El Paso or Ft Hood, TX: Anyone live there?

[cheeringmom]

Hi!! I need some help and figured my friends on the DIS would be the best place for me to start. My 21 yr old daughter just got offered a job with Army Public Affairs in either El Paso or Ft Hood, TX. We did some searching on the web but would rather hear by word of mouth how those places would be for a new young person starting out in the job market. Are they safe? Is there stuff for young people to do? How do you like the area? Housing? Where to live...Any help at all would be appreciated. Thanks so much CMOM

 

[brerrabbit]

I would go with Ft Hood. El Paso is okay but very hot (not that Ft Hood isn't) but also El Paso has had some saftey concerns being on the Mexican border. From Ft Hood she would be close to Austin, San Antonio, and not really that far from Dallas. Overall just based on living in Texas my whole life if all aspects of the job were equal I would say Ft Hood by a long shot over El Paso.

 

[cheeringmom]

I would go with Ft Hood. El Paso is okay but very hot (not that Ft Hood isn't) but also El Paso has had some saftey concerns being on the Mexican border. From Ft Hood she would be close to Austin, San Antonio, and not really that far from Dallas. Overall just based on living in Texas my whole life if all aspects of the job were equal I would say Ft Hood by a long shot over El Paso.

Thanks. That is where she is kind of leaning. The crime doesn't seem to be as bad but like I said, I'd rather hear it word of mouth then from web site. She just got the offer a few hours ago and has until Wednsday to decide so we are working very hard to get info. Thanks again for your response.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

I lived outside of Ft Hood in Killeen for the first 10 years of my life and live outside of Houston now.

I would choose Ft Hood over El Paso because it is centrally located so Austin, San Antonio, DFW, and Houston are options for visiting.

El Paso is so far from the rest of Texas that it is isolated from any other Texas cities. Also, it is on the border with Mexico. And that is all that I will say about that.

Ft Hood/Killeen isn't as exciting as Austin or San Antonio, but it is better than El Paso.

MHO/YMMV

 

[Aimeedyan]

Neither are thrilling spots but I'd pick Ft Hood over El Paso in a heartbeat. Ft Hood will give her driving distance to larger cities with more activities, shopping, culture, etc.

 

[cheeringmom]

I lived outside of Ft Hood in Killeen for the first 10 years of my life and live outside of Houston now.

what area would you recommend to live? is thre a housing community you prefer?

 

[LindaR]

Well, I live in southern New Mexico and drive to El Paso frequently (shopping, etc.). If it were MY daughter.........I would live in fear of her living in EL Paso. The "temptation" to go over the border for partying and/or shopping will be strong. It is a horrid place (Juarez).

I've neve been to Ft. Hood...............but I KNOW El Paso......and would not choose to live there!

 

[cheeringmom]

Well, I live in southern New Mexico and drive to El Paso frequently (shopping, etc.). If it were MY daughter.........I would live in fear of her living in EL Paso. The "temptation" to go over the border for partying and/or shopping will be strong. It is a horrid place (Juarez).

I've neve been to Ft. Hood...............but I KNOW El Paso......and would not choose to live there!

Good to know. Thank you! I am hearing more positives about Ft Hood.

 

[missypie]

21 year old daughter? Ft Hood without a second thought.

A while back there were lots of news stories about how the horrible (horrible gruesome) crime in Juarez was being kept on the Mexican side and that El Paso still had a super low crime rate. But of late I'm reading how the crime is crossing the border. The Juarez crime isn't muggings or purse snatchings...it's beheadings after torture, etc. Yes, it's war related to the drug trade, but 21 year olds don't always have the best instincts of where not to be.

If it were my 21 year old? Ft Hood!

 

[Boston Tea Party]

what area would you recommend to live? is thre a housing community you prefer?

Sorry I can't help you there. It's been 30 years since I have been there.

 

[Melisa1]

I have lived both places. I currently live right outside Ft Hood in Harker Heights. If I were your daughter and had a choice I would definately pick the Ft Hood area - MUCH nicer.
I live in Harker Heights, its a nice area and is growing quite a bit. We are an hour from Austin and Waco, right in Central Texas.
Google Harker Heights and Killeen, I think she will like it much better.

 

[missypie]

I have lived both places. I currently live right outside Ft Hood in Harker Heights. If I were your daughter and had a choice I would definately pick the Ft Hood area - MUCH nicer.
I live in Harker Heights, its a nice area and is growing quite a bit. We are an hour from Austin and Waco, right in Central Texas.
Google Harker Heights and Killeen, I think she will like it much better.

Melisa1, correct me if I am wrong, but I always get the idea that the Ft. Hood/Killeen/Harker Heights area is sort of a "company town" in that it very much supports the military.

 

[EMom]

Geez, Louise, Ft. Hood by a country mile. I wouldn't get within an hour of El Paso. Things in Juarez (just across the border) are as bad as bad can get and it is spilling across the US border. We have a friend who grew up in Juarez, but became a US citizen. He was in the US military in some sort of special forces.....I'm not up on my "special forces" lingo...but he has serious military training in his background. He is scared witless to visit Juarez to go see relatives. He said it is like a war zone and once you cross the border, it's no better than being in Iraq. You're just in a different sort of war, with different enemies. His relatives only leave the house to get essentials and I've heard from others in that city that this is true.....people are not getting outside their homes for fear of being caught up in the violence. He said NO ONE is out at night. It's like a dead city in many areas because anyone who values their life stays inside. He has begged his parents to come to the US, but they won't...too old.

Just the other day, a young woman about 18-20 was being interviewed about crossing the border from El Paso to Juarez. She was Hispanic, but a US citizen. She said they were barely across the border when they came across human heads just laying by the side of the road. Decapitation is a favorite way the drug gangs have of sending "messages." From the way she said it, I got the idea it was not the first time she'd seen such a thing.

Words cannot say how bad things are there. There is no real wall separating Mexico from the US......just a border that seems to be meaningless. With the state of things in Juarez, I'd beg my DD to move anywhere else.

 

[Tink888]

My step-daughter and SIL are stationed at Fort Bliss and have been in El Paso for about two years now. They have lived in both off base and on base housing and though they have made many wonderful friends and haven't experienced any problems, I would go with Fort Hood.

Juarez is right across the bridge from El Paso. There are many Juarez residents who work in El Paso. The military (Fort Bliss anyway) has banned all military personnel from crossing the border into Juarez.

 

[Melisa1]

Melisa1, correct me if I am wrong, but I always get the idea that the Ft. Hood/Killeen/Harker Heights area is sort of a "company town" in that it very much supports the military.

You are absolutely right! All 3 areas kinda run in to each other and all support our troops! Ft Hood is a very large base ( or the largest we have been stationed at)