Perhaps I've missed the beat of your writing, but I think I recognize something that resounds in my own soul: the unexpected dismay entangled with respect and awe of changes that "just keep on coming" like the Top 40 hits of the past.
"were actually rather different from the Northern Virginia suburbs. I find that the presence of lots of old small towns imposed a sort of order on the landscape that is missing here, even though most people in both places live outside of old towns."
Well said - that's one of the things I like about NJ and perhaps couldn't articulate when I was younger growing up in Vienna. I feel like Vienna would be a meh town in NJ or other Northeastern states, but here it's A-tier.
Northern Virginia has improved though as I feel like Vienna, Falls Church, Fairfax City and even Reston have started developing a sense of place in the last generation.
Perhaps I've missed the beat of your writing, but I think I recognize something that resounds in my own soul: the unexpected dismay entangled with respect and awe of changes that "just keep on coming" like the Top 40 hits of the past.
"were actually rather different from the Northern Virginia suburbs. I find that the presence of lots of old small towns imposed a sort of order on the landscape that is missing here, even though most people in both places live outside of old towns."
Well said - that's one of the things I like about NJ and perhaps couldn't articulate when I was younger growing up in Vienna. I feel like Vienna would be a meh town in NJ or other Northeastern states, but here it's A-tier.
Northern Virginia has improved though as I feel like Vienna, Falls Church, Fairfax City and even Reston have started developing a sense of place in the last generation.