Reviews & Comments
El Paso, TX
re: Ugliest city in the southwest - 10/26/2011 -
2/19/2012Get to Know the City.
I have to disagree with you. I moved to El Paso from Hawaii, and I have to say that I absolutely love El Paso. The culture here is a genuinely nice culture, and the people are always there to help out. In actuality, it is one of the safest cities in America. The crime rate is considerably lower than most with such a high population. Only FIVE homicides were reported in 2010, contradicting the 2,0000+ drug related homicides in Ciudad Juarez.
Fort Bliss is one of the largest military instillations in America, so relocating troops to Fort Bliss is because of the land quantity, not because of the border. American military personnel are not allowed to go across the International bridge. The training land of Fort Bliss is larger and resembles combat zones more than any other instillation because of the desert environment.
Sure, there's not much to look at in El Paso, and there aren't sparkling beaches like there were in Hawaii, but it is unique and exotic all its own. I have lived in several different states throughout my lifetime, and I have to say that the people here in El Paso are definitely the nicest.
I don't speak Spanish fluently, and sometimes, I'm looked down upon because of that, but I am able to communicate with most people with the little Spanish I know. I am slowly working on my Spanish, and hopefully, I will be fluent soon.
There are always bad parts of cities, and there are some places you just don't go to because of their location. It's always like that. In Hawaii, I never ventured out at night or to Chinatown at any time of the day because of the dangers. In Virginia, I stayed clear of certain parts of town. El Paso is not the only city in the world that has good and wealthy parts of the city, but low income and dangerous places too. People should be cautious, but they shouldn't write off El Paso completely because of stereotypes.
I know several people who were born and raised in Juarez before moving. They'll even say that they won't go into Mexico, but they also say that El Paso is such a drastic and safe change. A good friend of mine said that his father doesn't think that Ciudad Juarez is dangerous, but he won't go visit his father. His father comes and visits him. Several of my friends still hold residencies in Juarez, but say that they prefer the safety and security of El Paso much better.
It's a very nice city once you get around, and it's my favorite out of all of the places (many, many places) I have lived. I think that people should give El Paso a chance and not focus on the fact that it is right next to Ciudad Juarez. I'm staring at Juarez from my window, yet I have never encountered any dangers in my neighborhood.
I love El Paso, and I realize that my view is not completely objective, but then again, neither is yours. We are all entitled to our own opinions, but El Paso and the people who live here should not be judged by the violence going on on the other side of the fence. It's a great city when you aren't looking at it in terms of drugs and violence that rarely happens in El Paso, but is prominent in Ciudad Juarez.
In response to the Mexican restaurants, I love the ones I have found so far. A lot of the businesses from Juarez are switching over, so majority of the food is genuine Mexican, not TexMex as is found in the rest of the country. I enjoy the restaurants very much, but I don't think that its the only good thing about El Paso. (: