Where would El Paso rank on Rudest City list?

[TheOldPueblo]

Originally Posted by War Beagle

I was refused service at a Mexican food restaurant in El Paso once and I have no idea why. They were clearly open as their were other customers eating. The waitress wouldn't seat me. She ran to the back and brought out an older woman who wouldn't help me. I asked for a table in Spanish and she just stood there. I left when I realized what was happening.

Sounds like discrimination. That's El Paso for ya. The only nice border city would be San Diego. Rest of them are awful. I've heard Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley are much worse.

[SW Desert Dweller]

Originally Posted by TheOldPueblo

Sounds like discrimination. That's El Paso for ya. The only nice border city would be San Diego. Rest of them are awful. I've heard Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley are much worse.

"You've heard"--doesn't sound very scientific.

[sonorandesert92]

Originally Posted by bonnie3

I lived in El Paso for 12 years, then moved to Arizona. Didn't think El Pasoans were rude when I lived here. I would encounter rude people every once in a while, but that's normal, I guess. After 3 years, I've come back, and I did see a very noticeable difference. I do see that people are more rude, especially when driving. I wouldn't be surprised if El Paso ranked very high in rudeness, unfortunately.

I'm in El Paso now, visiting from Phoenix. I have to agree with you 100%. People in El Paso are very mean, rude, self-centered, and just flat out uncivilized. They are rude in person and in their cars. I've spend 5 weeks in this rude town and I have one more to go. I've been counting down the days and hours literally.

This is how they are rude in person. When you say, "excuse me", they just stand there and you have to squeeze your way through. Customer service is terrible. Most employees are nasty to customers. Long lines, very slow service, and lots of rude people. People here also are very aloof and very much keep to themselves. In Tucson and in Phoenix, people talk to you in lines and like to start conversations. Over here, people are stand-offish. The west side is probably the most snobbiest area of the city. East side is the most uncivilized. It is very hard to make friends here. It was a lot easier in Phoenix and in Tucson, but here, unless your from the area, people don't want anything to do with you. I've felt much more unwelcome than anywhere else in the nation, and I've traveled everywhere. I'm so excited to leave this city and go back to Civilization in Phoenix.

Out of all the cities I've been to, El Paso ranks #1 for worst drivers in the entire nation. Was so amazed at how much more aggressive people drive here. I thought Arizona drivers were aggressive, but here, they are more aggressive, and very rude on the road. In Phoenix, you put on your signal and cars let you in. Over here, you have to battle your way in and they come at you honking and flipping you off. If you even slow down, cars behind you go into the lane you want to switch in and pass you. In Europe, they drive better than here.

I'd say El Paso would rank #1 on the rudest cities list in my book. Even Tucson is a lot friendlier than El Paso, but Phoenix is friendlier than both cities. Once I leave, I don't ever want to go back to El Paso. I'd even rather live in Shreveport, LA or even Port Arthur, TX anytime.

[sonorandesert92]

Originally Posted by malamute

Somewhere in the middle - not the rudest, but there are plenty of rude people - more and more it seems. Too much road rage to say it's very friendly and too many bar fights. Too many DWI's also which in my opinion is rude, it takes a lot of arrogance to put everyone else's lives at risk just because your need to party is all you care about.

I've noticed a lot of road rage too, much more than in Phoenix, Tucson, Dallas, and Houston. And I've driven in all those other cities with no problems. It's only in El Paso where I've had problems driving.

[Llep]

I must live in an alternate universe. I lived here 2015 to 2018 and just moved back and never had a problem with rudeness or aggressive driving. I’ve never been to a bar here though so can’t say what goes on there but problems can follow closely behind alcohol consumption no matter where you are. I found Phoenix very rude when I was considering it as a retirement spot. It seemed every gas station or restaurant I would stop at I would be approached by people begging for money. That has never happened here though there does seem to have been a slight increase in the amount of “salesman” and beggars at the major intersections. But they aren’t aggressive and will ignore you if you ignore them.

[sonorandesert92]

I've seen a lot of angry drivers in El Paso. Today someone shouted out, "get out of the way" and kept honking to another driver. I'm amazed at how much road rage there is. I've seen the most road rage in El Paso out of everywhere I've been. People here are just so mean and most are ratchets. El Paso has to be one of the most ratchet cities in the nation. Makes me wonder if Laredo and McAllen are better or the same as El Paso. Have been doing some research on Laredo and it looks a lot nicer. Maybe one day I'll take a weekend trip down to Laredo and then make comparisons. Anyways, just 4 more days from tomorrow and then it's back to friendly civilized Phoenix.

[aab7855]

Originally Posted by sonorandesert92

I've seen a lot of angry drivers in El Paso. Today someone shouted out, "get out of the way" and kept honking to another driver. I'm amazed at how much road rage there is. I've seen the most road rage in El Paso out of everywhere I've been. People here are just so mean and most are ratchets. El Paso has to be one of the most ratchet cities in the nation. Makes me wonder if Laredo and McAllen are better or the same as El Paso. Have been doing some research on Laredo and it looks a lot nicer. Maybe one day I'll take a weekend trip down to Laredo and then make comparisons. Anyways, just 4 more days from tomorrow and then it's back to friendly civilized Phoenix.

Let us know how that goes...once again, all opinions are relative and individual....but most people would NOT put Laredo higher than El Paso or even Brownsville/McAllen.

[joejoe5051]

ive seen ppl over in san elizario who are rude. found a guy who was dressed in cholo clothes get very testy with me after I complimented his truck while leaving the AutoZone on lee Trevino (the big one). I was driving to work and I saw a minority individual (colored person) jaywalk in the middle of the road and flip me off after nearly causing an accident. my neighbor had a mental breakdown and ended up having a shootout with the cops and getting shot and killed. this one was recent so its still fresh in my head.(I I've on the east side of el Paso, and I tend to just be in the wrong place at the wrong time or random things happen while I'm minding my own business doing things to clear my head of my problems. lately ive had to carry knives in my car just cause it gets a little tense out there. I've worked in a plastic molding factory and worked with a felon who was in the clink for armed robbery. don't know how they let him in to work there. never harmed anyone. had 2 kids and a wife, so it wasn't like he could risk doing it again. ummmmm….. I was driving home near the Alon gas station on George dieter and saw a drunk man walk into the street and start yelling at ppl. I wanted to run him over or honk at him to scare him just cause he was being an ass, but I just changed lanes and drove away. next I see in my rear view mirror the cops were nearby and saw the whole thing and pulled in. its a strange city, but honestly, cause we live near the border and all the ppl are being let into the country, your going to see a lot of ppl like this more often than you want to, especially cause it'll freak you out if your not used to seeing this. had a job delivering pizza, and saw another drunk in the far east side of town near joe battle walk in the middle of the road and try to get me to run him over and I just pulled away. came back after dropping off the pizzas and yep, cops had him on the ground. lol. used to work at a hardware store, and was walking through the aisles and overheard some guys talking to each other. they said: "dude its inappropriate for kids, man." "YOURE INAPPROPRIATE FOR KIDS!". I don't know what that was about but I'm glad they didn't see me. but itll stay in my head forever. yeah there's some weirdos and strange ppl out there, but still, its happening too often.

[umafeo23]

Some of the rudest, fakest people I've had the displeasure of interacting with reside in El Paso, hands down (and on that note, the most cutthroat as well). It's also really not as safe as people crack it up to be. The District Attorney was recently exposed for having been 'indirectly' responsible for the dismissal of several hundreds of criminal cases (and who knows how many more under the rug) in light of her alleged incompetence -- look it up, it takes two seconds to google. And that was just in specific months of 2022 alone. Anecdotally, I almost had my door kicked open by a woman that was drugged out of her wits.

As for the community itself, allow me to reiterate -- it really is a toxic place (which is why it ranks as the city with the worst/most aggressive drivers in the nation) with a community that trips you up and relishes off seeing others writhe (as the saying goes, misery likes company, and statistically speaking, more than 25% of children in the city live in poverty, and it ranks as one of the poorest cities in the nation). It's honestly the city wherein I've experienced the most hostility and discrimination (despite the superficial amiability that people - mainly El Pasoans themselves - strangely attribute to this town; people here just tend to exhibit passive hostility as opposed to active hostility), but thriving IS possible. Take it from me.

As for the pros: the weather is okay, the sunsets are stunning, and the hiking scene is fantastic. For the most part, there's also no natural disasters (other than the dust storms), which gives you peace of mind (if people aren't trying to kick your door open). There's also worse places to be in.

Personally, I lived in El Paso for 8 years. Your experience may differ, and this is just my humble opinion (substantiated by facts, anecdotes, and the fact that having lived in a myriad of different cities allows me to juxtapose my experience in El Paso with my time in other cities).

The two worst cities in Texas, in my experience, are El Paso and Laredo. But again, there are many worse places to reside in.

[WVNomad]

I’ve never been to El Paso, but saw this thread. What an interesting question….was wondering why one would ask? Wasn’t sure if the city even had a unique reputation for rudeness or kindness?