El Paso, Texas Relocation Guide

Population: 515,342 Located in El Paso County

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El Paso is a jewel in the desert. Nestled between the rugged Franklin Mountains and the historic Rio Grande, this dynamic border community combines the advantages of a major metropolitan center with the ambience and neighborly charm of a modern western town. Three states, two countries, one culture: El Paso, Texas.

City of El Paso Police Department is a dynamic and innovative entity currently composed of over 1,100 officers and nearly 300 civilian employees who serve with pride and dedication. The Department¹s efforts are supported by a large contingent of community volunteers who donate their time to perform a variety of essential and valuable duties. The Department¹s focus on community relationships and on reducing crime has placed El Paso as the 2nd safest large city in the United States, and as one of the top three safest cities for seven consecutive years. The City of El Paso was also named the "Second Safest City in the U.S." by the Morgan Quitno Press in 2005, for the third consecutive year.

As for the local economy, cross-border retail is fueled by millions of dollars spent by consumers from Mexico. Ciudad Juarez comprises about 40 percent of the three million populace in the state of Chihuahua. The impact of purchases in El Paso by Mexican Nationals is substantial by all accounts and plays a critical role in local retail trade.

With that in mind, El Paso is also the third fastest-growing real estate market in the U.S., according to CNNMoney.com in May 2008. There was a 52 percent decrease in home foreclosures for the first quarter in 2008. Furthermore, there are more than 78,000 households with incomes greater than $50,000 per year. Fort Bliss, the nearby U.S. Army base, is expanding by more than 37,000 soldiers and 53,000 accompanying spouses and children by 2012. Nearly $5 billion in construction is underway to accommodate the expansion, which is also expected to result in more than $1 billion in new economic impact.

Texas Tech¹s Paul L. Foster School of Medicine will be the first four-year medical school to open on the U.S.-Mexico border. The school¹s arrival is expected to result in $1.5 billion in economic impact and create more than 500 jobs. The first four-year class starts in August 2009.

El Paso is at the forefront of communities transcending borders, a global culture centuries in the making. El Paso, Texas is a large city that borders on Juarez, Mexico. There are many manufacturing plants that work in both countries.

On average, the sun shines more than 300 days per year, earning El Paso its ³Sun City² nickname. It is also a city of historic notability, featuring archeological sites, two state parks, a national memorial and 12 different museums.

The ongoing effort to revitalize Downtown El Paso caught the eye of one of the world¹s leading publications, the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper featured the City¹s redevelopment efforts in a July 28, 2008 report on seven places around the world that took different approaches to economic development and came out ahead.

As for housing options, the median home price in El Paso is only $135,000. Fortune Magazine (2008) ranked El Paso¹s housing market the fifth strongest in the nation.

El Paso is a major transportation hub, providing state-of-the-art educational and medical facilities, abundant cultural and entertainment opportunities, year-round sports and outdoor recreation, a low crime rate, some of the best weather conditions on the planet, and an extremely favorable cost-of-living index. This is a cosmopolitan community; seven in ten El Pasoans are bilingual in English and Spanish, and people from all over the world come here to live, work, do business, get an education, or retire.

Despite being the 21st largest city in the U.S., commute time in El Paso is extremely low. The U.S. Census estimates that 40 percent of El Pasoans have an average commute of 21 minutes and 20 percent have an average commute of 30 minutes.

El Paso is served by 94 private schools, nine area public school districts and 11 institutions of higher learning, including the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center at El Paso, which is expected to welcome its first class of four-year medical students in 2009. A recent Texas Tech study showed the school will have a $1.5 billion economic impact to the community and will create more than 500 jobs. Currently, the Thomason/Texas Tech campus is undergoing a dramatic transformation including El Paso¹s First Children¹s Hospital opening in early 2012. UTEP is the only major research university in the country whose students are predominantly Mexican-American. The university is winning national recognition for its innovative teaching methods and programs.

El Paso is the site for the second-oldest collegiate bowl game in the country, the Sun Bowl. In addition to the game, the Sun Bowl Association puts on an annual parade on Thanksgiving Day. The stadium is also the football home for the University of Texas at El Paso Miners and hosts the Texas vs. The Nation Division I-A collegiate senior all-star bowl. The game pits players originally from Texas or who play college football in Texas against top players from around the country.

The Sun City offers a variety of arts, historic and culture offerings, including the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, the El Paso Opera and three theaters. The El Paso Mission Traill, which includes the Ysleta Mission, the Socorro Mission and the San Elizario Church also offers a trip to the area¹s rich past and are the oldest active missions in the U.S. The El Paso Zoo is an 18-acre oasis for nearly 240 species of animals and is in the process of a major expansion to double its size and add lions, zebras, giraffes and other animals.

For the outdoor enthusiast, El Paso offers a wondrous, diverse landscape to explore, including the Rio Grande, the Franklin Mountains, and the Chihuahuan Desert. Year-round golf is available on a variety of public and private courses citywide, including the newly-opened Butterfield Trail Golf Course & Club House. It is the latest from award-winning course designer Tom Fazio, elaborating natural topographical features to keep the golfer¹s ball in play.

In addition to the city¹s 18 museums and more than 35 art galleries, El Paso is home to dozens of world-renowned artists and performing groups. Relocation For El Pasoans, quality of life encompasses not only the tangible, such as an affordable cost of living, but also a culture shaped by 400 years of history and influenced by several diverse groups. From the Mission Trail to opera and rodeo, there's no place quite like El Paso.

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