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The "Neck" Test
The Great
The Neck is a rural area that has changed little since the day steamboats were the primary form of transportation. If you fly over or drive through the area you will see that about 90 percent of the region is covered by farmland and woodland with residences only located along the ribbons of highway, along sections of waterfront and in the area’s small towns and villages. The wildlife out number the population and the natural parks are places were it is uncommon to see a fellow hiker. It is also a place that you can go to lectures from nationally prominent persons, visit a local theater production and listen to a classical music concert. Tax rates are extremely low as is the crime rate. Most importantly, truly wonderful people inhabit this region. Whether they are lifelong residents (“born heres”) or someone who has migrated to the area (“come heres”), everyone you meet will easily become your friend if you are right for the Neck. It was ultimately the affable residents that convinced my wife and I, back in 1991, that this would be the place we will spend the rest of our lives. The residents are the Neck’s greatest treasure.
The Bad
The Neck is a rural area. Although it has all of the cultural amenities associated with a metropolitan area, it is not home to a shopping mall. Although all the stores indigenous to a mall environment are located here, they are not under one roof and they are not, for the most part, open on Saturday night and Sunday. The nearest mall is around an hour and half away in Richmond or Fredericksburg. If you need a bolt from the hardware on a Sunday, you are out of luck in the Neck (Although, there is a Lowes over the river in Tappahannock).
The Ugly
The only thing we have found ugly in the Neck in the 15 years of owning property here is the pug-nosed dog owned by my neighbor. I have threatened to shave the dog’s behind and make him walk backward to improve the area’s aesthetics.
The Test
- If you find it impossible to change the habit of counting the number of items in the shopping cart ahead of you in the express checkout line, the Neck is NOT right for you.
- If you are looking to enjoy a relaxed environment where the birds, on a spring morning, can be deafening, where you can be minutes from a hiking-, fishing-, boating-utopia, and where the residents become your best friend in minutes, then the Neck IS right for you.
Let me know if you pass LonRCrow@yahoo.com or call 804-580-1162
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