I just spent the large part of the weekend in Richmond, a surprisingly pleasant town. This is the second time I’ve visited my friends down there, and both times I’ve come away impressed with the quality of life on offer. The Fan, in particular, is a wonderful area. I’m told large houses can be bought for the price of a DC studio, and the profusion of small, independently-owned shops gives the neighborhood a real sense of community.

As my friends and I discussed, if a high-speed commuter line were built between Richmond and DC, the town would absolutely flourish. Yet since the “low-hanging fruit”, the MARC train between Baltimore and DC, is still particularly grim and unreliable, no one’s holding their breath.