
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 7, 1990                   TAG: 9003071878
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CENSUS LIST `RICH' NORTHERN VIRGINIA

NEW STATISTICS from the Census Bureau list America's 10 "richest" communities, as ranked by per-capita income. Four of them are in Virginia.

The top three are Falls Church ($23,169), Alexandria ($22,200) and Arlington ($22,181). Fairfax County ($20,805) checks in at seventh, right behind Manhattan. The economic boom that Northern Virginia has been experiencing is well-publicized, but those numbers are still a little surprising.

The richest communities in America should be synonymous with stretch limousines, mansions surrounded by velvety green lawns, and the like. Falls Church, Alexandria and Arlington are settled suburban neighborhoods, filled with older houses of moderate size, if not moderate price. Some of the newest parts of Fairfax County may reflect the glossy, high-tech image that boosters present when businesses are considering relocation. But the reality of Northern Virginia is much more mundane. Besides, everyone knows that money can't buy happiness. As often as not in Northern Virginia, money can't even buy a parking place. Consider these mixed blessings:

The communities are just across the river from Washington, D.C., crack-distribution center for the mid-Atlantic and home of the highest murder rate in the country.

The area's traffic problems are the stuff of legend. The term "rush hour" has become a bad joke.

Though the area is flanked by two airports - National and Dulles - it's virtually impossible to drive to a beach from there on a warm weekend.

In many ways, Northern Virginia probably is more livable and "user-friendly" than some of the other top 10 communities, namely those in New York and New Jersey. And it almost certainly offers more amenities than Starr County, Texas, or Shannon County, S.D., which brought up the bottom of the list with per-capita incomes below $4,000.

So, no matter where they're ranked on any list, Arlington, Alexandria et al. are neither Beverly Hills nor the South Bronx. For better and for worse, they're suburban Virginia.

by CNB