I can still remember how impressed I was the first time that I saw Reston Town Center. It was a bustling hive of modern day American shopping complete with a skating rink.
It has been a few months since I visited Reston, and we have seen a number changes in the financial fortunes of many.
However, I seriously doubt that Reston Town Center will ever look as empty as Front Street in Beaufort, NC was when we visited earlier in the week.
My guess is that Town Center is humming along with Christmas decorations in place and hardly a parking place to be found. If that is not the case then the country is in far worse shape than I dreamed. Reston and Tyson's Corner are the canaries in the shopping and retail mine. If business goes south in those shopping paradises, the rest of us might as well call time out for a few months.
Of course looks might be a little deceiving. Beaufort is a coastal town. Summer is the peak season here. Right now we are watching the annual sailboat migration. It is one of the reasons that we enjoy walking the docks in Beaufort.
We get more than our fair share of bright blue skies, but this time of year we can get some rainy weather.
My theory is that a little bit of rain just makes you appreciate the sunny days even more. We have had great weather but also some cool weather. All things considered I would be very happy to see our weather stay this way all year.
In all fairness Beaufort is probably not the heart of the retail district here on the coast. I am sure if I took the time to go to the malls in Morehead City or Jacksonville, I might see a totally different story.
Still it is kind of neat to the see the heart of a city exposed and empty of real traffic this close to the holiday season.
While this time of year has a nice fall feeling, and I am having no trouble coming up with some concerns. My fall thoughts often go to the challenges that we face as a country.
While I am not one of those people who worries all the time, I am concerned that we have as many challenges at this one time as I have ever seen.
Perhaps being a Realtor® in a very challenging market has something to do with the challenges seeming so big. My expectation is that things will be very different when the market turns.
We live in a fantastic area, it is very different from the hustle and bustle of Reston. However, that very difference makes it attractive to people who like me have worked for years among the buildings of Northern Virginia.
Reston has a tremendous job engine which just does not exist here in Coastal North Carolina. While we might be a Coastal Paradise for people who love the water and the beaches of Emerald Isle, we are not a place for young people who need a well paying career.
The coast is a great place to visit, but I also enjoy visiting Reston once in a while just so I can be in traffic long enough to remind me that I am probably better off where the streets are empty and the traffic hardly exists.
Check out our new Crystal Coast Electronic Village. You might get a kick out of our events. Where else can you find a trout seminar and wake up the next day and try your lessons on pristine waters?
