You'll Be Surprised At
What You Won't Find Here

Welcome to Virginia's Chesapeake Bay Region! As you explore the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula you’ll be surprised at what you won't find here. Crime and congestion, for example, and lines at the grocery store and ugly sprawl.

We are blessed with 4 distinct, but mild, seasons that allow us to enjoy outdoor activities like walking, boating, gardening and golf all year long.

Education is a priority in the Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula and Coastal Virginia. Our public schools offer college preparatory, technical and vocational education. The Chesapeake Bay Governor’s School lets high-ability 11th and 12th grade students apply math, science and technology to marine and environmental sciences. Private schools offer diverse enrollments, small classes and specialized programs. Virginia has 100 places of higher learning, most of which are within a 3-hour drive of our area— including the nearby College of William Mary and University of Virginia which US News & Report called the 2nd and 6th best public universities in the nation in 2003.

Wide open water and countryside, year-round outdoor recreation and stress-free small town living are just the prescription for a healthy lifestyle. But when you need a doctor or a dentist, there are plenty of them here. Nearly everyone lives within thirty minutes of a local or regional hospital with 24-hour emergency treatment. And some of the best hospitals in the country, like the Medical College of Virginia, are only an hour or so away.

Malls in nearby cities house department stores and specialty retailers like Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Talbot’s, Williams-Sonoma, and Restoration Hardware. Some of the country’s best discount shopping can be found at Potomac Mills, between Fredericksburg and Washington, and in Williamsburg, which is halfway between Richmond and Norfolk.

If you’re planning a visit, the choices can seem overwhelming. The Virginia Tourism Corporation and the Northern Neck Tourism Council have done a great job of organizing your options—visit them for reliable and thorough information about our farmer’s markets and festivals, boat cruises and charters and ramps, luxurious resorts, homey B&Bs, scenic walking and cycling routes, historic sites and districts, museums, and parks. But if you’ve never been here before, or want to get more of a feel for the area and our lifestyle, Tides Inn or a bed and breakfast offer innkeepers who are always on hand to share their first hand information.

If you’re a new resident you’re probably more interested in things that affect your daily routine, like where to find a missing ingredient, upgrade your computer skills, get a physical or catch a rockfish. Your local Chamber of Commerce is a good place to start.

The government sector—federal, state and local governments, agencies and school systems like the Virginia Institute for Marine Sciences, the US Naval Surface Warfare Center at Dahlgren and Rappahannock Community College—is our area’s largest employer.

It wasn’t really all that long ago that folks in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula had to take tedious, two-lane highways to Richmond, Norfolk or Washington to shop for anything other than groceries and building supplies. But times have changed. General and specialty merchandise abounds in our area. Small, independent boutiques on the historic streets of downtown Callao and more little shops are tucked away in quaint towns like Urbanna, White Stone, Lively, Mathews, Montross and Irvington.