Don’t Complain: Here Are 7 Reasons We’re Lucky To Be Living In El Paso

Sometimes it's easy to complain about El Paso. We're not Dallas or Austin, we don't have a professional sports team, our university teams aren't that great, and our nightlife might not be all that you get in a bigger city. We do have a lot to offer, though, and here are some things that make El Paso a great place to live.

1. Chico's Tacos - Love them or hate them, those rolled tacos in tomato sauce are the number one brand ambassador for El Paso. You could be in the middle of Antarctica and if you said "I'm from El Paso, Texas" someone would say "Oh, Chico's Tacos, right?" They're so famous that a few years back, UTEP was playing UT Austin in football and a group of alumni got together and ordered a U-Haul to take enough Chico's to their tailgate party before the game. A U-Haul. Full of Chico's. Now that's dedication.

2. Amazing sunsets - I mean, let's be real. The rest of the country thinks they have amazing sunsets because they have trees and oceans and lakes. Pshhh, whatever. If you've never seen a desert sunset after a summer rain, or the sun setting over the Franklin Mountains filtered through the last remnants of a dust storm, buddy, you've never seen a sunset. All you need is a paper boat with a double order of Chico's and an ice cold beer to complete the picture.

3. Star on the Mountain - I was on a flight back to El Paso at night a few years back and a couple sitting in the row in front of me couldn't get over our Star. They wondered why it was there, how big it was, but mostly they were amazed at how gorgeous that simple star looked in the night sky. I almost cried with pride for my city listening to them. When it flashed a year after the massacre at Walmart I cried like a baby for the souls lost and those of us left behind to mourn them. This year on the second anniversary I cried again for those lost and for the symbol of our city flashing in the night sky sending them a message that we love and miss them.

4. Mexican food - And I mean border Mexican food. This ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no Tex-Mex. You want that, go to east and central Texas. Around here we do real border Mexican food. Elote en vaso with lime, crema, and cotija cheese. Rajas con queso. Raspas. Street tacos. Anyone's abuelita's beans. We know what's good and what our friends and family can't get anywhere else. El Paso Mexican food is the best. Especially the machaca plate at the Lucy's counter across from St. Patrick's Cathedral on Mesa.

5. Weather - We live in God's country. No hurricanes, tornadoes, or earthquakes (I know that's not weather just bear with me). We might get dust storms, but they blow through town, we sweep up the back porch, and move on. Granted, we've had wild weather this summer, but it's not normal and it has made the mountains really green so there's that.

6. Mountains - We live in a town that is dominated by an amazing mountain view. You can see them from virtually any part of town, they have a star on one side and a whitewashed message on the other telling you to read your Bible. I mean, how much more do you people want out of a city?

7. Family ties - Get into a conversation with just about anyone in this city and I guarantee it won't be long before you figure out that your grandmas went to high school together or you dated their second cousin on their dad's side. There may be almost a million people when you take into a account Juarez, and you have to because if you know you know, but we really are a small town at heart. And that gives us our heart.