and I've never spent any time there at all. Any advice on where to live, where good elementary schools are, overall impressions of the city, etc?

TIA

West side is the best side............

Let's go ski-man!

Good luck and I hope you hate to golf.

Poor you. I'm sorry. El Paso is the armpit/ass hole of Texas.

I should know. I was born 'n raised there.

Live on the West Side, put your kids in private school, don't go to Downtown at night, don't drink the water in Juarez, the Mexican food there will give you the sheets, make sure your car is OVERinsured, don't look anyone in the eye (esp. the thugs looking for a fight), and always lock up your home/car/valuables - even if you're only going to be gone a moment.

[This message has been edited by AggieBarstool (edited 3/5/2010 11:00a).]

Terrific. Sounds great so far.

Why do you say that about golf, ttuhscaggie? I've been in Tucson for a year and a half, and the golf here has spoiled me, it's cheap and the courses are great. Is it really that bad in El Paso?

Any positives at all?

don't be scared off by the haters.

the golf is good and cheap here - cheaper than tucson, but not as nice as the resort courses out there. butterfield trail is nice and the westside country clubs all have nice courses.

you definitely do want to avoid going to mexico right now - things are bad over there.

the mexican food is great - it's not tex-mex, it's real mexican food.

you definitely do want to live on the westside, it's completely different than the eastside, which is closer to how people are depicting EP - but not even close to what they're trying to make it sound like...

Ignore most of what Barstool said. Definately put your kids in the West Side Schools, public or private's up to you. Franklin and Coronado are both strong high schools academically.

Golfing I recommend the Santa Theresa Golf course it's rather nice I'd say. Good people too. Also, if you enjoy shooting, there's a myriad of places in the dessert where you can just go and have a good time.

Nightlife, it ain't Austin but it sure is less snobby than in places like Dallas or Houston I think. The music scene is not so great, but it's growing. There's good dancing on Doniphan Dr, and Downtown. Learn spanish bud, it'll open you to much more of the community. El Paso has the third lowest crime rate in the nation, you can account that to the enormous amount of law enforcement they have out there. Local, County, and Federal level. Stay out of Juarez for now, and pray for those people.

Lastly the Mexican food is the best by far. I'll put it this way, I avoid "Mexican" everywhere else in Texas, b/c it doesn't compare.

quote:

---

Lastly the Mexican food is the best by far. I'll put it this way, I avoid "Mexican" everywhere else in Texas, b/c it doesn't compare.

---

Good luck with that. If it was so great certainly they would be serving it across the state. Its brutal and I'd kill for a little Lupe Tortilla's any day of the week in El Paso. Have fun down in the west Texas town.

I guess I'll just stop there before I have to call out everybody else on this thread. Seriously guys quit blowing smoke up this fellow's a@@.


[This message has been edited by ttuhscaggie (edited 3/6/2010 2:43a).]

I guess you either love it or hate it. This place has it's positives and it's negatives just like any other place. The food is better than anywhere else in the state but the service is lacking sometimes.

People drive slow so don't get in a hurry. It's part of the culture, no one is in a hurry.

What's the best part about El Paso? It's the hottest economy in the country right now.

As for golf, you can play Painted Dunes during twilight for about $13 with a cart. It was once a top 10 course in Texas. The others mentioned here are decent too although I've never had a chance to play the country clubs.

Thanks for posting all.

I moved to Tucson without having been here before, and it was similar with the mixed feelings out there. Hopefully my family will fall on the side that enjoys El Paso like we did with Tucson.

I'm glad to hear the golf is cheap. And toooombs, your restaurant from the other thread looks great. We'll definitely give it a try when we get there.

Grew up on the East side. It definitely has it's good and bad parts. But I'm with everyone on this one, stay in the West side.

It has a decent amount of nice golf courses and is quite affordable.

Stay out of Juarez for now.

I never worried about the crime when I was living there, my parents who live on the East side still don't today.

As for the food, I would say it's more New Mexican which is not for everyone. Definitely not Tex-mex. My favorite place was Avilas on the east side (which isn't there anymore, but I hear the west side one isn't bad either).

Enjoy yourself, it's not the end of the world you're going to live there. It could be worse, you could be living in Beaumont (which is the ass/armpit of texas, close second the valley).

Hey I'm just happy to get to Texas at all. I've been trying to get back since graduating. So this might not be what I had in mind, but it's a start!

If you enjoyed Tuscon, you will be fine in El Paso. Those towns are very similar.

thanks indy - looking forward to having you come by the restaurant!

[This message has been edited by toooombs (edited 3/8/2010 10:47a).]

give ep a fair shot. i lived there for thirteen years and loved it. i now live in dallas and haven't been back in awhile but i still defend good ol' ep when people start talking sh#t. ep has some cool geography with the mountains in the middle of the city, new mexico minutes away (little diner) and skiing close by, and of course, MMMIIIIIINNNNNERRRR basketball.

Here is a thread from a while back with more discussion. (I believe jlvaughn was AggieBarstool's former user name.)

http://www.texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?topic_id=717824&forum_id=40

The one major thing that has changed since then is that Juarez has become much more dangerous, although El Paso has not.

http://www.theeagle.com/texas/Despite-proximity-to-Juarez--El-Paso-safe

Positives - Southwest Airlines & a quick flight out into TX or West Coast.

Mexican food - the real deal! Drive up the river towards Cruces & you can find loads of nice places to hit.

El Paso & Lubbock are arguably the closest to any kind of skiing you can drive from TX without losing your mind on a LONG road trip.

UTEP & NMSU - if you like college sports you're alomst promised a game every weekend with those two schools around. Quality may be lacking but it's something.

Close to Big Bend country. Marfa, Alpine, Terlingua, hippies, art, big ranches, etc.

You get to keep your TX ID, plates, no income tax, etc. I live in Guymon, OK. I can see wind towers sitting in TX from my porch. It's depressing it's so taunting. No Blue Bell, DQ, Whataburger, I digress.

Negatives - border town, Border Patrol, '78 model van smoking like a fright train going about 45 in the left lane down I-10, TX forgets El Paso is part of the state (i.e.: Read your TX Monthly).

I grew up between El Paso & Tucson. I'd always rather go to El Paso unless it were for golf or scoring tickets to watch U of Ariz basketball when Lute was coaching.

Thanks for the posts. My wife and I are driving back there in a couple of weeks to spend the weekend checking it all out.

quote:

---

You get to keep your TX ID...

---

Actually, I'm pretty happy about finally getting my Texas ID. I'm not from Texas, I just lived there for the four years while at A&M. I've been trying to get back there ever since graduating, with stops in Chicago, DC, and Tucson.

It's going to be the first time in my life that I'll actually be excited about going to the DMV when I get to pick up my Texas license and plates.

If you're driving - Cactus Kitchen in Deming, NM is a pretty good place to find for lunch. Easy on & off from I-10.

Oh, and don't forget you're going to be just a short drive from Hatch, NM. HATCH! Roasted Green Chilie, the best smell God created.

Don't forget - TX doesn't have a DMV. TX Dept of Public Safety for your driver's license. Your local county tax office to fetch your plates. AZ - you get it all at your local DMV. A little different.

One more thing, take note of the smell hanging in the air on the rare occasions that it rains or just afterward. It's quite nice, and it's released by a desert plant that releases a perfume in the air... I always appreciated that.

I'll have to go check out that restaraunt mentioned in the other post, but also check out Cappettos on Montana, it's also Aggie Owned and Operated and their Chicken Angelo is pretty damn amazing. (http://www.cappettos.com/)

Well excuse me for giving a critical view of the sh#thole I had the displeasure of calling home. I've had too many negative experiences there in my first 18 years of life to really like it or think positively of it.

Let me try to be positive:

The mountains are BEAUTIFUL. It's unfortunate you need a day permit to hike, but it's cheap. Do it!

While you're at it, take a drive or two across Transmountain and/or Rim Road. The scenic views are killer - especially at night.

The Mexican food IS the best in Texas, but after several years of Tex-Mex in College Station and abroad, I'm not used to the real stuff. If you get a chance, try Leos Mexican Food. They've been around for 60+ years.

The Wyler Ariel tramway is a neat thing to do. The tramway takes you from the base of one mountain to the tip of another. At the top, there's a viewing station which gives you a view of Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico.

If you can visit the historic missions, there's a lot of scenery and history to be learned.

If you wanna go to the racetrack or casino, drive west on I10 until you hit Sunland Park. Good times.

this has been good info. i just ventured over here because i have a phone interview next week for a job in el paso.
not to worried about the golf, i grew up playing in lubbock/amarillo, but looking forward to the food.

The El Paso Rod and Gun Club has a great facility in Northeast El Paso. They have trap, skeet, clays, and lots of rifle and handgun ranges.

quote:

---

The El Paso Rod and Gun Club has a great facility in Northeast El Paso. They have trap, skeet, clays, and lots of rifle and handgun ranges.

---

If you go, you'd better be some form of LEO/military or go with someone that is. Of the few times I've gone, I've always felt ostracized for being being a civilian shooter.

Also, if you hope to shoot trap/skeet, make sure you call ahead and take the necessary class and ensure there's room. Otherwise, you'll be shooting non-moving targets at the "open" range at the end.