Gulf Coast DoD Techie eyeing DFW... (Dallas, San Antonio: for sale, foreclosures, countertops)

[soundbreeze]

Greetings everyone!

SO, my brother turned me on to the homelistings on realtor.com, and after comparing what $180G's gets you in FW vs. NWF, my interest has been piqued! All brick w. stone front accents, arches, granite countertops w. islands, stainless steel kitchen appliances, garden tubs, 5 bedrooms, two car garage, etc for around $180G's?!? Amazing! That's a $300-400K+ house or more in Destin.

I've been scouring the top ten information technology defense contractor websites (I've worked for General Dynamics, and now L-3 Communications) and my ole friends @ Lockheed Martin have presence there. My questions:

1. What's the employment outlook like in the DFW area? Especially in tech?
2. Looking @ Saginaw. Good, no good?
3. I read in one of the forums that there is a strong Asian American community close by. Does that mean gangs, or nice shoppes w. a Ranch99?
4. Who are the local connectivity providers? I'm assumbing SBC/ATT? Cox?
5. I read in one of the threads about hail. Got a propeller car + my beater Grande Cherokee, so, a garage is a "must have", yes?

I lived/worked in Atlanta for a couple of years, and Silicon Valley/San Francisco in the late 90's/early 2000's. Pretty much insulated from competition w. my education, experience and clearances. The more logical Texas move would be Austin or San Antonio w. respect to DoD work, but those dollar stretching housing prices were eye openers for me.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice!

sb

[Texas-RE-Broker]

1. What's the employment outlook like in the DFW area? Especially in tech?
I think it is great, I would not see any problem, Dallas is more known for the tech side of things and the Fort Worth area for it natural Gas.
2. Looking @ Saginaw. Good, no good?
Great area. All of North Fort Worth is a great idea. Our home prices aren't hurting at all.
3. I read in one of the forums that there is a strong Asian American community close by. Does that mean gangs, or nice shoppes w. a Ranch99? As a Realtor, I cant say one way or another but look at the Haltome City area, it is really close to Saginaw
4. Who are the local connectivity providers? I'm assumbing SBC/ATT? Cox? Sbc/Att and Charter Cable
5. I read in one of the threads about hail. Got a propeller car + my beater Grande Cherokee, so, a garage is a "must have", yes? Most homes you will find in this area all have garages.

[mocha12]

I think those houses in the 180's must be in a neighborhood with absolutely no land, where you can reach out and touch your neighbor.

[loves2read]

Tarrant county has Lockheed, Bell, Raytheon although not close together

regarding Asian presence--there are both contributing and non-contributing members of that community---
I would say gang presence is in the Haltom City/Richland Hills and in south Arlington/Grand Prairie areas on the Tarrant side...

[NatasNJ]

North Texas (Fort Worth) home prices are not hurting? You insane?
I am in process of selling there and taking HUGE hit. 10% or so from when I bought 2 years ago. Foreclosures are ALL over the place. So many houses up for sale with prices dropping through the floor if you are in a rush to sell. Not saying it is horrible in the CA/FL/AZ sense but it is not all peaches either.

Lockheed has large presence there but rumors of layoffs have been swirling since the F-35 program switched from Design to Test. And if that project gets scaled back at all you can see some bad things happening.

L-3 has presence all over DFW area. So you could try that route.

But I will tell you this. DO NOT move to DFW area for the big house for cheap. We did it and regret it. Stick to established areas otherwise you are in "anywhere USA" in middle of suburbian sprawl and driving far to do anything. (lots of driving and tons of traffic in most parts of DFW)

If you are into lakes and boating on lakes and Nascar than the atmosphere will work well for you. That is not a jab either. Overall not a bad place to live. HOT summers. But great winters, cheap living, etc... But if you don't like commuting or driving in general it may not be your bag...