El Paso vs Lubbock

[Fearless Tower]

Yes.

Until I checked the numbers, I would not have believed it, but El Paso has less crime than Des Moines IA. Less than a lot of similarly sized cities.

I don't know if it is true, but El Paso has historically had a relatively high amount of natural lithium in the water supply. It has been speculated that is a factor in the low violent crime rate.

 

[SoonerAviator]

Easy choice: Lubbock. Folks that rag on it either haven't been there in a long time (if at all) or have that snarky attitude of contempt and condescension for anything, anyplace, or anyone west of Ft. Worth. Yes, the spring windy season can stir up the dust from all the agriculture, but otherwise the weather on the Texas Plains is usually wonderful.

I haven't been to Lubbock in about a decade, but I've been to Midland/Odessa, El Paso, Hobbs, Big Spring, and Amarillo frequently in the past 5 years. I don't find them all that different in lifestyle as they are regionally very similar, some just more populous than others. Lubbock does have Texas Tech, but it's certainly not much of a factor for me. I appreciate the clear blue skies and dry air of the west Texas climate, but I prefer grass, trees, and topography which is something most of them don't have outside of El Paso with the mountains. I also They also have very few bodies of water which I have to have for my desired lifestyle for fishing/skiing. I'm not looking at any of them with "condescension", I simply don't prefer to live in the west Texas (or Oklahoma) climate/geography. I love to visit for a week or two at a time, though.

From a flying perspective, it's hard to get many more "good flying days" than in west Texas or the rest of the Southwest. Great flying in the Spring and Summer until the late afternoon thunderheads start popping up. Even when the thermometer gets to 100-degrees, it still feels better than in Houston or Waco!

 

[Jeanie]

Well, I have spent a fair amount of time in both El Paso and Lubbock. Folks are friendly in both places. The wind kicks up something fierce at times in both places. There are good flight schools in both places... If you need to know who/where just ask. Personally, I like El Paso. All that stuff about the border is just extra. Frankly, I doubt it would affect you much unless you started going to cheap bars and hanging with iffy people. I have a student who now flies for Texas State Troopers and was with the DEA. I just called him. He said, no the "border" would not affect you. He's currently stationed in El Paso. He also said that El Paso is safer than Lubbock. So, there ya go. And, like someone mentioned the FSDO is in Lubbock.

El Paso has a good symphony and ballet, I don't know if Lubbock does. In case you care.


Consider where you would like to travel. If you are flying yourself or via commercial. If its commercial then it doesn't matter. If you're flying a GA plane yourself, then yeah, location matters depending on where you want to go.

El Paso is closer to the Big Bend for hiking camping, Lubbock has a nice state park - palo duro. It's not as big.

Congrats on the new job too by the way.

 

[bikert]

I have a student who now flies for Texas State Troopers and was with the DEA. I just called him. He said, no the "border" would not affect you. He's currently stationed in El Paso. He also said that El Paso is safer than Lubbock. So, there ya go. And, like someone mentioned the FSDO is in Lubbock.

Well there ya go. Someone on the internet knows someone who says El Paso is safe. Sample of one. Must be okay!

 

[Jeanie]

Well there ya go. Someone on the internet knows someone who says El Paso is safe. Sample of one. Must be okay!

It's not necessary to be snarky. I know a lot of folks who live there. I referred to the state trooper guy, who works with a whole department (that I know) because he's sorta in the know regarding crime.

 

[RyanShort1]

My wife grew up in El Paso - we aren't scared to visit. I thought it was a lovely town the two times I passed through recently. I thought that the restaurant quality was a lot better in El Paso, too.

 

[zaitcev]

Last time I drove through El Paso on my way back from Carlsbad, I could not find anything to eat. Everything was dead closed. I had to drive all the way to Las Cruces where we reached Uno. The FBI numbers for Lubbock are surprising. Maybe they resettled some bad people there that left New Orleans during Katrina.

I know someone who lives in El Paso and keeps his airplane right across the border in NM.

 

[mkosmo]

If it were me, I'd choose Lubbock. Having been to both, I just feel that Lubbock offers more. It's just flat and pretty far from everything. El Paso seems to have more food, especially of New Mexican influence, and I like some New Mexican.

 

[bikert]

It's not necessary to be snarky. I know a lot of folks who live there. I referred to the state trooper guy, who works with a whole department (that I know) because he's sorta in the know regarding crime.

Apologies. That was rude of me.

Someone posted some stats that seem to agree with that which is quite surprising to me. My understanding though is there is a lot of petty crime that is not reported necessarily. More of a nuisance thing than a danger.