Those leaving El Paso, or who have left El Paso. Do You Have any Regrets? Where did you move? (Houston: transplants, university)

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by Mingtha

I miss how the desert earth smells after it rains..... when it rains here in Houston, the only smells around are the "chemical odor du jour". Never does it feel refreshing after the rain.

How often does it rain in El Paso?

I don't generally associate the rain with the desert...by the sound of it, it is a frequent enough occurence in El Paso?

[malamute]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

How often does it rain in El Paso?

I don't generally associate the rain with the desert...by the sound of it, it is a frequent enough occurence in El Paso?

No. Rain is rare here. It's been about 6 months since it's rained. It may not rain until July.

We get very little rain here, sometimes as little as 7 to 11 inches of rain in a year. When it does rain, it rains 2 or 3 times a week for about 4-5 weeks or oftener but hitting different parts of town. Those can be pretty good downpours.

[mrsrobinson73]

yea and amazingly i have found that you have to be careful of flooding ~ which is something that i would have never associated with the desert!!!! I believe I learned that from Muhnay ~ he was very vocal about the flooding that occurs in a lot of the newly developed subdivisons cuz the planners didn't take that into consideration.

[Caltep]

We have had water related issues with our house since we moved here a few years ago. And it started with the 2006 floods. Our roof is on it second re-do and hopefully we will stay dry this summer. I have spoken to many folks who have had constant water issues during the heavy rains...and this is after getting new roofs also. Our property is also subject to water build up around the sides...don't know if this is because of settling, but even putting in drainage will require a regrade of our property (not cheap). I think, like the city, developers here think they can short cut construction because we are a "dry" city. Look at what happened to thos folks who bought the Saratoga homes in the NE last summer. It's not just their roofs, but the drainage of the streets. All done with the bad assumption that we are a desert city and do not need to waterproof.

Anyone who thinks these stout rock walls are not subject to the hazards of water...look out. Check the composition on the upper level concrete holding those rocks together. If it is gritty or sandy toward the top, beware of a contractor cheaping out by adding more sand than concrete...it dissolves like Kool Aid in water and may collapse. And it is not cheap to re-do either. We have a 15 foot rock wall and I could literally put my finger thorough the cracks when the wall hit about 5 feet high. The good concrete is smoother.

[NicoleJ]

Originally Posted by Caltep

Anyone who thinks these stout rock walls are not subject to the hazards of water...look out. Check the composition on the upper level concrete holding those rocks together. If it is gritty or sandy toward the top, beware of a contractor cheaping out by adding more sand than concrete...it dissolves like Kool Aid in water and may collapse. And it is not cheap to re-do either. We have a 15 foot rock wall and I could literally put my finger thorough the cracks when the wall hit about 5 feet high. The good concrete is smoother.

we went w/ a cheap company the first time we had our wall built up (miss those walls!) and it SUCKED. We ended up having to get our neighbor to redo it (Mace Lomeli of Lomeli & Sons). I was so mad at myself for having spent money on cheap stuff the 1st time around!

[malamute]

Originally Posted by mrsrobinson73

yea and amazingly i have found that you have to be careful of flooding ~ which is something that i would have never associated with the desert!!!! I believe I learned that from Muhnay ~ he was very vocal about the flooding that occurs in a lot of the newly developed subdivisons cuz the planners didn't take that into consideration.

Even some of the older homes are affected by what poor quality builders are doing upstream of them. You have to be careful. It's a good idea to take a walk up the Franklins and take a good look at where the arroyos begin. You can clearly see that there are ancient arroyos that have been filled in with sand and new homes. That sand will wash back down off the mountain.

[Tia 914]

Originally Posted by 1979

I'd like to hear from people who are leaving El Paso, or are thinking of leaving, or who have left El Paso. What reasons did you have for leaving? Where did you go? Do you have any regrets about leaving?

I left El Paso & came to Hell (a/k/a Iowa)... have been between and ever since

[babrining]

I was born in elpiso, graduated high school in elpiso and still have my parents and grandparents and other extended family in el piso and find its a drag when I have to go back there to visit because they are there. I moved around alot in between living there from beginning to end and know that the mountain is the only thing beautiful in elpaso. The hatred that is around with the peoples of elpiso was rediculous. It is the armpit of texas!

[Caltep]

...the anti-EXCHUCO RESIDENT. Similar situation, different feelings. Talk about the ying and the yang.

Originally Posted by babrining

I was born in elpiso, graduated high school in elpiso and still have my parents and grandparents and other extended family in el piso and find its a drag when I have to go back there to visit because they are there. I moved around alot in between living there from beginning to end and know that the mountain is the only thing beautiful in elpaso. The hatred that is around with the peoples of elpiso was rediculous. It is the armpit of texas!

[mistabinks]

Originally Posted by babrining

The hatred that is around with the peoples of elpiso was rediculous.

It is ridiculous as well!