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Invest in a good insulated water bottle. A Yeti or Stanley with ice stays cold for 8+ hours in your car. Warm water in the Texas heat is torture.

YMCA is slept on. Some of them have surprisingly good weight rooms, plus pool, basketball courts, and sauna. $45/month for an adult membership at most locations.

Whoever designed highway interchanges in Texas clearly wanted to see if humans could navigate 5 lanes merging simultaneously at 70mph. The answer is no.

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

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 will say this: Texas drivers are aggressive but they commit. It's the hesitant drivers from other states merging at 40mph who cause the real accidents.

Crunch Fitness is a solid middle ground. More equipment than PF, actual free weight area, $25-30/month at most locations.

Be the one who initiates. "We should hang out sometime" means nothing. "Want to grab tacos Saturday at 1pm?" is a plan. Most people want friends but nobody wants to be the one to plan things.

Red light running is the Texas state pastime. The light turns red and three more cars go through. I wait a full two seconds after my light turns green now.

Rec sports league. Volleyball, kickball, softball. You see the same people every week, you grab beers after games, friendships happen naturally. That's how I built my entire friend group here.

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.

Hot take: Texas drivers are aggressive but predictable. They're going fast and they expect you to keep up. Northeast drivers are passive-aggressive which is somehow worse.

Brazilian jiu jitsu gym. I know it sounds random but hear me out — you train with the same people 3-4 times a week, you suffer together, and the community is insanely tight. Changed my social life.

Tinted windows, remote start, and a good sunshade for the windshield. That's the holy trinity of surviving Texas car heat.

It takes like a year. I know that's not what you want to hear but real friendships take time. Keep showing up to the same places consistently. The people who keep showing up too become your people.

The key is never letting your house get hot in the first place. Blackout curtains, good insulation, and never open the doors more than necessary. Treat it like winter in reverse.

Enforcement is basically nonexistent unless you're going 95+ or visibly drunk. I drive the same highway every day and haven't seen a speed trap in months.

Nobody in this state understands the zipper merge. Two lanes go to one and everyone treats it like a personal insult.

Zocdoc app. Filter by insurance and availability. I found a PCP with a next-day appointment that I couldn't find through any other method.

Chorizo and egg with a little bit of potato mixed in. Squeeze of lime. That's the one.

You get used to it in the sense that you learn to work around it. You go outside before 10am or after 7pm. You accept that June through September is indoor season.

The worst drivers are always the ones on whatever highway I'm currently on. This is a universal law.

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.

The healthcare shortage in Texas is real. We have fewer doctors per capita than most states. It's not you — the system is genuinely overwhelmed.

Unpopular opinion: corn tortilla breakfast tacos are superior. Flour gets soggy too fast if you're taking them to go.