Cottonwood is the best of all worlds.


 Located smack-dab in the center of Arizona, our climate is way cooler than Phoenix or Tucson.  (What I was hoping that you would do at this point is start at the image of Cottonwood, above, and then go to the picture of Phoenix, below, and then go up again to the photo of Cottonwood.  No more words needed because there no comparison, right?) 

Without the slush and snow and cold of Flagstaff.




The snow is certainly pretty, but I'd rather visit it than live in it, and it's only an hour away.  Of course, if you want a little extra culture or shopping in Phoenix or Flag or Prescott, they're all within an easy hour or two drive. 

See?  The best of all worlds. 

We're still a small town. I don't pull the keys from my Jeep ignition unless I'm at Wal-Mart, and I haven't seen our house keys for years. Seriously.  I know that this habit is going to bite me someday and I don't care - it's worth it. 

People are friendly (mostly) and neighbors are welcoming without being intrusive.


Our combined population (Cottonwood and the neighboring unincorporated Verde Villages) is about 22,000.  That 22,000 is spread out over a lot of square miles.

Cottonwood was named after, well, the cottonwood trees. 

Does that seem silly?  You've got to put yourself in the original settler's shoes.  To go anyplace away from home took a long time by mule or horse or wagon - it was a major expedition to travel to Prescott, the County Seat.  Even after they got the old Model A's and Model T's it was a long hard bumpy journey.
On the way home you would finally top out over the last big hill and see that bright green ribbon of cottonwoods bordering the Verde River, the lifeblood of the Verde Valley.  You could see the cottonwoods before you could see the town or the water - the cottonwoods meant that you were close to home. 

 This is an old bootlegger's home, the Hall house, at the corner of Pinal and Cactus in Old Town.  It's still there, and illustrates my point perfectly.

I still feel that way when I come over Mingus and see the cottonwoods from the top of the mountain.  I'm home, I'm safe, and I'm glad.

Why would you choose Cottonwood to be your home, as opposed to the billions of other places in the world?  I can only answer that question by telling you why Mike and I live here.  We both chose Cottonwood when we had our separate babies in arms.  Cottonwood seemed like the perfect place to raise children, and it was.  Today we're watching and helping four grandkids to grow up in Cottonwood, and we are blessed. 

I've mentioned our near-perfect climate. Yes, it does get hot here in the Summer, (We are in Arizona, after all.)  but we're predictably 10 to 20 degrees cooler than Phoenix.  And yes, it does get cold here in the Winter.  It even frosts and once in a while it snows!  That's exciting, and they let the kids out of school to make footprints in the snow before it melts.  Coats and jackets are fun fashion accessories most of the time.  



I've alluded to our low crime rates and nice neighborhoods.  Cottonwood is, very simply, just a nice place to live. 

So what will you do once you live here?  Let's start with one of my favorite subjects; eating and drinking.  We have tons of great restaurants, from down home to upscale. Lets start at Nic's Steak & Crab House.   




Steak, crab seafood,pasta - whatever your heart desires.  Nic's also specializes in cosmos and martinis.  Think of me when you try a Razzatini. 

For a little less formal, go to The Tavern Grille, next door to Adobe Group's "up" office - that's our red awning to the right. 


Just in Old Town we've got Crema for designer coffee and gelato, plus great quiche and salads and a good quiet beer. 

There's the Orion Bread Company for the best hand-made bread, pastries, and big heavy dripping sandwiches on freah hot bread.  MMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmm!  My mouth is watering.

Be right back - going to Orion.



Thanks for waiting - I'm better now.  Across the street from Orion and next door to Adobe Group's "down" office is the Main Street Cafe.  The Svedish Gurls make pastries, Itilian fizzes, any kind of decadent coffee that you can stand, and the salads are out of this world - I recommend the ravioli salad unreservedly.


Need something beefy?  Bing's Burgers, the 50's diner in the old gas station, makes the best burgers and fries and milkshakes in the world.


I can't forget one of my favorite places in all of the world - the Thai Palace.  They make the best Thai food in the world.  My friend Mary's friend Doug says that their green curry is the best he's ever eaten, and from looking at Doug I believe that he has eaten a lot of curry.  
 

And then there's Concho's Mexican Food. 
Their cream and jalapeno sauce is the best.  Seriously, I crave that sauce.  Concho's used to be "The Peacock Restaurant" because the wild peacocks chose to strut around on the outside patio and grace the diners with their magnificence.  I guess that the connotation of The Peacock Reatsurant caused confusion since they don't serve peacock meat, so they changed the name to Concho's.  The peacocks didn't mind, and they still 
show up.

Do you notice that I've told you about lots of restaurants, and they're all in Old Town, within a block of each other?  Once you get into actual Cottonwood, of course there's Wal-Mart and Home Depot and JC Penney's and Safeway and Fry's and Food City.

For recreation, hike, bike, swim, walk the Old Jail Trail )Old Town again) and shop to your heart's content.  You can fish and play in the water at Dead Horse State Park (remind me to tell you how it got the name - I know the story from the horse's mouth, so to speak.) 

We're still reeling from the feeding frenzy of '05. The correction has
resulted in a high inventory, which means that Buyers have their pick of
homes and they're negotiating hard.
















Cottonwood Arizona homes for sale and/or rent.  (Sorry - the web guy says that I have to put that title in.  You're here reading this so I guess maybe it worked, huh?)