KnowYard Community

I use a pellet grill and I'm tired of pretending I'm sorry about it. The brisket is good. My family loves it. I don't care about your offset smoker opinions.

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.

Bacon egg and cheese on flour with green salsa. That's the order. Every time. Don't overthink it.

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.

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 insurance situation in Texas is rough right now. Get quotes BEFORE you make an offer on a house. Some areas are seeing 40-50% premium increases after recent storm seasons.

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.

Factor in ALL costs not just mortgage. Property tax, insurance, HOA, maintenance, and the stuff that breaks. My first year I spent $8K on things the inspection missed.

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

It's both. It's a tourist trap AND it's good. Those things can coexist. The prices are high but the quality is real.

Counterpoint: standards are what make Texas BBQ great. If we stop caring about quality we end up like every other state's mid BBQ. Gatekeeping has a purpose.

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.

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.

Skip the places with "Mexican Grill" in the name. Find the places with handwritten specials on the whiteboard. That's where the real food is.

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.

The smoke ring discourse is out of control. It doesn't even affect flavor. It's just a visual marker. Relax.

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.

Bought last year at 6.8%. Monthly payment is more than my old rent but I'm not throwing money away anymore. You can always refinance when rates drop. You can't un-rent money you already spent.

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.

Brisket gatekeepers are the worst. My dad has been smoking brisket for 30 years and some guy who watched one YouTube video tried to tell him he's doing it wrong.

I stop every time I see one and I'm not sorry. The kolaches are solid, the bathrooms are spotless, and the beaver nuggets are crack.

The real authentic spots are usually in strip malls with no English on the menu. If abuela is in the kitchen you're in the right place.

Tex-Mex is not Mexican food and nobody who grew up eating both would confuse them. Both are good. They're just different cuisines at this point.

Call your city's code compliance. An apartment without AC in July may violate habitability codes. The city inspector showing up lights a fire under landlords real fast.

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.