KnowYard Community

Package lockbox on the porch. $80 on Amazon. You put a sign on it that says "delivery drivers: please place packages inside." Works 95% of the time. Haven't had a theft since.

Chick-fil-A is the gold standard and I'm tired of people trying to find something better. It's sweet tea. They perfected it. Move on.

Electrician for 12 years. Made $95K last year. Zero student debt. Bought a house at 24. I work hard but I'm not broke. Most of my college friends can't say both of those things.

Skip the job boards for the first week. Reach out directly to everyone you know. LinkedIn connections, former coworkers, friends of friends. 70% of jobs are filled through networking and that's not a cliché.

You can do both. Get your trade license AND take classes part-time. My buddy is a licensed plumber making $75K while finishing his business degree at night. He wants to run his own shop.

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

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

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.

My commute used to be 1.5 hours round trip. That's 7.5 hours a week, 30 hours a month, sitting in traffic producing nothing. Remote work gave me a whole day back every month.

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.

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.

Same thing happened to me in January. 3 years, great reviews, gone in a 10 minute call. The market is rough but not dead. Took me 11 weeks to find something. Apply everywhere, even stuff you think you're overqualified for.

I'm remote and I love it but I'll be honest — the isolation is real. I go days without talking to another adult in person. Make sure you have a plan for that.

Any southern home cooking restaurant. The ones with the big plastic pitchers on the table. That's where the real sweet tea lives.

McDonald's sweet tea for $1 is the best value in fast food beverages and I will die on this hill. They put an absurd amount of sugar in it.

The hard truth is that unless someone is caught in the act, police don't have the resources to investigate car break-ins. Prevention is all you've got.

The companies forcing return-to-office are just trying to justify their lease costs. It's not about productivity and everyone knows it.

I just order online now. If I need an employee to unlock 4 different items during a 15 minute shopping trip, I'd rather pay for shipping and skip the hassle.

Left my hybrid job for a fully remote one. Took a small pay cut but the savings on gas, parking, lunch, and wardrobe made it net positive. Zero regrets.

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.

The real cost is what Texas is losing. Good teachers leave for other careers or other states. What's left is a teacher shortage that keeps getting worse. My kid's school has had 3 substitute teachers this year because they can't fill positions.

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.

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.

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.

Dashcam with parking mode. It records when it detects motion near the car. Won't stop the theft but gives you evidence and sometimes a clear face.