December 14, 2007
The Good . . .
Being from El Paso is like being from Mars. When you meet someone else from El Paso, you bond instantly because you share a heritage that is truly unique in the country. I loved growing up in El Paso and I still love the city even though I no longer live there.
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El Paso has always been and will always be one of the most important places in the world to me. I love being there, I always feel more at home there than elsewhere and my family lives there and will continue to live there. I might live there if I were to get married or to find a much better job, but in reality, El Paso is not as attractive to me because I know that going there means losing contact with the rest of the arts and writing world. I also find it incredibly repulsive that the city continues to find ways to lose character by covering its mountain in development projects and losing its great natural wonder, in addition to destroying its downtown by moving out border businesses that have been there for years, and putting in their place chains that one can find anywhere throughout the country. Good luck with your project!
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El Paso is a wonderful place to have grown up. Proximity to Mexico is one of its great strengths.
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El Paso is on the brink of unprecedented economic growth and prosperity.
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El Paso is wonderful. It is one of the safest communities in the U.S. It is fully bilingual and fully integrated. It is original and rich in culture and history. Too bad some politicians are trying to destroy the legacy so that few developers can enrich themselves by bleaching El Paso with the same corporations that we find everywhere else in Nowhere USA. A few more Wal-marts and other big box stores along the U.S. – Mexico border will cleanse the city from any history while helping the elite get wealthier. It is the same story everywhere.
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A great town. There’s so much there: artists, food, mountains, people . . . but there is no El Paso idea person to bring all together. Follow Chicago’s lead to build a greater El Paso.
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Because I work for the El Paso Congressman in Washington, I don’t feel like I’ve really left. However, I feel like it would be a big step to go back, and I know, though I would to go back, advancing professionally where I am now would be a lot easier than returning to El Paso.
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Culturally homogenous; few opportunities for careers/advancement; socialist mentality (frustrating); wonderful history, restaurants, and pride; slow to adapt to change.
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Despite the beautiful mountains, it is stagnant. Perhaps it’s just the people that remain stagnant.
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The Bad . . .
El Paso has been a HUGE-let-down for me. I left EP in a hurry when I finished high school, went through a “I’m coming back!” phase and then came to learn the substantial limitations to coming back. El Paso is an institution that exhibits more resistance to change than others in my experience. The political institutions and local markets are entrenched in archaic attitudes, dispositions and methods. There are extremely brilliant beacons of progressive thought, style and approach, but those are few and face considerable opposition. Change requires vast resources, not just good will and desire.
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The saying you can’t go home again rings true. I cannot be in a place that is ok with mediocrity, or with the mentality that there is nothing wrong with under education and low aspirations. There is nothing wrong with blue-collar work, but sometimes it feels like people have become complacent with the city. Or if some in the city are doing something they are out for themselves and making a buck. There does not seem to be a lot put into community development, or a drive to educate the city on why investment in themselves can only lead to good for all. Failed projects like the downtown redevelopment program, or the lack of interest in providing more green spaces, or further the debacle with the recent conspiracy scandal to defraud the El Paso School District, leave a bad taste in my mouth.
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El Paso has the capability to become one of the most influential cities in the U.S. The current metropolis in El Paso County is one of the largest metropolises in the ensure country, yet those who view it as such is negligible. For a while, I have felt that the leaders of El Paso wish that the city remain stagnant. Yet with a globalized economy, El Paso refuses to search the international market to expand itself. There are no large vacation attractions in El Paso even though El Paso weather is ripe for amusement parks. I see the governing body of El Paso refusing to invest the necessary capital in the city to let it grow. It’s as if El Paso leaders encourage mediocrity.
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El Paso is a great city with a lot to offer but with the current leadership and the way the city has been stalled culturally and economically you boys have your work cut out for you trying to stop the brain drain.
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There is a need for more cultural diversity; one particular group (no comment on which one) has established hegemonic dominance of the community’s culture potentially alienating visitors.
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And the Maybe
I believe El Paso has as much to offer as cities like Albuquerque, San Antonio, Phoenix, but somehow it does not.
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El Paso does have a lot of offer, but not for people who are starting out in their careers. There are limited resources for adults who have gone through higher education and are looking for jobs with the potential for upward mobility. Perhaps El Paso would be an OK place to raise a family.
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El Paso is a lovely city and I like it when I’m there to visit. Since I have left the Sun City, I have actually appreciated it more. But, at age 22, I now love exploring other parts of our country. The area of New York where I attend graduate school is beautiful with season changes like I have never seen before in El Paso. While I’m young, I hope to continue to enjoy the changes of new places I visit. But I would definitely consider El Paso as a place to settle down with my family someday in the future.
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The people of El Paso need to get better self-esteem. They don’t appreciate the great things that make El Paso special. Why are we repeating the errors of other cities 20 year after other cities have committed them. We need to plan for future development and expansion now. We need to stop sprawl because the city and area can’t support more traffic. We need to make the city walkable, promote downtown living, and start planning for mass transit options such as light rail. We need better recycling. People need to shop at local businesses and not whine about El Paso not having J. Crew, Abercrombie, and Starbucks. Shop local, attend UTEP sporting events. Stop staying home and not going to UTEP games when they are playing at the same time as an Oscar De La Hoya match or Dallas Cowboys game. Pathetic. We think “little.” People think cities such as San Antonio, Dallas are “big time” and models to strive for but they are not. We also need more development of bi-national tourism. There should be an El Paso-Juarez Tourism Board. That’s my rant . . .
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El Paso has great potential. Unfortunately, it seems as if political leaders in the area are not interested in developing the City’s education, cultural and professional infrastructure. The City Council and El Paso Business Chamber boast that the largest employers are the school districts and municipal government. This is an indication to me that El Paso leaders have failed to bring in top companies to the City. This is nothing to boast about. The job opportunities, and job growth in the area for professionals seems almost non-existent. I would like to move back to El Paso. However, with such little opportunities for me in that city, I am better off where I am currently residing. This is a shame, I would like to move back home to be closer to my family. Due such little opportunities for me in the area, it would take a family emergency for me to come back to El Paso, which unfortunately, is the case for some of my friends as well.
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