Born and Raised
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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!
Jefferey | El Paso, TX