I’ve lived in each of the string of Virginia counties connecting Washington, D.C., to Winchester, Virginia: Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Clarke counties. I grew up in what might be called the “Dulles or Reagan?” northern Virginia corridor — please, God, not BWI — a locale emblematic of the American dream, replete with opportunities for people of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds to raise families in safety and stability. The gem of northern Virginia is idyllic western Loudoun County, where farmland abounds, the Blue Ridge Mountains beckon, and light pollution is held at bay only an hour outside the nation’s capital.
To mention only the suburbs surrounding Washington, D.C., is to overlook the riches of Richmond, Roanoke, Charlottesville, Shenandoah, and Williamsburg. Virginia is the state of statesmen, home of Mount Vernon, Montpelier, and Monticello. You can’t walk through a field without passing a placard about a Civil War battle fought there.
