KnowYard Community

The "but you get summers off" crowd has clearly never met a teacher. My wife spends summer doing curriculum planning, professional development, and setting up her classroom. It's unpaid work.

Left teaching last year for corporate training. Same skills, double the salary, and I don't cry in my car anymore. I miss the kids but I don't miss the system.

Starting salary in my district is $52K. Starting salary at Buc-ee's is $50K. With less stress, less responsibility, and no papers to grade at home. That tells you everything about how we value teachers.

The joke is that Texas has two seasons: summer and construction. And somehow they overlap perfectly to make everything worse.

If the job posting has been up for 6+ months, either the role doesn't exist (ghost listing to collect resumes) or nobody wants it because the work environment is toxic.

I genuinely think some of these projects are designed to never finish so the contracts keep paying out. Call me cynical but 3 years for a highway widening is insane.

My wife is a teacher and her take-home after insurance, retirement, and union dues is about $3,200/month. Our mortgage alone is $2,100. Do the math.

If they won't let you talk to anyone who actually does the job, run. I always ask to speak with a current team member. If they hesitate, there's a reason.

TxDOT project timelines are suggestions at best. I've lived near a highway expansion that was supposed to take 2 years. It took 6. When it finished they immediately started a new project on the connecting highway.

Year 8 teacher here. I love teaching. I cannot afford teaching. I tutor, do test prep on weekends, and drive for a rideshare in the summer. It shouldn't be like this.

Check on your elderly neighbors during heat waves. Seriously. Heat stroke can kill and not everyone has working AC or the ability to get to a cooling center.

Got a used Prius for my commute. $14K and it gets 50mpg. My gas bill went from $380 to $140. Best financial decision I've made in years. I still have the truck for weekends.

Solar panels with battery backup. Not cheap but after 2 summers of anxiety I made the investment. When ERCOT asks me to conserve, I just switch to battery. Independence from this grid is priceless.

I bought a whole-house generator after 2021. $8K installed. I shouldn't have to do that but I have elderly parents living with me and I'm not risking it again.

The deregulated market is the problem. Nobody wants to invest in reserve capacity because there's no profit in power plants that only run during emergencies. So we have zero buffer.

The toll roads add up too. My commute is technically 10 minutes faster on the tollway but costs $8/day. That's another $160/month. I take the free road now and listen to podcasts.

If your employer offers any kind of remote days, negotiate hard. Even 2 days from home cuts your gas bill 40% and adds years to your car's life.

The 2021 storm should have been a wake-up call. 200+ people died. And here we are still running the same grid on hope and prayers every summer.

Church and mutual friends are how most people here meet. I know that's not helpful if you're not religious but that's honestly the reality.

The distance thing is the real killer. I refuse to date anyone more than 20 minutes away. In Texas that eliminates like 80% of the population.

Costco or Sam's gas is consistently 15-20 cents cheaper per gallon. Over a month that saves me $25-30. The membership pays for itself just in gas.

Through friends or through hobbies. Join a sports league, a gym, a climbing wall, something. The apps are a wasteland everywhere, not just here.

Palo Duro Canyon in the panhandle is basically a mini Grand Canyon and nobody talks about it. The drive up there is flat and boring but the canyon itself is stunning.

I switched from a truck to a sedan specifically because of gas costs. Went from $400/month to $180/month. I miss the truck but I don't miss being broke.

I met my girlfriend at a trivia night at a local brewery. Go to recurring social events where you see the same people week after week. That's how actual connections form.