KnowYard Community

Property taxes are the real killer. No income tax sounds great until you realize you pay 2.5% of your home value every year. That adds up FAST on a 400k house.

For dentists: look at newer practices that opened in the last 1-2 years. They're actively building their patient base so they have availability. Established dentists are booked out forever.

The joke is that Texas has two seasons: summer and construction. And somehow they overlap perfectly to make everything worse.

Did the Texas BBQ trail — hit 5 different BBQ spots across the state in 3 days. Gained 8 pounds. No regrets.

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.

Solar panels with battery backup. Not cheap but after 2 summers of anxiety I made the investment. When ERCOT asks me to conserve, I just switch to battery. Independence from this grid is priceless.

Year 8 here. You don't stop hating it. You just hate it quietly and then enjoy October through April knowing you earned it.

It depends where you came from. My friends in California still pay double what I pay for everything. Texas is expensive compared to 2019 Texas, but cheap compared to a lot of other places.

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.

Get the AllTrails app and search your area. Filter by difficulty and distance. Some of the best trails aren't in official parks — they're along creeks, power line easements, and greenbelts.

Car insurance in Texas is insane and nobody talks about it. Mine went from $140 to $210/month for the same coverage. Zero accidents. Zero tickets.

Still waiting for prices to come down. Used EVs are getting more affordable though. Seen used Tesla Model 3s under $25K. Might be the move.

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

The $300/month savings is real. My coworker and I compared over 6 months. Her EV costs about $60/month in electricity vs my $340 in gas for similar driving.

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.

Apartment dwellers are still screwed though. No home charging means relying on public chargers which are slower, more expensive, and sometimes broken. Until apartments have chargers, EVs are a homeowner thing.

Army Corps of Engineers parks around the lakes are always less crowded than city parks. Free or cheap, good trails, water access. Google the nearest lake to you and look for Army Corps sites.

Call your insurance company and ask for a list of in-network providers accepting new patients. The online directories are always outdated but the phone reps have current info.

Church and mutual friends are how most people here meet. I know that's not helpful if you're not religious but that's honestly the reality.

My concern is long road trips. I drive to other parts of the state regularly and charging adds 30-45 minutes to the trip. Not a dealbreaker but it's not nothing.

Check your insulation. Seriously. Had an energy audit done and found out my attic insulation was garbage. Got it blown in for $1,200 and my summer bills dropped about $80/month.

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.

Urgent care clinics do physicals and basic checkups. It's not ideal for ongoing care but if you just need a checkup done this month, they can do it.

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.

Costco for bulk items, HEB for weekly stuff, and I still end up at Walmart at 10pm because I forgot something. Every single week.