some info about Cotulla & Zapata . (San Antonio, Laredo: house, camper, to live)

[Zonie5]

i am thinking of relocating from Arizona in near future . Cotulla and Zapata look good to me . plans include building a house in either town . would appreciate any info .

[Primo]

I hunted in Cotulla for over 20 years, basically spent every weekend of the fall and winter there.

- Extremely rural - 80 miles from any sizable city (san antonio or Laredo)
- The locals are very rude to outsiders.
- Lots of vacant storefronts. It is a very dead town.
- Multiple sheriffs have been arrested for various reasons in the past 5 years.

- Best hunting in Texas
- Their economy comes from 2 sources: hunters and the small prison outside of town.
- The enviromnent is a desert/thorny scrub brush. EVERYTHING has a thorn on it, lots of cactus and lots of mesquite. Very rocky, very dusty, the soil is a redish sand (looks like the surface of Mars).

I feel at home in the brush country around there, but I wouldn't want to live there. I can say I have ever heard of anyone moving there or retiring there.

Never been to Zapata, probably same assessment but it is close to Laredo.

What makes you want to move there?

[adtobias]

sounds dreadful

[Bowie]

I was in Laredo recently and stopped in at the tourist information center just north of town to ask about points of interest between Laredo and San Antonio. The docent at the TIC was not encouraging about making stops in that area. He said that those counties were comprised mostly of large ranches and the land was deliberately kept in brush to impede the travel of illegal immigrants through those rural areas.

[Zonie5]

Bowie , i was in Laredo first week of October and found the town much to my liking . went to Encinal and it was asleepy little town . thanks for the info .i will continue to look around . don't mch care for big cities .

[SilverCreek78250]

Not sure it is still there or still open, but back when it made sense to go across the border in Laredo (pre-NAFTA) for shopping, we used to stop in Cotulla at a place called JJ's. It was a restaurant that had great breakfast on the way to Laredo and great burgers on the way home from Laredo.

I have no idea if it is still there. So if you decide to move there, look for JJ's.

[rstrstx]

Like the other poster said Cotulla has seen little growth in many decades, Pearsall and north seem to be doing slightly better probably because they're closer to San Antonio. But if areas that far north interest you it'd be worth checking out the Uvalde region; it has the thornscrub to the south and scenic hills to the north.

Zapata, being on the lake, certainly has more signs of life than Cotulla. Like most other lake towns it should be a better place to build - for no other reason you could sell it if you had to. If you go to check it out do a brief detour off the road to drive through San Ygnacio, it's one of the neatest small towns in Texas (you'd never know it from the highway).

Now that entire part of the state is hot even by Texas standards, but if you're coming from AZ that may not bother you. I take it you know at least some Spanish?

[Dugy00]

I am looking for a town/city that has single women...lol.... the most around.... topless dance places, go-go....and so on... near cotulla if possible...thanks!

[TXtrkgrl]

My dad used to hunt in Los Angeles, TX when I was a kid, a small town just east of Cotulla. I remember him telling stories about the illegals. He said they would break into the huntin' cabin looking for shelter and food. So my dad just started keeping the doors unlocked and left food there for them. It was easier than fixing broken windows everytime they returned to hunt.
I remember he had a bumper sticker from a bar called "Ruby's" and it said "Los Angeles, TX ~ home of rattlesnakes, mexicans and Ruby's". (or something to that effect).

If you want secluded then this is the place. Personally, I would not live there. As stated before, it is some of the best white tail hunting in Texas.

[Primo]

Our hunting camper was broken into at least 50 times over about a 10 year period. We tried leaving it unlocked...and they ended up leaving the door wide open and owls and other creatures made a mess in there. We tried leaving a box of food and a note outside...but some many illegals move through that area...that didn't work. We heard of some hunting camps would fly a Mexican flag, so the illegals would think they went in the wrong direction and would move on.
We finally secured the camper with plywood and bars...and they started ripping the tiny vents on the ceiling and would come in through those.

All that aside...it was worth it for the hunting

I believe Ruby's Lounge is still around. I remember for a while Cotulla had a bar, called the Boar's Nest (from the Dukes of Hazzard).