Does Zapata have a dentist or a Hospital? Hundreds of days spent in that town and I have yet to see one. Some of the worst moments of my life have been spending time in the grocery stores out there.

As much as I love fishing which is more then 99.99999% of the population, no way I move to Zapata.

Laredo is 100x more civilized then Zapata but still an extension of Mexico. Austin is the closest I could possibly go.

It aint worth it... But Falcon... Na it aint worth it. Trust me...

Your absolutly right. Unfortunatly I like to be able to on the days I'm not fishing drive to a good doctor or make a stop at Home Depot. Later maybe a good steak, but looking out and seeing heaven is a big plus.

Yes, your right about the priceless part. I understand that priceless feeling as well as anyone who has fished the lake but when the lake declines and runs out of water and you threw all of your chips into Zapata you then have a major problem which is a main reason why I'm not moving down there. I moved from NJ to TX just for Fork. I ain't scared to move another 500 miles, but there is nothing out there at all except a lake that is currently 24% water capacity and going down quick like Mark Sanchez stock.

I lived down there for 3 months and that was enough...

You couldn't pay me enough to live in Laredo!

I could live in the right part of San Antonio. South of there until you get to Laredo, there's not much in the way of amenities. Yes, there have been a bunch of gradual improvements with the Eagle Ford boom. But it's still far S.Tx. If you're not in something related to oilfield or ranching (to include hunting), there's no reason to be there (betw. L and S).

I'm a bit more adventuresome than Dan. He can stay up north with the Birkenstocks, granola munchers and suburu 4x4's. I'll rest my toes in "Old San Antone."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uap_Tz2_3l8

Two major economic businesses for Zapata are oil and fisherman. Both are the best they have been down there right now in years. Both will decline again in the future. I thought about buying a lake house down there and renting it out to fisherman when I was not using it. I didn't because I was afraid if the oil and fishing declined at the same time and I needed to sell the house that I could not find a buyer or take a huge loss. The RV might be a good idea, then you could move it down there while you are there and bring it back when you are done. You are not stuck with property you might not be able to sell. Good luck on whatever you choose.

I lived down there three months a year (early 90's)
was retired , and no house , just 5thwheel.
You can get tired of that place in a hurry.(catching fish is not a way of life ,its a hobby to me )

I also stayed at Amistad for the "winter" a couple of years.
A lot better , didnt even have to practice my spanish .

well after a few years , We bought a house on Fork.
I have to admit it was a easier Lake to catch fish in 96 than it is now .

But to repeat "fishing is a hobby to me "
I found out that you cannot fish every day , I thought I could when I had a job ...........

The commute from Zapata to Laredo is 50 miles and that's just the outskirts of laredo. The commute is far worse depending on which part of Laredo you live in. Trust me when I say That you'd wanna live in the north part of Laredo... South Laredo is pretty rough...just my opinion of course...

If I just had to have a place in Zapata, I'd buy a couple year-old fifth wheel. The largest, most modern I could find. Then I'd buy a spot at Beacon Lodge and park my new lake house. Build a pole barn over it, if necessary. From the places around the lake I've been, Speedy's seems to be one of the more secure for an absentee resident. Good crowd of folks live there, too. The evenings can be quite entertaining from what I hear.

Either that or there are some really nice homes for not a lot of $ in the neighborhood above the county ramp.

this. especially a pole barn over the trailer, makes them last longer and a hell of a lot cooler in the summers.

Beacon was the only place when Galen Gilbreth(deceased) "Indigo guide service" was running it .

We would always go get catfish for the friday night fish fry.
peps would get together for the feed , then usually someone would strike up an "band " and play into the night ..
Hard to not have a great time ....

Galen was one of a kind. The chance meeting of people like him is one of the reasons I like hunting and fishing. Both have put me in the position to cross paths with some great people. I ate lots of BBQ and drank lots of beer sitting out there by Indio's pit laughing at his stories.

I wouldn't want to live in Laredo, either, it's too close to Nuevo Laredo (which is not a safe place), and about the hottest place in Texas. Also,my wife would not possibly live in Zapata! Nor Roma nor Rio Grande City. For me, McAllen or Mission is close enough, and there are plenty of amenities, including good steak houses and department. stores. It is 50-65 miles away and you have to go through a couple of speed trap, podunk towns to get there, but the drive is well worth it!
But if you are interested in living close to Falcon State Park, in Falcon Hts., check out my friends house, for sale:
http://falconlakehouse.com/ Our club has stayed there many times, and it is a 10 minute drive to the State Park ramp. Also, not shown on the website, is a 3 car garage with 2 additional car ports, and an outside bath/shower, for a future swimming pool, if desired.

I knew Galen from Arlington,drank a lot of beer with him and played a few hands of poker. His BBQ place in Arlington was the place Ted Williams, Billy Martin and several ball players hung out. Fished with him often!

My wife and I love Zapata....plain and simple. There isnt another town I would rather live in. Chet how often do you plan on going to the hospital or going out for a great steak? Now how often do you plan on fishing Falcon? My wife and I go to Laredo all the time to eat and do other entertainment type things. My wife makes the drive 4 times a week for her job as well. The area around the Loop is awesome, do not get me wrong. Again my love is Falcon and my wife loves the water more than me, so it was and still is a no brainer to live where we do. Great people down here, my neighbors are grade A+ and have friends down here already that I wouldn't trade for a million bucks.

Everybody is entitled to their own opinion.....heck my wifes Mom hated it down here when she came to visit. It is what it is. We love it.

Jay