KnowYard Community

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

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

Early morning on weekdays is the cheat code for popular parks. I go at 7am on a Tuesday and have the whole trail to myself. Same trail on a Saturday at 10am has 200 people.

Whataburger loyalty is not a meme. People here will defend that place with their lives. I said it was mid ONE TIME and almost got run out of the office.

State parks. Texas state parks system is incredible and massively underused. A year pass is $70 and gets you into every park in the state. Weekend camping is $15-25/night.

The weather changing 40 degrees in one day. I've worn shorts and a jacket in the same 12 hour period. Multiple times.

The fish photo thing is real and I will never understand it. What message is that sending? "I have patience and access to a lake"?

The recyclers buying these no-questions-asked are the real problem. A stolen cat sells for $100-500 in scrap. Until that's regulated this won't stop.

Comprehensive insurance covers it but file the claim and your rates go up. My deductible is $500 and the replacement was $2,200. Insurance covered it but my premium went up $30/month. So I'll pay it back in 5 years. Cool.

Texas pride. I've never lived anywhere where people fly the state flag more than the US flag. And they're not being ironic about it.

Cat shield or cage. $150-300 installed. It's a metal plate bolted over the catalytic converter. Doesn't make it impossible to steal but makes it take 10+ minutes instead of 90 seconds. Most thieves move on.

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.

Dog park if you have a dog. I've made more friends through my dog in 6 months than I made on my own in a year. Dogs are social lubricant.

Volunteering. Pick something you care about, show up regularly, and you'll meet good people. Food banks, habitat builds, trail cleanups. Shared purpose builds bonds faster than shared drinks.

Toyota Tacoma, Tundra, 4Runner, and Prius are the most targeted. Higher ground clearance = easier access, and Toyota cats have more precious metals. If you own one of these, you're a target.

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.

The friendliness is real. People wave at strangers, hold doors, and make small talk in checkout lines. Moved from the northeast and this took months to get used to.

Got dashcam footage that could fill a YouTube channel. Front and rear cameras are mandatory equipment in this state as far as I'm concerned.

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

Check Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist for home gym equipment. I built my garage gym for $800 total — rack, barbell, 300lbs of plates, and a bench. Pays for itself in 14 months vs a gym membership.

Everything IS bigger. The steaks, the trucks, the highways, the distances, the portions. My first time ordering a "small" drink here I got what I'd call a large anywhere else.

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

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.

High school football being a religion. I thought people were exaggerating. Then I saw a high school stadium bigger than most college stadiums. These people are not playing.

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.