KnowYard Community

Trades. HVAC, plumbing, electrical. Most will hire you with zero experience and train you. Starting pay is $18-22/hr but within 2-3 years you're at $30+. Texas needs tradespeople badly.

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.

Any medical facility. Not as a doctor — as everything else. Phlebotomy cert takes 4 months and pays $18-22/hr. Medical billing is similar. Hospitals are desperate for support staff.

Check your city and county job boards directly. Government jobs don't always post on Indeed. The benefits package is usually better than private sector even if the pay is slightly lower.

I deliver for Amazon Flex on weekends. $25/hr base plus tips. Use your own vehicle. 4-5 hour blocks. It's not exciting but it's reliable money with a flexible schedule.

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.

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.

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.

Handyman work on TaskRabbit or Thumbtack. Hanging TVs, assembling furniture, minor repairs. If you're actually handy you can charge $50-75/hr and stay booked.

UPS warehouse and driving positions. Warehouse starts around $21/hr, drivers make $35+/hr after training. Union benefits. It's physical work but it's legit.

I fought a similar violation. Sent a written response requesting the specific bylaw and photos of other houses in violation. They dropped it. They count on people just complying without question.

$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.

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.

Utility companies are almost always hiring and pay decent with good benefits. Check your local electric co-op or water district. $22-28/hr starting for field positions and you don't need a degree.

I watched someone walk out of a store with a full cart last week. Employees didn't even react. They're told not to intervene. I don't blame them — not worth getting hurt over merchandise.

Stores in wealthier areas don't lock stuff up even though they get shoplifted too. It's a customer experience decision, not purely a theft rate one. Think about what that says.

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.

Ship to a UPS Store access point or FedEx hold location. Both are free. Less convenient but zero theft risk.

Ring footage and police reports don't accomplish anything in my experience. The camera is for insurance claims, not actual justice. Sad but true.

The real issue is that organized retail theft rings are running operations, not random people stealing food. They resell on Amazon and Facebook Marketplace. It's a business.

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.

Nobody benefits. Shoplifting goes up, stores lock everything, customers leave, stores close, and the neighborhood loses access to basic retail. It's a death spiral.

Our neighborhood started a group chat where people post when they're expecting deliveries and others keep an eye out. Old school community policing. Actually works.

Mowing lawns. Seriously. Especially in summer when people don't want to be outside. $40-60 per yard, you can do 6-8 in a day. A truck and a mower is all you need.

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.