If you were a girl in the 1990s and you grew up in the church, chances are good that you read what is called Christian Women’s Fiction. There are two strains of CWF. One is Amish themed, and I was never into those. Prairie books were my jam. The settings were usually some sort of cozy farmhouse at the base of the mountains, fields surrounding them in every direction, with a small town a couple of miles away. It was idyllic, beautiful, and as I read these books repeatedly for years, it became the dream scenario for where I wanted to live.
I got exceedingly lucky. When I moved to Albemarle County in 2015, I got to live in a place I had always wanted to. We rented a home in Boonesville, on a piece of land that was over 20 acres, and the Appalachian Mountains were in our backyard. In fact, when you went and stood in the middle of the field, you could spin in a circle and see mountains in every direction.
I love the rural character of Albemarle County. It is the type of place I have always wanted to live. The 7 years I lived out literally in the boonies was everything I had thought it would be. There is nothing in me that wants to destroy that part of Albemarle. This is partially what makes the county such an attractive place to live – it is attractive.
If everyone could have the experience I did – where you can live where you’ve always wanted – where you can watch the sunrise over the fields and hear only the cows – then I would say we shouldn’t change a thing. Don’t fix what isn’t broke.
But what happened next is a familiar tale for too many people. We were displaced. Our landlord wanted his home back and we were forced to move. That experience of having to find a new home – especially while our kids were in school and we didn’t want them to have to change schools – was very stressful. It was time-consuming and expensive, and when we found a new home, our rent was hundreds of dollars more. Thankfully, I had just started working and we could barely cover the increase.
The housing situation in Albemarle County is broken, and we need to try and do something to fix it. The choice we have before us this election is not rural vs. development. It is, do we believe housing is a basic human need, and are we going to be willing, as Democrats – as thoughtful and responsible people – are we going to take steps to help people get this need met, or not?
I certainly hope we will.