I can! We just came from there. We lived there for 16 yrs. So I probably know almot anything you want to know. I am going to tell you that I loved it, but I have heard many say they don't like it. It is a boarder town. Many Mexicans cross the boarder to shop and work. If you are out shopping you will hear Spanish instead of German. lol The weather there is dry desert climate. It does get hot in the summer and spring is typically windy season. The rain is hit and miss. Some years we get lots of rain and thers hardly any. Our friends that are still stationed there said it was 78 degrees on Friday! My gfs are getting pedis and wearing flip flops already. There is a lot of new housing at Bliss and it is NICE. I m no sure how long te wait list is. We lived out in the northeast in 801 housing. I liked it cause I wasn't right on post. Schools...well that will depend on where you live. There is 3 school districts and which one you go to is based on the area you live in. If you are on post it will be EPISD. Now, I have heard debate of which district is best. My kids went to EPISD school and I have no complaints. I liked the elementary and middle school our where I lived best, but that is just my opinion. Lots to do in EP...tons of shopping, restuarnts and various events. Lots of concerts come through the area. There is baseball, hockey, arena football )not pro teams, but still fun things to do) and college football. Lots and lots of culture in this area. In the summer check out VIVA El Paso! It is a neat open air peforamce on a stage in the base of the mountain. If you like mexican food...El Paso is your place. We miss our favorite places to go. If you head north from EP you will find great places to visit. In New Mexico there is White Sands, Cloudcroft, Ruidoso and Carlsbad Cavens to name a few. It is 8 hours to San Antonio, 9 to Dallas and 10 to San Deigo. We often hopped a quick flight to PHX for MLB games or to catch a NASCAR race. The drive to PHX is 6 hours. Also in Arizona you can go to Tombstone and Tucson. Both are lots of fun. We drove to Disneyland from EP. It is 10 hours west on I10.
I didn't do much on post since EP offers so much off post. I did shop at the Commissary. They have plans to expand it and build a second one that might be done before you get there. They are bulding huge shopping complex on post-Freedom Crossing.Only a few of the AAFES shops had opened before I left. It was said they were going to have private owned resturants and popular shopping in this complex. The medical is the only thing I would say that I didn't like at Bliss. The appointments were hard to get especially if needed one right away cause someone is sick. That typically meant a trip to the ER and to wait for hours and hours cause you are not top of the list for being there for non-emergency care. I hope they are finding ways to improve that since more and more troops are being sent there.
When we left there was a lot of construction on highway 54 right at the gates of post. It will be great once they get it all finished, but for now its a mess. Alot of that should be done before you get there.
I hope this helps. I could go on and on abou EP. Even suggest where to get your hair done. LOL Please feel free to ask anything else!
Tina
I hope I was helpful! I am here if you want any other info.
Sat Mar 20, 2010 9:54 pm
