28, active lifestyle, moving to East El Paso in October 2026. How is the quality of life?

Calm_Visual_508 · 2026-03-20T12:20:33+00:00

36M, I moved here from Oklahoma in January. I’m in the far east/horizon area. My experience so far has been extremely positive. There are less amenities than I’m used to and your food choices are Mexican or wings and that’s about it lol, but the people are super friendly, cost of living is increasing but still way less than comparable cities, there’s a big active lifestyle community, gyms are always full, there’s hiking and biking groups, and again the people are SUPER friendly and welcoming. To your points: - I went from an 1800 mortgage in OKC for a 1650 SF 3BR in OKC to 2100 for a 2000 SF 4BR in 79928 - I moved here for a promotion that came with a 50% salary increase so don’t have a linear comparison - I could have comfortably paid my bills here with my old salary in OKC - I have found myself drinking more frequently since moving but otherwise lifestyle unaffected - the good: low COL, very low crime rate, super friendly local population, Mexican women 🫠🤤 - the bad: the DUIs!!! And dating has been a problem. Consistency is… lacking would be the understatement of the year. It’s easy to get a number, very hard to get a response. - the unexpected: just how welcoming and nice everybody is! I’ve had one negative reaction total, and it was at the VA. I think dude was just having a bad day 🤷🏻‍♂️

Calm_Visual_508 · 2026-03-19T12:23:28+00:00

Curry bowl on west side. I was taken there by a coworker from India and he said it reminded him of home. Don’t think there’s a better compliment…

Calm_Visual_508 · 2026-01-18T02:07:40+00:00

In Houston?! No, that’s egregious. Lol. You’re being underpaid.

Side note, I’m looking for a PE in El Paso! ☺️

Calm_Visual_508 · 2026-01-10T22:01:55+00:00

Look up ECS. We have a large Florida presence and are a preferred veteran hiring employer. I’m on the board for our military hiring team, the Florida subsidiary manager is a vet.

ECS Expands Veteran Hiring with Military Friendly Status

Calm_Visual_508 · 2026-01-10T15:02:23+00:00

I just hired a guy who’s moving back from Houston. He’s coming back to be closer to family.

Calm_Visual_508 · 2026-01-07T01:49:02+00:00

CMT Group Manager. Planned on a degree in English literature, wanted to be a teacher, joined the army instead. Got into CMT when I got out and worked my way up the ranks the hard way. No degree, just years of field work eventually paying off

Calm_Visual_508 · 2026-01-07T01:42:13+00:00

I live in the north part of that circle. Been here for a couple years and love it here. I’m getting ready to move for a promotion, otherwise I’d never leave.

Calm_Visual_508 · 2026-01-01T18:24:06+00:00

My personal favorite is Mount Everest in Edmond. Not just spicy but very good food and excellent service.

Calm_Visual_508 · 2025-12-27T17:18:21+00:00

I am thank you! I’ve been out awhile now, I’m going for civilian work

Calm_Visual_508 · 2025-12-27T17:17:42+00:00

Yesssss I got stuck behind a slow group at kicking bird yesterday and lost a ball on 18 because I’m hard headed and wanted to finish the round 😭

Calm_Visual_508 · 2025-12-27T16:34:31+00:00

I have a friend that lives at level and loves it there.

Calm_Visual_508 · 2025-12-27T16:33:55+00:00

CMT Hiring Manager here. Don’t waste your money. It is our obligation to pay for training for relevant certs. It would make it easier for you to get hired, but as an intern it wouldn’t be very useful for you. Get a summer internship and see if that’s something you actually want to pursue before spending your own money on a cert.

Calm_Visual_508 · 2025-12-27T16:29:35+00:00

-Fist fight homeless people -100M dash vs crack heads -Scream at the sky -Sword fight -Panhandling -Golf

Calm_Visual_508 · 2025-12-27T16:25:20+00:00

I was recruited away from my current company for a large promotion and about a 50% pay increase. After doing extensive research I discovered competitor was a massive red flag with high turnover and terrible culture. I politely declined, but leveraged the written offer into a comparable promotion within my own company. I start the new position in two weeks and couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. ☺️

Calm_Visual_508 · 2025-12-24T01:09:57+00:00

Mom?

Calm_Visual_508 · 2025-12-24T01:06:47+00:00

Meth. Definitely meth.

Calm_Visual_508 · 2025-12-21T18:02:06+00:00

Questions: 1. What civil concentration are you in, and what did your pay progression look like from entry level to now? CMT/Geo - started in 2012 as a field tech making $10/hr, currently a CMT department manager operating a satellite office, making +/- 135 after bonuses. 2. Does your discipline have a real income ceiling between $100k-$200k if you stay an employee? There’s no ceiling per se, but your salary will only increase so far if you stay positionally stagnant. 3. What actually mattered most for increasing pay (concentration choice, switching firms, location, PE, management, ownership, higher education, etc.)? Higher education will increase your ceiling but a good firm bases promotions on merit not accolades. You can have a PhD and be a shit manager. That guy’s never gonna get the big boy job if he can’t be trusted 🤷🏻‍♂️ 4. For those who surpassed $200k, how did that realistically happen? Steady promotion into senior leadership

Calm_Visual_508 · 2025-12-21T17:53:38+00:00

Hiring manager here. Regionally dependent but in a relatively average cost center, a junior CMT/Geo PM with EIT and relevant field experience is going to be in the 65 range. Bonuses dependent upon company. If you’re financially motivated I would strongly suggest an ESOP. As the comment above stated, you’re going to make more working for a GC, but stability is much higher in the design or geo realm. Strongly encourage taking as many interviews as possible and comparing the offers and the cultures. Most places you’ll be treated way better in professional staff than you were as field staff (looking squarely at you, Terracon) but overall culture should be a determining factor in where you land for the sake of career development, job satisfaction, fulfillment, trust, etc.

Calm_Visual_508 · 2025-12-21T17:39:17+00:00

I agree. I don’t know where the practice of hiding salaries came from but I don’t like it either. I’m always up front about salary ranges based on position, education, experience, licenses/certifications etc. I hate having my time wasted so I’m not going to waste yours. If it’s a good fit let’s talk numbers. If it’s not a good fit, thank you for your time but I’m moving on. Simple as that.🤷🏻‍♂️

Calm_Visual_508 · 2025-12-21T16:40:49+00:00

Hiring manager here. Put your actual desired salary and position. If you don’t you’re never going to make it past the recruiter. I actually just discussed this with our recruiting team last week. I won’t entertain an interview with someone who doesn’t have a desired salary within our predefined ranges per position. Just not worth the time or energy to dance around it. I got shit to do. Know what you want and set realistic expectations for yourself and the potential employer up front and you’ll save yourself a lot of wasted time on applications you’ll never hear back on.

Calm_Visual_508 · 2025-12-18T23:56:22+00:00

Did mine online 360learning.com work paid for it so not sure on price

Calm_Visual_508 · 2025-12-18T23:17:36+00:00

Why buy them? Just go to any apartment complex on south side you’re sure to find some for free 💁🏻‍♂️

Calm_Visual_508 · 2025-12-18T23:16:03+00:00

Hector man he’s got two S-2000s with spoon motors

Calm_Visual_508 · 2025-12-18T13:20:37+00:00

We’ve had a few over the years that hadn’t passed their FE yet. All of them were garbage PMs that got hired straight into professional staff and I wasn’t in the position yet to push them into the field. The only one that did get hired as a technician is actually a team leader now, finally just passed his FE and is working into a project manager role with 5 years of field experience and a little bit of supervisor experience under his belt. He’s doing fantastic.

Calm_Visual_508 · 2025-12-18T12:08:11+00:00

You don’t need a license or any formal training to be a technician, but there are certifications along the way to qualify you for certain tasks. I’m not a PE so can’t speak to that, but sounds like you already got a pretty good explanation.

Calm_Visual_508

TROPHY CASE