5.
Ciudad Juárez, Mexico (pop. 1,321,004)
Pros: I'm alive.
Cons: Where to begin...? Murder rate? Feminicide? Beheadings? Police corruption? Drug wars?Things in Juárez are so bad that CBS named it the "murder capital of the world." Even with 4,000 - 7,500 federal troops in town, around 3,000 people are murdered each year. I kid you not when I say that this place is up there with Baghdad, Chechnya, Mogadishu, and Port-au-Prince. Here's the news from the day I was there.
http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2012/02/juarez-cops-under-attack-again.html
Experience: This was truly a rush of an experience. My 10 minute, 75 cent journey started at 8:30 pm on the American side of the Paso del Norte International Bridge in El Paso. Cars lined 4 lanes coming into the United States (the bridge is one-way). Things actually looked pretty harmless, but my feeling changed as soon as I cross the brightly lit American side of the bridge into the dingy, dark, chain-linked fence of a bridge on the Mexican bridge. After I passed through Mexican security (which consists only of pushing a button), I noticed Mexican police in all black everything, and a bunch of street vendors. At the end of the street, a squad car had its lights on and had pulled someone over in the street (that naturally had no street lights). After feeling I had seen all I needed to see, I walked back home, terrified my passport would not work.
Description in a few words: anxiety, adrenaline, fear, relief, thrill
4.
El Paso, Texas (pop. 649,121)
Pros: Being in the United States; proximity to Mexico; the old part of El Paso; University of Texas - El Paso (restaurants, bars, overall neighborhod); safety.
Cons: Downtown is pretty dead at night, even on a Saturday.
Experience: El Paso is a great town to grab a Corona, Sol, or Modelo. As usual, places like Krispy Kreme are welcome sights. (I know it's lame, but I was glad to see after beeing in Juárez). I also enjoyed seeing the giant Lone Star on the side of the mountain in El Paso, and the sign (above) you see (re-)entering the United States that makes no mention of the country...just Texas.
Description in a few words: relief, windy, hip, safe
3.
Albuquerque, New Mexico (pop. 545,852)
Pros: Balloon Fiesta; University of New Mexico (especially Frontier restaurant for burritos); Marble Brewery; Downtown (especially Maloney's); Taqueria Mexico (some of the best Mexican street food on Earth; tongue, pork, and shrimp tacos all great); cheapness; new shopping centers; user-friendly airport
Cons: Nice landscape, but not the prettiest in the Southwest; poverty on outskirts of town; too sprawled; expensive airport with few direct flights east of Texas
Experience: I keep saying it: Albuquerque is actually a fun town. It has a great local identity and a growing population of outsiders, making it a potentially great city in the future. Do some homework on what you want to see/do/eat, and you won't be disappointed. Balloon Fiesta is incredible in early October. There are also some casinos nearby, especially the Route 66 and its enormous buffet. I have not been there yet, but plan on it.
Description in a few words: Sand, big mountain, balloons, isolated
2.
Las Vegas, Nevada (pop. 583,756)
Cons: Superficial people; drink prices; confusing sidewalks that lead to nowhere; very touristy
Experience: What a town! I definitely think you can see pretty much everthing in a weekend. Definitely check out the old spots like Circus, Circus, the Flamingo, and the Riviera, as well as the boarded up Sahara. A trip north on Las Vegas Boulevard takes you place the seedier places in town, like the wedding chapels, but you also get to see the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop from Pawn Stars. Also the newer themed casinos are definitely nicer than places like the MGM or Mandalay Bay. It's also amusing walking around the city with a large drink in hand, so go for it! For night-time fun, visit the pirate show at Treasure Island, Nine Irishmen at New York-New York, and the Cathouse at Luxor.
Description in a few words: Bright, wild, long, gambling, hotels, crowded, booze
1.
Los Angeles, California (pop. 3,792,621)
Pros: Big lights in the big city; Sierra Nevadas; Pacific Ocean; Manhattan Beach (Wahoo's Tacos); high school football in East L.A.
See: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/varsitytimesinsider/2011/11/football-post-game-brawl-erupts-between-private-schools.html
Culver City (Backstage bar); Olvera Street (Mexican food, especially shrimp cocktail); Santa Monica (any bar, Cha Cha Chicken and its Jamaican jerk enchiladas); Koreatown (Brass Monkey...that funky monkey...); In-N-Out (Animal Style)
Cons: Most of Downtown; South Central near USC; smog; traffic
Experience: There is nothing like leaving the Mojave and climbing the snow-capped Sierra Nevadas, only to drop a couple thousand feet, all while seeing the bright lights of the City of Angels 50-60 miles ahead of you while falling to sea level...all at night. Within 24 hours, I was on top of a hill in Culver City looking at Santa Monica, Huntington Beach, and the Pacific Ocean to the west, rolling green meadows and hills to the south, Beverly Hills and the Hollywood sign to the north, and desert, snow-covered mountains, and downtown to the east. What a view! I can't say enough about L.A. I loved it so much more than I thought possible. Even the bad parts of my trip were enjoyable. Seeing the street vendors downtown, eating at Panda at USC, and getting into a traffic jam all seem like necessary parts of an experience in Los Angeles, my favorite city in the West.
Description in a few words: Amazing.
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