Brutus over there at ElPasoSpeak alerted me to this list from Canadian data muncher Point2Homes that ranks housing affordability in some major markets in North America. And guess what? El Paso has some of the most affordable.
That’s right. El Paso is right there between Columbus, Ohio, and Jacksonville, Florida. We’re four bumps up from Culiacan, Sinaloa, and six up from our sister city, Juarez.
That’s right. When it comes to affordability, El Paso is right there with the rest of the cities in North America that are losing their allure. Facing declining fortunes. Spiraling down the toilet.
The most affordable city in North America is Detroit, Michigan. Only Indianopolis, Indiana, and Jacksonville, Florida, stand between El Paso and Detroit in the U.S. rankings.
What happened? El Paso used to be such a nice place.
You say El Paso used to be such a nice place? So affordability of housing makes it not nice? This speaks columns about where you are coming from. Please cancel future emails of Chucopedia.
Correction: Please cancel future emails of El Chuqueno.
I’ll have to figure out how to do that, Ms. Baca.
But I think that you’re missing my point. Public policy is driving citizens out of town. (For instance, I understand that you’re moving to Mexico.) Fewer citizens means higher taxes and fewer options for the rest of us. We all like affordable housing, but not if the reason we have affordable housing is declining demand for houses.
Ms. Baca: You have obviously missed the point of Rich’s reference to this study, and have apparently not been paying much attention to local events, especially from the viewpoint of this site. Also, you are apparently not aware of just how it might have come to pass that you might receive any *emails* from EL CHUQUEÑO. You, at some point in time, requested that you be notified of new postings to this site. You, at any point in time, have the ability to remove yourself from any list of recipients. And, btw, what is “Chucopedia?”
John G Dunham,
In response to your comment that I have apparently not been paying attention to local events, I collected signatures for the petition to put the Arena issue on the ballot for the taxpayers to decide. Though I do not own property and find housing and the cost of living in El Paso unaffordable, I believed that the Arena issue was more important than my personal situation. As I mentioned. In a previous comment, I also took night shifts protecting Duranguito from further demolition and made a peaceful stand in front of the buildings, willing to be arrested by the riot police. What have you been doing?
I have already moved Back to Mexico. My return to the US was conditional to help with the 2016 election because I had hope that our country would finally wake up. Clearly, that has not happened.
Yes, I have been paying attention to local events, to the point of spending nights at Duranguito and willing to be arrested on September 12th, in support of the non violent Defenders of Duranguito who were protecting the buildings from further illegal demolition. I saw the unnecessary, menacing riot police up close and personal but fear was not enough to make me want to back down. This was a the first time in my life that I defied the police but would have lost my self respect if I hadn’t.
The situation faced by El Paso is far deeper than a taxpayer issue and lack of cool places to go that would attract more cool people. Poverty caused by displacement and cultural erasure is the core issue that affects everything else.
As many of us know, demolishing Duranguito, and previous attempts at Segundo Barrio, is part of a regional plan by PDNG, that has changed its name to the Borderplex Alliance, to DeMexicanize a 150 mike radius of the Border. This has been going on for over a decade which I would hope everyone is aware of. Dr. Leyba can fill in anyone who isn’t.
A prominent member of the Borderplex Alliance proclaimed “I will be a force to be contended with” when he moved into Mesilla, New Mexico, shortly after I did in 1996. Same dynamic, on a smaller scale, with a corrupted local government, like El Paso.
It took awhile for us to realize that Mesilla was a small piece in a much larger puzzle, threatening the Borderland as a whole.
Displacement and lack of affordability and need for affordable housing are huge issues for the majority of us. It needs to be more energetically addressed by all people involved in this battle for the soul of El Paso and the Borderland, including those not affected by lack of affordability.
I am 74 years old and was displaced from the village of Mesilla, New Mexico by both gentrification and losing my job in the 2008 Crash. I am not ashamed to say I could no longer afford to live in my country.
The silver lining was the opportunity to live in Mexico and spend significant periods of time in Central America, doing informal research and talking with local citizens. An opportunity get insight into the consequences of our foreign policy that also impacts our Borderland.
After starting a new life in Mexico, It was a serious financial sacrifice to decide on a temporary return to the US for Bernie’s campaign in 2016. Unfortunately, not giving everyone a seat at the table cost Bernie dearly. That appeared to be more the attitude of his campaign organizers than Bernie personally.
Almost two years later, it is clear that the American people are divided in their perception of what lack of affordability and affordable housing in this country means. It is no joke.
Though I can no longer afford to live in my own country, I have no regrets coming back when there was hope for change with the 2016 election. It was a valuable lesson to see for myself the deterioration of our society since 2008.,,,,,,,when everyone should have been out in the street expressing outrage over the consequences of the 2008 Crash.
Yes, I am aware of what is going on locally but also see it in perspective of the Big Picture.