Got orders, heading to WBAMC in El Paso - advice please!

Mrs_MBed

Hi ladies!

We got DH's orders last night, so it looks like we will be relocating to El Paso next June!  

Can anyone give us any tips on where to live, school info, anything? LOL  

Thanks!!

 

erbarmywife

Sorry, no advice, but GO PACKERS!

Mrs_MBed

erbarmywife:

Sorry, no advice, but GO PACKERS!

LOL - I'll take that!!  GO PACK GO!!

erbarmywife

I can NOT believe they are undefeated!  Woot! lol

Rosebud2587

Is your DH going to be working at the hospital? If so I would suggest trying to get military housing in the Upper Beaumont neighborhood cause it's right next to the hospital and you can pretty much walk to work if you want. We lived in Upper Beaumont and liked it cause it's not on main post but it's only a 5 min drive to get there. Other areas to live in, that are not military housing, would be either the far east side or the west side. Those are the nicer neighborhoods in El Paso. 

Rosebud2587

Also, most schools in El Paso suck. I would suggest looking into the charter schools, like Harmony. That is probably one of the best schools in El Paso from what I have heard from other mothers of school aged children. 

NSL

We're stationed in El Paso, and I'm always happy to chat about neighborhoods and schools.  I'm a teacher here, so can offer some informed advice about schools in the area.

FWIW,  we live n the West Side (25-ish minutes from WBAMC and Post) and like this side of town.  I'd avoid the Northeast only because of the higher crime rate and winds.  We get a lot of wind here.

 Schools on the West Side tend to have better reputations as well--Polk and Kohlberg for elementary, Hornedo for middle, and either Franklin or Coronado for high school.  I'd stay away from El Paso ISD high schools on the East Side if your kids are older, though.  Ysleta's are better for that age group.

 Page me if you have any other questions! 

Mrs_MBed

Never thought the Packers would be doing so well this year!  GO PACK GO!!

Rosebud2587:

Is your DH going to be working at the hospital? If so I would suggest trying to get military housing in the Upper Beaumont neighborhood cause it's right next to the hospital and you can pretty much walk to work if you want. We lived in Upper Beaumont and liked it cause it's not on main post but it's only a 5 min drive to get there. Other areas to live in, that are not military housing, would be either the far east side or the west side. Those are the nicer neighborhoods in El Paso. 

Thanks Rosebud!  Yes, he'll be working at the hospital, so we might try to live close to it, unless we need to live somewhere else to get DD1 into a better school.  I don't think we can do charter schools since the list I saw was for high school and DD1 would just be entering kindergarten or first grade.  

NSL:

We're stationed in El Paso, and I'm always happy to chat about neighborhoods and schools.  I'm a teacher here, so can offer some informed advice about schools in the area.

FWIW,  we live n the West Side (25-ish minutes from WBAMC and Post) and like this side of town.  I'd avoid the Northeast only because of the higher crime rate and winds.  We get a lot of wind here.

 Schools on the West Side tend to have better reputations as well--Polk and Kohlberg for elementary, Hornedo for middle, and either Franklin or Coronado for high school.  I'd stay away from El Paso ISD high schools on the East Side if your kids are older, though.  Ysleta's are better for that age group.

 Page me if you have any other questions! 

Thank you NSL - I will definitely be taking you up on that!  I don't know where we are going to be living (on post or off), but DH will be working at WBAMC, so we might want to be close to it, yet would live farther away if it meant getting DD1 into a better school.  She will be turning 5 next summer (oh my!) so she'll be entering either kindergarten or first grade.  Right now she's in a jr-k program that is comparable to a kindergarten class for the local schools.  So I guess we'd have to get her tested to see where she would best fit.  From what I've seen (searching the internet) it looks like DD2 would just be going to day care, rather than an actual school program (she'll be 3 next August).  

 

Rosebud2587

I used to take my neighbors kids to school everyday. They went to Harmony School of Innovation (a charter school). As far as I know, it is K-11 or maybe 1-11. I know that they don't go all the way to 12th grade but I believe they have all the other grades...

Also, if you are thinking about military housing get on the list now! There is a really long wait list because El Paso/Ft. Bliss seems to have a bit of a housing shortage. I remember the nightmare we went through trying to find a house in El Paso. It got to the point where people were signing leases sight unseen because by the time you'd drive out to see a house it would already be taken...  So get on the housing list and start looking at houses off post asap.  

Mrs_MBed

Rosebud2587:

I used to take my neighbors kids to school everyday. They went to Harmony School of Innovation (a charter school). As far as I know, it is K-11 or maybe 1-11. I know that they don't go all the way to 12th grade but I believe they have all the other grades...

Also, if you are thinking about military housing get on the list now! There is a really long wait list because El Paso/Ft. Bliss seems to have a bit of a housing shortage. I remember the nightmare we went through trying to find a house in El Paso. It got to the point where people were signing leases sight unseen because by the time you'd drive out to see a house it would already be taken...  So get on the housing list and start looking at houses off post asap.  

Thank you for telling me about that one!   I totally missed it in my search.  It looks fantastic! 

We don't know if we'll be doing military housing or not, but I'll let DH know about the shortage - thanks for the heads up!  Is the shortage for all housing or for certain ranks.  I am new to all this as we haven't been active duty yet, so we've been picking/paying for our own housing.  From what it looked like on the Ft. Bliss website, they have different housing areas based on rank - is this common? 

Thanks for your responses Rosebud!!!

NSL

Mrs_MBed:

Rosebud2587:

I used to take my neighbors kids to school everyday. They went to Harmony School of Innovation (a charter school). As far as I know, it is K-11 or maybe 1-11. I know that they don't go all the way to 12th grade but I believe they have all the other grades...

Also, if you are thinking about military housing get on the list now! There is a really long wait list because El Paso/Ft. Bliss seems to have a bit of a housing shortage. I remember the nightmare we went through trying to find a house in El Paso. It got to the point where people were signing leases sight unseen because by the time you'd drive out to see a house it would already be taken...  So get on the housing list and start looking at houses off post asap.  

Thank you for telling me about that one!   I totally missed it in my search.  It looks fantastic! 

We don't know if we'll be doing military housing or not, but I'll let DH know about the shortage - thanks for the heads up!  Is the shortage for all housing or for certain ranks.  I am new to all this as we haven't been active duty yet, so we've been picking/paying for our own housing.  From what it looked like on the Ft. Bliss website, they have different housing areas based on rank - is this common? 

Thanks for your responses Rosebud!!!

I can't speak to on-post housing, but out in the city the market isn't moving fast at all and there seems to be a healthy stock of rentals (apartments and homes) in my neighborhood and those I travel to regularly.  A few years ago it was different, but that was before the real estate market tanked. 

Mrs_MBed

NSL:

Mrs_MBed:

Rosebud2587:

I used to take my neighbors kids to school everyday. They went to Harmony School of Innovation (a charter school). As far as I know, it is K-11 or maybe 1-11. I know that they don't go all the way to 12th grade but I believe they have all the other grades...

Also, if you are thinking about military housing get on the list now! There is a really long wait list because El Paso/Ft. Bliss seems to have a bit of a housing shortage. I remember the nightmare we went through trying to find a house in El Paso. It got to the point where people were signing leases sight unseen because by the time you'd drive out to see a house it would already be taken...  So get on the housing list and start looking at houses off post asap.  

Thank you for telling me about that one!   I totally missed it in my search.  It looks fantastic! 

We don't know if we'll be doing military housing or not, but I'll let DH know about the shortage - thanks for the heads up!  Is the shortage for all housing or for certain ranks.  I am new to all this as we haven't been active duty yet, so we've been picking/paying for our own housing.  From what it looked like on the Ft. Bliss website, they have different housing areas based on rank - is this common? 

Thanks for your responses Rosebud!!!

I can't speak to on-post housing, but out in the city the market isn't moving fast at all and there seems to be a healthy stock of rentals (apartments and homes) in my neighborhood and those I travel to regularly.  A few years ago it was different, but that was before the real estate market tanked. 

Thank you NSL!  We wouldn't mind renting a house off-post, especially if that puts DD1 within the right boundaries for a school.