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Thinking About Northern Arizona Look at Rimrock Before You Decide

[00:00:00] What if the best part of Northern Arizona was the place that most people overlook? Okay. Just minutes away from Camp Verde, a lot of people completely miss it, drive right past it on the I-17, Rimrock. Honestly, that is actually part of the appeal to the people that live there. Rimrock is not polished. It is not flashy.

It is rural Arizona. It's very spread out and it's very quiet. There's, there's, there's no business. There's no... Not really. It's rural. I grew up in the middle of rural Minnesota. I know what that's like, where you have to drive 30 minutes to get to town. But people move to Rimrock because they want that breathing room.

They want the mountain views instead of traffic. They want that land, that elbow room, and they want the privacy and that [00:01:00] slower pace of life. So if you are looking for that type of lifestyle, that type of environment here in Northern Arizona where you don't want to be crowded, you want something more affordable and places, obviously places like Sedona do not meet that criteria, then Rimrock is definitely worth a closer look.

So just so you kinda get a better idea of where it's located, Rimrock is about 15, 20 minutes to Camp Verde. It's 30 minutes, maybe sometimes a little less, to Cottonwood so you can shop at Walmart and all those type of things and all that. It's about 30 minutes to 40 minutes to Sedona, depending on if you're going to the village of Oak Creek or if you're going to West Sedona, and I have ways to get there quicker.

It's about an hour, honestly, I'm gonna say it's an hour and a half to Prescott, [00:02:00] 'cause you've gotta go over the mountain or you have to go all the way around the mountain, so that's a bit far. However, Phoenix is only an hour and a half away 'cause you just jump right on the I-17. So location-wise, it's close to the I-17 so it's easy to get to Flagstaff.

So Flagstaff is an hour away. It's easy to jump on the I-17 and get to Phoenix, so if you wanna use, you know, Sky Harbor to fly out, it's an hour and a half and you're in the heart of Phoenix. So I think that's pretty good. So people living in the rural area like Rimrock have the benefits of living in a rural area, but not being all isolated.

Again, you can feel like you're away from everything, but actually you're not really that far from everything that you might need, okay? Lifestyle here. What, what is it really like living here? Now, you're gonna take the McGuire exit off the 17 and McGuire is not really even a place There's a couple, there's a gas station, a restaurant, [00:03:00] two antique stores, and that's Maguireville.

And then you drive about a mile and there's Rimrock. Kinda weird. I'm not sure, but just look for the Maguire exit off 17. And it's very rural, a lot of wide open spaces, mountain views, and valley views. You can also buy homes that are in a very heavily wooded area because we've got Beaver Creek that runs through there, so we have a lot of underground water, and above ground.

The creek still had water in when I was over there to- yesterday touring. There are a lot of paved roads, but the further out you get, the more you're gonna be on dirt roads, and those dirt roads can be pretty rough, not well-maintained by the county, and some of them are privately maintained by the people who live on those roads.

Something to keep in mind. And there are a few that drive through the creek, so... And there's no bridge, so when the creek is flooded during monsoon season, [00:04:00] you're not going anywhere until the creeks recede. Just keep that in mind. A lot of dark sky. Stargazing is at its best. It's amazing. There is wildlife everywhere.

There's mule deer, there's javelinas, there's bobcats, there's coyotes, there's everything. You're close to national forests. It's a super laid-back lifestyle. I mean, it's rural living at its best. And it's a friendly area. People are very independent that live there. They're very opinionated. Keep that in mind.

Those kind of things are important. So, to a lot of people, the reason they wanna live there is because it feels like old Arizona versus a master planned community that so many areas have become now. The part that really surprises a lot of people is that some buyers prefer Rimrock over Sedona or Cottonwood because it feels more authentic and it's far less [00:05:00] crowded.

You're not gonna have traffic jams there. Housing. Housing is a huge reason why people buy there. I did not realize how many homes I had sold in Rimrock until I started, like, kinda looking at my buyers and my sellers, and I'm like, "I've sold a lot of homes." I've listed a lot of homes, I've sold a lot of homes because people love the area.

It's just, they love it. They love it there. So it's affordable. You're gonna get bigger lots. You're gonna get more home for your money. There are manufactured homes, site-built homes, obviously ranches and acreage. You can have animals, horses, cows, goats. Basically livestock and chickens. Goats. If you have goats, I'm coming to see you.

I love baby goats. There's almost always an option of RV parking on your lot because the lots are big and there's no restrictions. There's really very few HOAs. There's one gated [00:06:00] community, and they have RV parking garages attached to the homes, but there's really only one significant large HOA there that I'm aware of.

I'm just thinking. Most everything else is no HOA, just county, county CC&Rs. And a lot of the homes, the higher up you go in the mountain, on the mountain, you kind of go up and/or out, I mean, it's just views are phenomenal there. And again, people are buying there because they want more space for the money.

In this community, you're looking for space and freedom, not the amenities. However, there are some awesome outdoor access activities. There's a lot of things you can do, like right out the door because the, the forest is like right there. So I've sold properties where you literally walk across the street, and you can start hiking in the national forest.

So there's hiking, there's ATV trails, there's ... I can't there. [00:07:00] Verde River access is nearby. Beaver Creek is right there. Lots of stargazing, bird watching, animal watching. It's just all those things that you wanna live in the country for. And then there are some local points of interest, which would be Montezuma's Well and Montezuma Castle National Monument.

I've been to both. They are interesting. They're not heavily utilized by tourists, so it's pretty low-key as far as traffic going into these points of interest. And then you have the Beaver Creek area and the Wet Beaver Wilderness, which is a bit of a ways out, but it's close by in that area. And there are some trade-offs, so keep this in mind.

Fewer shopping options and dining options. There are four restaurants. There's a Mexican restaurant, a Thai restaurant, and two what I call American cuisine restaurants. Three of them I've been to. The new one in [00:08:00] McGuireville, I have not eaten at yet. But I would say and recommend all three. There are three gas stations.

There's a post office, so they have their own post office, and there's a couple of antique stores. There's Dollar General. There's a few little things. I mean, Dollar General actually carries quite a few items, so if you really need something in a pinch for your dogs, for your kids, for dinner, they do have that.

And then the gas station right in Rimrock, closest in, also has some groceries and things, not the standard, you know, grocery station, convenience store stuff. There's gonna be a lot more driving. If you live out there, you're gonna be driving 30 minutes into Cottonwood for your major shopping and things like that.

And or up to flag for things. Also keep in mind, internet service can really vary, as well as cell phone service. So I have found that my Verizon phone service works most of the area. But again, you wanna check those things out if [00:09:00] that's important. If you're a remote worker, those are important. Obviously, back to the rural roads, the dirt roads can be a little sketchy.

So sometimes, they're not as bad as some places I've driven though. So usually if you have an all-wheel drive vehicle, doesn't have to be four-wheel drive, big ass truck, you can get through these roads. Limited healthcare. There, I'm not aware, but there could be one medical clinic in Rimrock, so your closest medical clinic and/or urgent care is gonna be in Camp Verde.

And some areas are gonna feel very, very remote because it's way out there. See, Rimrock is very spread out. There are some areas where you can buy homes that are closer together and very tree-lined. It's beautiful. So because there's a lot of underground water. Can't remember if I said that or not. Anyway, um, Rimrock is definitely not for everyone.[00:10:00]

Just gonna say that. For me, I love it because I grew up in the middle of nowhere. So it's very familiar feeling to me. But for the right person, could be you, it feels peaceful, it feels calm, it feels like you could just breathe, and it just, you just, it just feels good to live there. And that's hard to find.

It's harder and harder to find. So if you are trying to figure out where in Northern Arizona, what community is gonna actually fit your lifestyle, not just your budget, just remember, I'm here. I'm happy to help you figure that out. I'm happy to discuss these communities with you because I'm honest about what is the good points and the bad points.

I used to have a ringtone that said, "The good, the bad, and the ugly." And I said, "I did that because that's what I sold, the good, the bad, and the ugly." I would tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly. So just keep in mind, [00:11:00] I will get you to the right area within your budget. Oh, I forgot. Please click on the relocation guide below.

It will also help you, in the moment, identify more information about living here in Cottonwood and the Verde Valley area