After driving around the area however, Chris declared that he didn't care how long his commute took--he just absolutely did not want to live there.
So we switched gears and if everything keeps going according to plan we will soon be closing on a house on almost two acres of land way, way, way out in the country. Which really is our favorite place to be. Hopefully Chris will still feel the same way when he's sitting in the Midtown Tunnel during rush hour.
Regardless of how much we like Virginia though, we will certainly miss living in Vermont. I know I've complained about the cold--and the snow in October--but I kind of love it here. Who would have thought I could make it as a New Englander? Granted a New Englander who lives in town and whose husband shovels all the snow, so not a particularly hardy New Englander, but a New Englander nonetheless! There was an article in the WSJ recently about a surge in people wanting to move to quaint New England towns* and it really struck home to me. Village life is the best. Living right off the green and walking everywhere is the best. Sending the children to the post office and the market by themselves is the best. Knowing everyone and having people just stop by because they were walking past is the best. We love small town living! Some people have been horrified by our complete lack of big box stores and fast food chains, but who needs a Target when you have Amazon Prime, am I right?
I'm really hoping we can capture some of this same village feel at our new house even though we won't be living in the actual downtown area. We'll be close enough to walk to church if not the actual grocery store so that's something. And we already found our favorite hole in the wall fish shack so we're practically locals already.
We are looking forward to our next move (and hopefully after three moves in three years it will be the last one for a while!) but even more than having our very own home to do what we like with, we're looking forward to spending one last summer together in Vermont in our very favorite village.
*Sorry if you can't get behind the paywall! If you don't subscribe to a paper already you should totally subscribe to the WSJ or whatever other legitimate newspaper of your choosing. A functioning press is a cornerstone of democracy and they can't publish if no one is paying! Get a real in-your-hands paper while you're at it so the man isn't tracking which articles you click on and you have a finite end to the day's information. I have a lot of opinions on this! Don't get me started on the disappearance of our local papers and the state of investigative journalism in general. (Or maybe do if you'd like a nice long rant!). I guess what I'm saying is, be a patriot and buy a paper--or at least an online subscription :)
**Pictures are from the actual Jamestown settlement (as opposed to the nearby reconstructed settlement which is also fun but spendy). It's a national park and so free to military. Winning.