Too much wrong, and not enough right - 10/11/2022

El Paso has been my home for the majority of my life. I have raised a family here, and have most of my relatives here in town. Through the years, I have noticed how EP has made some moves in the right direction, but many in the wrong, perhaps typical of any city (small or large). I believe the problem with the city is the mentality, and leadership, again, probably typical. However, the fact that EP is a border city with Mexico, the largest border city in the USA with Mexico, it makes EP a bit more unique with the progress or lack of. EP is a very ignorant city beginning with its leadership. Whether its the mayor, or the representatives, all play a big role with the poor decisions and moreso the inability to govern a large city. EP is not like any other city in TX, be it that it is a border city, yet local leadership want to force the idea that EP can become a city like Austin, Dallas or even San Antonio. Truth is, it cannot, for the simple fact that EP is a border city, and unfortunately the ignorance amongst EP is far greater than any of the cities the leaders want EP to become. There is potential in EP, but again, EP will require more astute leadership. It is true that EP appears more and more dirty, from I-10 (TXDOT) to city streets, and it don't matter what part of town, you see the neglect more in all parts of the city. Newly developed subdivisions, with beautifully landscaped views, and private drives look perfect for the first 6 months, but soon after, they are over-run with trash, weeds, and patches on the streets from poorly coordintated street construction. The city will contract a company to construct a new road, or re-pave or overlay a road, just to have it cut up by utility companies within months for install of utility lines of some sort. These utility companies "patch" the new roads and then the deterioration begins and the new roads look awful and potentially cause damage to vehicles. Taxpayers pay for this over and over again, including when the city builds street medians with beautiful landscaping, all for the city to neglect the care and upkeep of them. Within months, the medians are a trash collector and weeds are the new plant specie that take over what once was nice landscaping. Hilariously, the city will cry that they don't have the manpower to maintain these landscaped areas yet continue to build them at taxpayers expense, yet, the city does have the manpower to drive around town citing private owners of their landscaping that may be a bit dirty or have weeds. Poor leadership, lack of insight and training, old-fashioned mentality, ignorant, incapable, wasteful, no common sense, inability to see beyond the norm and be creative is exactly what EP has become. Change the leadership, and perhaps EP can for once begin to reach its highest potential and sustain a city where people may want to continue to live in, and/or visit.

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Hot and Dirty - 3/1/2022

I lived in El Paso most of my life, over 40 yrs! I think this city has grown too much and the crime is growing with it. It is a dirty city and people don't care where they dump their trash. It is way too hot in the summer and traffic is beyond tolerable. Drivers are rude and aggressive and are always on their phones. I left in 2021 and do not regret it one bit. My family still lives there so i still visit but will never live there again.

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LIVE IN PEACE IN EL PASO! - 9/15/2021

El Paso Texas might not be a mega-metropolis with the New York and LA style entertainment, but here are some Pros about this bi-national, multi-cultural mid-sized city. El Paso does not suffer from earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, wild fires, hurricanes, sunamis, tropical storms or any other type of natural disaster that cripples other regions of the U.S. every year. El Paso serves the best, most authentic Mexican food this side of the border. It's consistently one of the Safest Cities in the U.S. where people are kind, friendly and respectful to each other and visitors. So, if you're tired of living in fear year after year, you could actually LIVE IN PEACE, IN EL PASO. :)

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El Paso is wack and boring - 6/21/2021

I am a native from El Paso Was raised in the working class area in the east side of El Paso by Montwood high all I can say it’s grown a lot. People are friendly depends on the area. Never felt terrified of my life here there is lots of crazy drivers and if you try to work here good luck jobs are just sinking here been happenings since 09 of Obama Ever since I was young and trying to find a job only found 7.25 hour to 13 hour jobs and I’m 26 years old!! Streets are nasty as well El Paso can never fix them always patches them up. The arial view sucks after you live here about a year you’ll understand what I mean. You’ll get to know El Paso like the back of your hand. Fun for family? Lol good look over here El Paso has nothing for families oriented only have wet and wild and Peter piper and western play land. Nothing is exciting about El Paso other just to get old and boreded out of your mind and just be home majority of the time. They have lakes here but boring as hell and small like hideaway lakes and had one next to it but got closed down. Also have ascarate park but gets boring as well too only to fish and not swim in unless you want to get bit by red eared sliders turtles the public been dumping in there. Restaurants are always the best here but always undecided where to go lol people from out of town always want chicos tacos it’s okay not the greatest but Gabriel iglesias made it more popular. The cost of living is increasing in the far north east area due to many people from different states move to that specific are cause they don’t want to deal with the rest of us natives culture. Central is bad and getting worse as more crime is generating. East side still good but getting over crowded now that more houses are being built. Horizon is also a nice area that’s growing as well. Socorro has nice people and more rural area due to its cotton field. But as time is going by El Paso is becoming a ghetto with so much drunk drivers , fighting’s, thots, especially people on there phones and text and drive El Paso pd has made a law to stop them from texting and driving but don’t enforce the law. El Paso is a somewhat a good place to live for your financial needs , however good luck finding the job to support it , majority of people I know move out to different city like Odessa and midland just to pay housing in el paso, including people from Mexico are going to Odessa to break that barrier of pay. Which is dumb if you want good pay. El Paso is just wack All around and I’m glad on making the decision to finally move with my family to a great area by the end of this year!

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El Paso - In a Nutshell - 6/21/2021

I've lived in El Paso for the past three years. Having grown up in the greater Phoenix area, El Paso is about 10-15 degrees cooler during the summer months and it has great weather about 9 months of the year. El Paso is primarily a Hispanic city with numerous generations of Mexican-Americans living here. As a result, the schools spend a lot of resources ensuring the bilingual children succeed by providing them additional English Second Language learning courses. The added expenses for education are then passed on to homeowners and renter tenants. Although the state of Texas has no income tax, the city of El Paso has the highest property taxes in the nation at 3 percent! Most of the property taxes go towards K-12, local hospital subsidies, and law enforcement. If the schools here forced parents to prove citizenship or legal immigration status for their children attending the schools, I'm guessing school enrollment would drop by 10-15%, and so would our property taxes. The city is currently going through a rapid growth period and there seems to be a shortage of homes at the moment, causing a substantial 10% rise in property values. There is also an effort to "Beautify" the city by improving landscaping on city streets (i.e. the islands between the streets). Additionally, there seems to be an effort to improve the city's transportation system by widening the interstate (I-10) and adding new bus stops in the city. In my own neighborhood (Cielo Vista) the city installed accessibility ramps at all corners of the sidewalks. Many of the city parks have also had water features added for the children to cool off during the summer months. Investors have also built several new water attraction parks. The education of the population is improving, due to the large campuses of El Paso Community College (EPCC) and the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP). Many of the students there are the first generation in their families to attend institutions of higher learning. There are only two shopping malls in the city, an outdated mall (Sunland Park) on the West side, and a newer mall (Cielo Vista) on the East side. On the East side, there is also an outdoor shopping complex known as The Fountains at Farah. The city is lacking a bit in fine dining options, despite EPCC offering culinary classes which teach the art of fine food preparation. If you want outstanding meals at an affordable rate, contact EPCC and ask them about buying the student-prepared meals ($15 at the time of this writing). Culturally, the city is lacking. There just isn't a lot of top bands coming to play in El Paso, nor are there many offerings such as dance and theater. I've only seen one museum, and an old movie theater downtown that had some charm. The city organizers did bring outdoor ice skating during the winter, and they did a fair job at decorating the downtown area for Christmas. So why 2 stars you might ask, well...the high property taxes, the widespread and state/city-funded acceptance of illegal immigration, lack of cultural events and entertainment, and a lack of ethics amongst the population here are the primary reasons I give El Paso only two stars. Now I know I may have upset a lot of people with that last sentence, but I feel that when people of a society grow up impoverished, their morality is skewed in order to survive and it will take numerous generations of prosperity before it corrects itself and the idea of fairness is returned, and doing what is right when nobody is watching (i.e. putting your trash in the garbage bins at the parks). If you are Hispanic, or bi-lingual (English-Spanish), you may give this city more stars, especially if you were born south of the border. For someone who is well-traveled, you will recognize El Paso for what it is, a gateway city between the United States and South America. It is a melding of cultures, Mexican and Mexican-American. It is a city in its infancy to becoming one of the greatest places to live in the South-West; it just isn't there yet, maybe another 20 years of economic development will do the trick. El Paso is also a gateway city within the United States, essentially linking the East and the West via one of the US's main transportation arteries (I-10). El Paso is definitely a family-oriented city, due primarily to the Hispanic culture here and the unity of the people. However, if you are a Gringo amongst the locals, you may feel out of place, especially if you don't speak Spanish. If you are open and show a willingness to learn the language, the locals will accept you.

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Leave the County to have a comparison! - 3/24/2021

As an outsider that lived in El Paso from 1998 to 2004, left for 15 years, and now back again for the last 3, I can tell you that after traveling throughout the East Coast, the Pacific Northwest, and to some other countries. The most racism I have ever experienced started here in El Paso, people here are so selfish and devoid of interest in other people's well being and safety, everyone including cops and semi truck drivers use their cellphone while driving, road rage is a daily thing also. People do not respond to a simple salute, less say thanks. I mean if you are a native to this county is easy to live blindfolded to the reality specially if there is no comparison to an outside environment as most people who comment this way, have never left the area. It used to be good back in 1998, but now in 2021, it is a completely aggresive and unethical environment to live let alone raise a family.

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El Paso is a great place in the high desert!! - 1/7/2021

I am a native El Pasoan and I feel that El Paso has a an almost perfect quality of life if you like sunshine, affordable homes, mountains, a safe community, wonderful local restaurants plus a terrific diverse community that is welcoming respectful, kind and inclusive. Once you live here in the high desert you realize how fabulous the weather is and how marvelous the sunsets are with almost no humidity and very moderate winters! The people of El Paso are the most genuine and friendly in all of Texas!

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El Paso, The Sun City - 12/2/2020

El Paso is a great bilingual city, if you are a close minded person who thinks that we should only speak English in the USA, then El Paso is not for you. It sits on the border of Mexico and the USA, so the culture is a merge between the USA and Mexico. Although Juarez is a dangerous town to live in, El Paso is one of the safest cities in the USA. El Paso weather is hot but dry, so it's not too bad. It's a great place to raise kids and retire. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't have a party scene, there's tons of bars and clubs if that's yout thing. El Paso is also home to three educational institutions. El Paso Community College, Texas Tech, and the University of Texas at El Paso. It's also rich geographically with it's mountains and in history. It has tons of historical buildings, both civilian an military. For many years they were in dissaray, however, they are now being restored. El Paso is also home to one of the largest military installations, Ft. Bliss. Fort Bliss is home to over 38,500 active duty military personnel, over 39,000 of these soldier's family members, and over 1,000 reservists. Check it and make form your own opinion.

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Medio/ Medio is El Paso. - 11/16/2020

El Paso is tough during the lockdowns, but then too is the situation everywhere these days. At least the Winter weather is good.

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a mostly negative place to live - 4/27/2020

don't come here if you are not from the desert. it gets too hot here . unless you have enuf money to live somewhere that has good air conditioning then this is not a good place to go. i have lived here since the middle of March 2011 and now it's almost the end of April 2020. it's not just the heat that is awful .alot of people are mean here .they are clicky/clannish here . it's not easy to make friends here unless your into being like that . there's alot of bars here and they have 2 casinos but not much else other than the tech schools and university . the cops are bad here. here in El Paso then it doesn't matter if you have bruises or not .if someone punched your head multiple times over and over all at once then you should be able to talk to the police and for them to arrest the person..but no the cops here in El Paso will just say that you are on meth even though you are not on meth . the cops are really ignorant here . even when I did have big dark bruises then a cop did nothing and would not file a report for me to press charges . he laughed and left me at the hospital .the nurse was surprised .I had large dark bruises from abuse . I was not on drugs anytime I talked to cops or using drugs yet they treated me that way .it's not a good place to live when you can't call the police because they will treat victims badly. I want to also say that there is alot of prejudice against people who are thin or normal weight. I was skinny shamed here . most people in El Paso are overweight and I guess that's why I got skinny shamed by cops and random people . I was not underweight and I was never on meth but I've always been thin my entire life . if you are different like you are very quiet or something seems different about you to them, then they automatically accuse you of being on hard drugs. there are alot of drugs and drug people in El Paso but the cops are so ignorant here, that they accuse people who do not even use hard drugs . I don't recommend El Paso as a good place to live for all the reasons I said and not just the heat .

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Good for most...but not for me - 3/31/2020

I’ve lived in this desert city for 5 years now. I came from New Mexico so all I know is is desert. I always heard great stuff about the sun city but when I moved hear I was utterly disappointed! The people are not that nice as you may think. The drivers are ridiculous. The climate is boring and offers only sun. There is hardly any greenery which always has bothered me. Nothing exciting happens here. I’d say it’s a town for people who want to settle. It’s a nice family/military town for middle aged adults but for children and younger people...it’s very unsatisfactory. I feel limited here and I wish this town was a little more dynamic. It’s not ideal but is amazing for those who want a nice quiet city.

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El Paso is an awesome place to live in. - 10/20/2019

El Paso is unlike many other cities in the US. Living in El Paso is living in two worlds with its bilingual base. The Mexican cuisine in this city is great and the weather is excellent for outdoors. Downtown is currently in the process of renovating it's historical downtown. El Paso is also home to Ft. Bliss, the largest Army installation in the U.S. El Paso also sits in the border allowing the exchange of ideas and culture with its sister city CD. Juarez. Although CD. Juarez is high on crime, El Paso has been ranked one of the safest cities in U.S.

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El Paso..................ehhh! - 6/12/2019

Weather wise; El Paso is a great city to live in. Mostly sunny year-round and the temperature is bearable. Spring sort of sucks with the high winds and dust. Unfortunately, there are no jobs in El Paso (unless you work for the government like I do). What scant few jobs that due pop up pay very little. Traffic is bad but the crime rate is extremely low. Overall, the people tend to be a bit rude but there are some great folks here as well. Education is not bad with UTEP and Texas Tech. EPCC is horrible though. Good Luck.

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It's okay here. - 2/10/2019

Don't live here unless you are military. There is no room for growth, people are comfortable staying where they are even if they are making 9 dollars an hour. There's no room for growth unless you have a degree. It's not a dangerous place, the only thing dangerous about it is the employment opportunities.

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Not a welcoming place, bad drivers~ - 6/7/2018

Ill begin with saying, the living expenses are dirt cheap. You can buy a decent home for under 200k maybe even less than 100k. Thing is the pay is also dirt cheap here as well. If you are single and want to live alone, it's almost impossible. That's why there's over a 50% marriage rate here in El Paso. There is a lot of mixed characters here, but people are not friendly. They are very egotistic and pretentious without holding any actual educational value, or anything to uphold them to the imaginary standard they've made for themselves. The educational system here is extremely bad, utep has an acceptance rate of 99.9 at least. Also there is a lot of drivers from mexico so its bad like really bad make sure you have uninsured motorist in your policy. Its cheap to live here, but the people and atmosphere make it unbearable. If you have a choice, don't pick el paso.

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ELP - 12/9/2017

Great place to live, work, and play

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A place to live. - 5/15/2017

Not unbearable.

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Born and Raised - 4/13/2017

Well you have read many of the other reviews, some have tried to be fair, and others have propped it up to be the best or kicked it in the teeth for being the worst place on the planet. The statement below is just my observation of El Paso TX, not meant to be an opinion for or against the city; I was born and raise here, and I have seen El Paso TX be so much more than it is now, far more diverse growing up than it is now, plenty of work when I was a teenager, but thanks to NAFTA that all left for the other side of the now dried up river. It is true that unless you are fluent in Spanish, finding employment here can be almost impossible, and what you may find will pay as close to the bare minimum they can. I can see how non-Hispanic people would feel bias or unwanted or liked here. When you are on the low side of the population and everyone speaks a foreign language it can seem quite rude and isolated. El Paso is mostly Hispanic, I would figure it to be 90%, if not more, not what the census would have you believe it to be. It is true that the cost of a home here is quite affordable to buy, but the problem is the pay scale here is on the far low end of the spectrum, leaving many without that option. When El Paso learned of the big build up of Military coming to Fort Bliss, rents from apartments to homes were raised to rates most locals could not afford. Prior to the build up, rents for a 3 bedroom house were between 400 to 600 dollars a month after the build up, 800 to 1200 easy, some areas of town even higher than that. Many parts of town are now filled with for sale or rent signs, malls and retail properties are mostly empty. Sure there is stuff being built and it seems many are moving to the edges of the city, this is evident in the El Paso School District closing schools and consolidating them as well as there are not as many kids in its district. This may also be due to the cheating scandal it was caught up in, something to do with the STAR test and graduating kids who could not read nor do much else. True Story research it. Speaking of scandals, our local government is fraught with scandal, but this maybe the case with most cities. So I have been told. One of those scandals is how we have illegals living in hud housing, or people receiving benefits like food stamps and hud housing who earn well above the cut off limit. There is rampant abuse of social services in our city. Not to mention pay to play politics, and underhanded deals to tear down historic buildings to build an arena we dont really need, displacing many low income families who have had this property for generations. One thing as a former LEO, don't buy into this false report of El Paso being one of the safest cities in America. There are ways to fool that FBI stat to make El Paso look better than it is, one is passing crimes off to the Military Police to handle, or to other police agencies in the area, or down grading the offense to a lesser charge, if they report it at all. All of that just to make El Paso seem like a beacon of hope next to one of the deadliest places on earth, Juarez Mexico. Just keep it in perspective and look into it. I will say I don't feel unsafe here in my neighborhood, but there are parts of town I would not be caught after dark. Common sense will guide you. Driving here has become more and more dangerous, recently there have been many pedestrians hit by motor-vehicles and they have fled the scene. Drunk Driving is a major concern here, as Bars and drinking seem to be one of the main forms of entertainment. If you are into Strip Clubs we seem to have more than our fair share.. not judging just pointing out we have quite a few of them. Lots of empty desert or empty homes so kids have places to party as well, and the EPPD seems a bit lax on the enforcement of underage drinking, they tend to just run them off, than make arrest. This is mostly due to the fact our PD is way under staffed, and without regular police academy classes, they only seem to be getting smaller. Many retire or move to other cities where the pay is better.. and yes even a few break the law and are removed. But I have to hand it to the ones we have, they do an amazing hard job with very little resources, they keep us safe the best as they can.. so I salute our local LEO's. If you Love El Paso, then you will accept its faults, or ignore them completely. If you hate El Paso, you will be miserable and want out as fast as you can, but not be able to escape due to the low wages and ability to save. Why, well because the taxes of this city are extreme, and they are constantly trying to raise them. Property taxes have risen and continue to do so. Your services like water and electricity have monopolies that just gouge its customer base to the core. And each of them want to raise rates even more, one as much as 20% increase to your monthly bill. I have heard the term Brain Drain a lot lately as well. I honestly had never heard the term and had to look it up. It is when your college graduates leave your city for better opportunities elsewhere. This is happening to El Paso due to the poor wages, young people get educated and then leave. All of my friends have moved away. I too left when I joined the military, but I came back for family. I have one family member left, and when she goes, I do too.. not because I hate it here, but because I can not live here, I can only survive here, my kids can not find employment, my wife is highly educated in Computer Science/Programming, and there just is no work for her skill set here. El Paso has its charm, and I wish for it the best. It is a large city with a small town attitude. There is so much more to tell you about, but it is best if you come and experience it first hand and see for yourself, you never know it maybe a place you love, or hate. I hope this observation has helped you better understand the city, its problems and its rewards. There is truth in the other reviews, both the ones that hate the city and those who love it, honestly some place between the two is where the truth lies, but really as each of us is different, every place will be a love hate relationship. Visit El Paso and make your choice. Good LUCK!

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Stay away - 2/13/2017

Please stay away from this city, there is no progress here it is all lies. The city is in a constant state of depression, the locals are racist against whites and blacks, and the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. If you want to move to a place and be unhappy, then move right in. If you are Looking for something more, keep driving.

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Portal for real estate - 9/7/2016

El Paso a modern and comfortable city for living. To quickly and easily buy, sell, rent, or lease the property, I recommend to go to the portal ElPasoZW

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