in the winter. Lubbock is cleaner and more modern but that doesn't make it better to me.

[clientred]

Having been to both places Lubbock defiantly is cleaner but it is much smaller. There definitely is a more developed medical district in Lubbock compared to El Paso as mentioned by other posters but EP is improving in this area, ironically with the help of Texas Tech. Being a smaller community Lubbock is definitely more conservative.

I heard (and anyone who knows more about this can correct me) that Lubbock was in a dry county until very recently. Meaning that you had to drive out side county to buy alcohol of any kind. Lubbock isn't a small town by any means but a small city that is growing.

El Paso on the other hand is less invasive in certain areas that might seem taboo in a place like Lubbock; but that doesn't mean that El Paso is a liberal paradise like Austin or San Francisco. Overall I think there is more to do in El Paso like EP Street fest, Sun City Music Festival, Neon Desert, and even more shopping destinations. Lubbock Has Texas Tech Athletics but not everyone is a sports fan.

In terms of eateries EP offers more variety as well even though as mentioned by another poster Lubbock has better BBQ. To me Lubbock having better BBQ is like saying El Paso has better Mexican food, both statements are probably true but there is world out side Texas barbeque and Mexican cuisine and EP probably takes that one.

In the end it seems that El Paso is a more cosmopolitan place, despite the fact that El Paso is 80% Mexican-American. This may seem like a oxymoronic idea to some, but overall it seems people in El Paso are more open to things than people in Lubbock. That doesn't mean that I think El Paso is the most cosmopolitan or even progressive place in Texas, but in comparison with other smaller, bible belt cities in West Texas like Midland,Odessa, Lubbock, and Amarillo it definitely is to me.

If you are looking for a cosy, conservative city with a true small town atmosphere then I think Lubbock is the place for you.

If you are looking for a place that actually feels more like a city and doesn't have that Texas-southern Feel to it then I think El Paso is what you are looking for.

For the record I am from El Paso, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I am trying to be objective, but we're all alittle bias. I'm sure that if you ask someone from Lubbock about comparing the two cities that person can give many examples about why I am wrong but that is my two cents.