KnowYard Community

Following this thread. Want to hear more takes.

Birria tacos here have gotten so much better in the last few years. The trend actually brought legit birria spots out of hiding.

The "no income tax" thing is a trap. They get you with property tax, sales tax, and toll roads. You end up paying the same or more than a lot of income tax states.

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

Hail. Nobody told me about the hail. First spring here my car got destroyed. Get comprehensive insurance immediately.

I just accept that summer electric bills are $300+ and budget accordingly. It's the Texas tax nobody mentions.

Furniture flipping. Grab free stuff off Facebook Marketplace, clean it up or do minor repairs, resell. A truck is your biggest advantage. I clear $500-800/month doing this on weekends.

got promoted to blue belt and immediately got submitted by a fresh white belt the next week. blue belt curse is real. once that belt goes on, every white belt is hunting you lmao

For COBRA — check healthcare.gov first. Losing your job qualifies you for a Special Enrollment Period. ACA plans might be significantly cheaper than COBRA depending on your income.

My Mexican friends refuse to eat at most Tex-Mex places. But they also admit that queso (which doesn't exist in Mexico) is addictive. Cultural exchange works both ways.

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.

Location within Dallas-Fort Worth changes everything. North vs south is two different markets.

Year 8 here. You don't stop hating it. You just hate it quietly and then enjoy October through April knowing you earned it.

I used one of those companies that does it for you — they take 25-30% of savings. Got my value knocked down $40K. Worth it because I hate doing paperwork.

The unequal appraisal argument is your best weapon. If your neighbor's identical house is appraised at $50K less than yours, that's hard for them to justify. Use their own data against them.

Former Rowlett planning commissioner here. The TIF (Tax Increment Financing) district the city set up for Sapphire Bay is structured so that if the developer doesn't perform, the city's exposure is limited. It's not a blank check. The risk is mostly on the developer side.

as someone who moved from Ohio (wrestling state) to DFW, the growth here is impressive. its not Iowa yet but the trajectory is clear. these kids are talented and hungry

Adding this to the list. My wallet is not going to be happy.

got my blue belt in january after 2 years of consistent training at Alliance Dallas. my coach said i was the most improved student of 2025. coming from a guy who was told he had "no natural talent for grappling" by a drop-in instructor, that hit different

San Antonio sports fans don't play around. We take this seriously.

Smart thermostat was a game changer for me. Bumps up to 80 when nobody is home, drops back to 76 an hour before we get back. Saved about $40/month in summer.

Protested 5 years in a row. Won every time. Average reduction of about $20K in appraised value. The informal hearing is where it happens — bring your comps printed out and be polite.

This happened to my coworker last week. Parked in the DART lot at 7 AM, came back at 6 PM and the passenger window was smashed. They took a gym bag with dirty clothes and a phone charger. Not even valuable stuff.

Good. People FLY through the Dalrock school zone. My kids go to Coyle and I watch cars blow past the crosswalk every single morning. A few tickets will change behavior.

File for unemployment the same day. Texas unemployment isn't much ($563/week max) but it buys time. Don't wait. The processing takes 2-3 weeks.