KnowYard Community

The unequal appraisal argument is your best weapon. If your neighbor's identical house is appraised at $50K less than yours, that's hard for them to justify. Use their own data against them.

Palo Duro Canyon in the panhandle is basically a mini Grand Canyon and nobody talks about it. The drive up there is flat and boring but the canyon itself is stunning.

My church potluck sweet tea made in a 5 gallon cooler with approximately 4 pounds of sugar. Nothing in a restaurant comes close.

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.

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.

Big Bend is 100% worth it but you need at least 3-4 days. The drive is brutal but once you're there it feels like another planet. Camp at the Chisos Basin if you can get a spot.

Don't let perfect be the enemy of good. I waited 2 years for prices to drop and they went up $40K instead. Timing the market is a myth. Buy when you can afford to.

$200/month HOA and they can't even maintain the common areas? Request a financial audit. You're entitled to see where that money goes.

The driving thing never stops being true. I live half a mile from a CVS and still drive there. It's 105 outside man I'm not walking.

Marfa is one of the weirdest towns in America in the best way. Art installations in the middle of nowhere, the Marfa lights, Prada Marfa. Combine it with Big Bend for a full trip.

Protested 5 years in a row. Won every time. Average reduction of about $20K in appraised value. The informal hearing is where it happens — bring your comps printed out and be polite.

Wait until someone waves you through a 4-way stop when they got there first. Texas politeness actually slows down traffic lol

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.

Brace for the first time someone invites you to a backyard BBQ and it turns into a 7 hour event with 40 people you've never met.

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.

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.

The best BBQ I ever had was at a family reunion where my uncle cooked it in a homemade smoker made from a oil drum. No thermometer. No YouTube education. Just vibes.

Texas has basically zero rent control and no statewide cap on increases. Your only leverage is threatening to leave. And honestly? Sometimes you have to follow through.

I moved here from California and I think Whataburger is great but the cult following is disproportionate to the food. It's an A- burger with an S tier fanbase.

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.

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

Raising Cane's sweet tea doesn't get enough credit. It's dangerously good.

Show up to HOA board meetings. Seriously. Most boards are 3-5 retired people with nothing better to do. You show up with 5 neighbors who are also sick of it and you can vote them out.

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

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.