How Safe is El Paso Texas?

How Safe is El Paso Texas?

Hi, welcome to Living in El Paso, Texas. My name is John Peña. I'm a real estate agent here with eXp. If you are looking to buy or sell a home, please consider reaching out to us at Peña

El Paso. We have got your back. And speaking of having your back, a lot of people ask me, is El Paso safe? Now I completely understand why I am being asked this question because we are a border

town. Juarez, Mexico is literally next door to us, right? And so El Paso is consistently ranked as one of the safest cities in the country, okay? I've mentioned this many times before.

Now, if you follow the news or just have heard stories, I imagine Juarez, Mexico is not one of the safest cities in Mexico. It's actually very unsafe and unfortunately due to significant cartel violence over the last several decades, that city and its population has been ravaged by violence.

And so it's very, I mean, it makes complete sense that people would wonder, well, if Juarez is so violent, how can that violence not somehow seep into El Paso, right? We're literally right next to each other. So I wanted to speak to this just a little bit on a serious level and then on a slightly

less serious and then even on a slightly less serious level. So on the serious level, El Paso and Juarez are separated by the border wall. The border wall has been here for a very long time. It extends a very long ways in both directions and essentially it is not, you will not climb

over this wall, okay? In addition to that, let's say, should you attempt to do so, we have significant law enforcement in this city. This is the reason why I can consistently tell people, look, El Paso is very safe.

You do not understand the presence, the quantity and quality of law enforcement in El Paso from local police to regional police, to state police, to the FBI, to Homeland Security, to customs borders, to having one of the largest army bases in the country. We are, pardon me one second.

Marcel is having a moment. So we have a ton of law enforcement here. So El Paso consistently ranks as one of the safest cities. Another reason is that the people in, it's because of the people in El Paso, the majority

of folks are younger families with several kids who are professionals, who are very concerned about their kids getting a great school, making a better lives for themselves and essentially chasing the American dream. We do not have a population, a community, a citizenry of folks who are mischievous or

looking to cause trouble. It's just, it just isn't there. Now, of course, are there some bad characters in El Paso? Of course there are.

Are there some bad characters where you live? Of course there are. There are bad characters, you know, everywhere. And so then this also takes me to, to, to my next point.

A lot of people consistently talk about why are there bars on the windows? So people, you know, I've seen the videos and the comment that I get often is, Hey, you know, why are there bars on the, on the windows? What's going on?

Honestly, this is what I'm going to tell you what I think it is. And I'm going to tell you why I think it is, but I would really love it if people who do watch this channel, who live in El Paso, who are from El Paso, I would love it if you would comment and you please tell me if I'm close or if I'm not close.

What I tell people is that I lived in Mexico for about a year and it was awesome, right? Yes, I still didn't learn how to speak Spanish, but what I did learn is that in Mexico, you know, it's very, very common to have bars on the windows. It's not uncommon actually to have embedded in the top of your concrete wall, broken bottles

sticking up, right? To dissuade you from hopping a fence, right? Because in the United States and Mexico are different. In Mexico, there's a chance, yeah, depending on where you are that, you know, people might

break into your home and try to steal your stuff, right? And so to prevent this, especially perhaps in rural areas, what can you do? Well, of course, you're going to put bars on your windows, you're going to put glass bottles in your fence, and you're going to maybe have a dog or two who does not sound

and act very friendly to protect your property, right? So that I think kind of cultural mindset, I believe, and I am so sorry if I am offending anybody, I'm sure you will tell me, but what I tell people is that that cultural mindset was brought over from Mexico, and especially in the older homes, you won't see it so much

in the newer homes, but in the older homes, yes, there will be bars on the windows, there might even be bars or some kind of, you know, iron fence or what have you on the perimeter of the property as well. So like I said, I do not mean to offend anybody.

I think that it's a logical deduction. And like I said, I would love it if you actually watch the channel and you live here, if you're from here to comment below and let me know. All right, moving on to the least serious, but actually still kind of serious actually,

is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Martial Arts. Now, I said that there are bad characters everywhere. What I mean to say is not to scare you, it's just a fact of life. Sometimes violence happens to you, no matter where you are, what city you live in, whether

you deserved it or didn't, you know, unfortunately, sometimes violence comes to us. With that, one thing that you can do is to actually study a martial art. And I have actually, I've probably mentioned this, but I've actually, one of the very first things I did when I moved to El Paso, I knew I was going to be in real estate, and I didn't

know anybody and I needed a way to get to meet people. So I've always wanted to do martial arts since I was a kid, and my folks really didn't ever let it really happen. I also always wanted a dirt bike as a kid, and my folks never really let it happen.

That's a different story. Martial arts, I decided, you know what, hey, this would be a great thing to do. I'm getting older, it'll be a great thing to keep me in shape, and it'll be a great way to meet people.

And so I joined a place over on the east side, El Paso Sansu. It's run by Paul and Veronica Schroeder, unbelievably awesome, fantastic people. We'd love to feature them later in the next couple of weeks on the channel. Small business, went through COVID, came out on the other end, and are doing great.

So anyway, this is what happened to me. So I'm going to roll this tape. So what you're seeing me awkwardly do here is engage with my buddy Adam here in what is called Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Essentially the idea is that, you know, most people are not trained fighters, and so whenever they encounter violence or if they're going to be in a fight, you know, people stand up, they're about arm's length away, and they're throwing punches and they're kicking. Now for untrained people, most of us, eventually in a fight or in a violent encounter, the

fight is going to go to the ground, meaning that somebody is probably going to trip or fall whether on purpose or not, and the fight is essentially going to end up on the ground. And Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a fighting style that was developed, I believe, in Brazil. I'm not even going to start talking like I know exactly what I'm talking about, but Brazilian

Jiu-Jitsu is a type of grappling, and so Adam and I here essentially are doing this. Now, not only would this serve me in a real-life situation, but it's also, believe it or not, if you're not afraid of really, really close physical contact, it's also fantastic exercise. It's very strategic, there's a lot to learn.

It requires a certain amount of health and wellness, and right here you can see Adam is about to get me, and what is happening with my other hand that you cannot see is I am tapping on his back probably, saying, you know, please stop doing that or you're going to break my shoulder.

Essentially I am submitting, right? So that's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I wanted to showcase just a little bit of it, kind of in prep of talking about things that you can do in El Paso.

We've talked about some of the different hotels you can go to, some of the different restaurants you can go to, but you might want a hobby, right? Or you might have some real concerns for wanting to be able to protect yourself in this situation, or you may just want to pick up a new skill, you know, try something out.

And so we want to start providing as many opportunities, making people aware of as many opportunities that exist in El Paso as humanly possible. And with that said, I'm going to stop talking about safety and simply say, El Paso, it really is a safe city.

I've been here two years. There's nowhere that I wouldn't go at night by myself, you know, for what it's worth. I think it's a pretty fantastic place. Very safe, very family friendly, and like I said, it's a community of very nice people.

So now let's talk about something that is not so nice. Please turn off if you are not interested in real estate right now. If you are interested in what's happening with real estate in El Paso, Texas, let me tell you, it is June of 2021.

We still find ourselves in a pretty crazy real estate market. It continues to be a seller's market, meaning there is such a low supply of homes, and yet there is such a high demand, a high number of buyers that want to purchase homes. It's creating a market where in which the seller has an advantage.

Because if you're selling your home, you're putting it on the market, and if it's nice and fairly priced people, you're going to get multiple offers. You know, you're not just going to get one or two people that offer. I was speaking with a gentleman just this last week, who gave me a little behind the

scenes information. I had submitted an offer on a home that he was listing. He received 18 offers on this home, you know. So that is exactly what is happening right now, and I don't see much signs of that changing

over the summer. I suspect that it will continue to be like that through the summer. Of course, I am not a fortune teller, but that is kind of what is happening. So people are still getting homes for reasonable prices, and fortunately, El Paso remains a

market where prices are still reasonable. You know, the average home price is $200,000. A couple months ago, I was saying $188,000, so it is climbing. So I'm not trying to instill any FOMO in you, fear of missing out.

You're not missing out. Prices are still going to probably climb through the summer, but then perhaps we will return to some semblance of balance. So I do not know, of course.

I cannot predict the future, even though I just kind of tried to. So I hope all of you out there are doing really, really well. Honestly, if you have some thoughts or ideas about why folks in El Paso, especially this is more back in the day.

It's not like, by the way, they're building new homes and putting bars on the windows. Not the case. Bars on the windows, older homes that have been here 50, 60, you know, years. But I would love to hear your feedback.

With that, have a fantastic week, and we'll see you next Saturday. Smells like rain.