KnowYard Community

It depends where you came from. My friends in California still pay double what I pay for everything. Texas is expensive compared to 2019 Texas, but cheap compared to a lot of other places.

If the spot doesn't have a line of construction workers at 6am it's probably not that good. That's my filter.

Buc-ee's is an experience, not a restaurant. You go for the vibes and the clean bathroom and you leave with $40 of beaver-branded impulse purchases.

Find a place that makes their tortillas in house. That's the only criteria that matters. Everything else follows.

Old school Tex-Mex places are the best example of this. The ones where the enchilada plate is $9.99 and it comes with rice beans and chips. No substitutions. Perfection.

Local independent gyms are where it's at. Not the chain ones. Find the gym owned by one person that's been open 15 years with equipment that's older than you. Those gyms have the best equipment and the best culture.

Any southern home cooking restaurant. The ones with the big plastic pitchers on the table. That's where the real sweet tea lives.

Chick-fil-A is the gold standard and I'm tired of people trying to find something better. It's sweet tea. They perfected it. Move on.

$200/month HOA and they can't even maintain the common areas? Request a financial audit. You're entitled to see where that money goes.

The electricity thing. I had no idea you have to CHOOSE your electric provider. Signed up for a variable rate plan my first month and got a $380 bill in August.

My barber recommended a BBQ spot that's been open since 1991. Went there. No signage. Just a smoker and some picnic tables. Best ribs I've had in this state.

I moved here from California and I think Whataburger is great but the cult following is disproportionate to the food. It's an A- burger with an S tier fanbase.

How big everything is. Nothing is close. Even the grocery store is a 15 minute drive. Coming from a walkable city this took serious adjustment.

It's not theater. Something like 60-70% of people who protest get a reduction. The appraisal district overshoots on purpose because they know most people won't protest. Don't be most people.

Read your CC&Rs cover to cover. Half the violations HOAs send out are either not actually in the rules or they're enforcing selectively. If your neighbor's trash can is visible too, document it and bring it up.

The friendliness is real. People wave at strangers, hold doors, and make small talk in checkout lines. Moved from the northeast and this took months to get used to.

This is why I specifically bought a house with no HOA even though it meant a longer commute. My trash can sits wherever I want and nobody sends me letters about it.

The merge thing is the real danger. Who taught people to merge at 40mph onto a 75mph highway? That's how accidents happen.

At $110K combined you can make $350K work but it will be tight with Texas property taxes. Run the real numbers including tax, insurance, and a maintenance fund. Not just principal and interest.

Texas pride. I've never lived anywhere where people fly the state flag more than the US flag. And they're not being ironic about it.

High school football being a religion. I thought people were exaggerating. Then I saw a high school stadium bigger than most college stadiums. These people are not playing.

The bathroom thing alone justifies its existence. After driving 3 hours on a Texas highway I would pay $5 just for a clean bathroom. The food is a bonus.

Show up to HOA board meetings. Seriously. Most boards are 3-5 retired people with nothing better to do. You show up with 5 neighbors who are also sick of it and you can vote them out.

Allergies. Cedar fever in winter is not a joke. I never had allergies anywhere else. Moved here and now I want to die every December through February.

First time I protested I was nervous. The informal hearing took 12 minutes. The guy looked at my comps, agreed I had a point, and dropped it $25K. Easiest money I ever saved.