How much time did you spend in El Paso? During my 50 years on this earth, I have lived in a variety of places: SF Bay Area, Spokane, a small town on the Mosel River in Germany (Traben-Trarbach), and Dallas. For 20 of those years, I lived in El Paso, Texas, and I count those years as an absolute blessing.
The climate is wonderful: you can play golf 362 days out of the year, and the humidity is very, very low. Since when has anybody ever believed anything coming from Reuters? C'mon, my fellow Freepers! El Paso's humidity rarely exceeds 40%, let alone 70%. That quote deserves special status as the "Dumbest Comment of the Week."
Of all the wonderful things about El Paso, it is the people that make it a special place. It is a vibrant city of almost 700,000 people, with fine educational institutions, and a charm befitting its history of over 400 years. For those of you who don't know, El Paso was founded before the gringos landed at Plymouth Rock!
The biggest problem that El Paso has is that the Democrats have run the city for at least 150 years, and it may take another few generations before Republicans can gain a foothold. Based on my experience, younger El Pasoans are breaking away from the bitter bondage of Democrat thought.
When I first met my wife, almost everyone in her family was a Democrat. Then I joined the family, with my strong opinions and ideas as a proud Republican. Now, there are very few Democrats in our family.
I challenge those who denigrate El Paso to actually spend some time there, and to learn about the city and its rich traditions. I'm certain that you will come away with a respect for this great city.
For me, the best part of El Paso is that I met my lovely bride there, and two of my three kids were born there!
I'm with you. I've lived in CT, Pullman WA, Albuquerque and Santa Fe NM, Sevilla Spain, and now the SF Bay Area, and I wouldn't mind living in El Paso. I've maybe spent a month there visiting relatives but it sure seemed nice to me.
One thing I've noticed--if someone has grown up in one place and never lived anyplace else, they always think their 'hometown' is the best place on God's green earth. People in the Bay Area tell me they couldn't imagine living anyplace else. The people in rural CT (where I grew up) say the same thing, as do the people in New Mexico.
More power to them. Personally I like moving around and getting to know this great country of ours, first-hand and up close.