• Business and Finance
• Family
• Computers and Internet
• Auto and Trucks
• Education
• Health
• Hobbies
• Home Improvement
• Legal
• Marketing

• Home
• Arthur's Articles Home
• Browse Categories
• Browse Authors
• Submit an Article
• Search for Articles

Home » Business And Finance Articles » Retirement And Leisure Living Historic New Kent County Virginia

Retirement and Leisure Living: Historic New Kent County Virginia

Imagine New Kent County, Virginia, a quiet rural area located between Richmond and Williamsburg Virginia, as a place for retirement...

New Kent County's rural scenery and serenity coupled with its proximity to Richmond and another historic town, Williamsburg, make it perfectly situated for retirement. New Kent County is also the home of Martha Washington, wife of George Washington and one of our founding mothers. There are many notable historic sites in New Kent County to visit, and one of the oldest Native American reservations, inhabited by the Mattaponi, is located here. Keep reading, because there are other attractions that make New Kent County a perfect choice for retirement in Virginia, too.

Brickshire Golf Community

In Retirement magazine readers voted Brickshire Golf Community as the best place to retire. It has all of the amenities retirees have come to expect from an exclusive community. The Brickshire features an 18 hole Curtis Strange Signature Golf Course. Retire to the Brickshire in Virginia and enjoy the Owners' Clubhouse and fitness center with a swimming and tennis complex, miles of walking trails and direct access to an Equestrian Center. With home sites that begin in the 60s, the Brickshire is a great deal for pre-retirement buyers and retirees alike.

Colonial Downs Racetrack

For the horse racing enthusiast, New Kent County is home to Colonial Downs Racetrack, a significant contributor to the 1 billion dollar horse industry in Virginia. This contemporary complex offers luxurious sky seating to groups and box and field seating to race enthusiasts. The extended Thoroughbred racing season now runs from mid-June through August. Harness racing is open for wagering from September through November.

Martha Washington's Home and Other Historical Sites

New Kent County is upriver from Jamestown Island, the first permanent English settlement dating to 1607. The original town site is now a part of southern Williamsburg. New Kent was part of Charles River County, one of the 8 original shires the colony of Virginia was divided into in 1634. St. Peter's Church at Talleysville was established in 1678 and built in 1701. Martha Dandridge Custis â€" later Martha Washington â€" worshipped here and lived at the white house on the Pamunky River. The roads leading from New Kent to Richmond are some of the oldest in the United States. French, British, Revolutionary, Confederate and Union armies have marched over them en route or returning from battle. Providence Forge was one of the earliest settlements. It was the site of a colonial forge that was destroyed by Banister Tarleton in the Revolutionary War. The forge was forgotten until it was unexpectedly uncovered by a flood in 1868.

Easy Commute Between Newport News & Richmond

New Kent County is 212 square miles and is bounded to the north by the Pamunkey and York Rivers, and the Chicahominy River to the south. It is only 15 miles to downtown Richmond, and 45 miles to Newport News.

Native American Heritage in New Kent County

New Kent County was also home to two Native American tribes: the Pamunky and Mattaponi. Both have reservations in the New Kent County area, and during festivals are open to the public. The Mattaponi Indian Reservation was created from land which belonged to the tribe by an act of the Virginia General Assembly in 1658, and is one of the oldest reservations in the country. The Chicahominy tribe also inhabited the New Kent County area at one time, and the nearby Chicahominy River still bears their name.

Rural Area Rich in Agriculture

Yet this agriculturally rich area of Virginia remains true to its colonial heritage, with farming as a way of life.

According to www.newkent.net:

"New Kent has 64 farms and 16,392 acres of farmland. Nearly 30 residents call farming their principal occupation. Half of the farms have cattle, and a few have laying hens.

In addition, the County had 3,329 acres of corn, 2,919 acres of wheat, 5,041 acres of soybeans and 578 acres of hay in 1997, according to the most recent government statistics."

A Mix of Rural Serenity and Urban Convenience

For those who wish to retire in Virginia, New Kent County can provide the right mix of peace and quiet and urban convenience to keep life interesting. With working farms in the surrounding area, a pleasant slow paced environment permeates the area. Bounded by scenic borders such as the Chicahominy, York and Pamunkey Rivers, New Kent is a place of natural beauty. Scattered along the river are authentic and replicated colonial plantation homes that testify to New Kent County's enduring quality of attractiveness to the colonial settler and the modern day retiree.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Find a Job in a Fast Growing Field Using Labor Market Information For Your State

The question confronting most people who want to find a job is "what's a good paying job with growth potential?"

At one time, the Conestoga wagon building trade boomed as people joined the wagon trains heading west.

Today, the boom is long gone and those wanting to find a job with a future will most likely wish to stay away from such a field.

So how can you find a job that will reasonably be expected to thrive in the future either in your home state or the state in which you choose to reside?

One key is through using Labor Market Information to research potential jobs as you create a long term plan to find the job you feel is ideal for your skills and interests.

Your first step to find a job with potential is to use the free service available at "America's Career InfoNet" a website sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.

To find a job with growth potential in your state, visit this state by state database. (This opens in a new window so you will not lose the instructions on how to find a job with potential on this page when you click the link!)

After you've searched for a particular state - we'll use Alabama as an example - here's what you'll find...

1) Basic demographic information under these headings:

(Again, these are for Alabama.) Demographic Information:

2001 Population 4,468,900

2002 Labor Force 2,102,800

2002 Unemployment Rate 5.9%

2002 Median Household Income $37,600

2001 Per Capita Income $24,500

You'll be able to see how the state ranks nationally and you'll be able to check unemployment rates by county just to know what you're up against in your job search for a particular county!

2) The next step to find a job in a growing occupation is to choose the kind of growth occupation you have in mind.

Your options will be...

Fastest growing occupations

Occupations with the most openings

Occupations with the largest employment

Occupations with declining employment

Highest paying occupations

At this point in your career search you'll also be asked to choose the level of education you're willing to achieve to enhance your income. The options listed are... Overall

Requiring only work experience or on-the-job training

Requiring post-secondary training or an associate's degree

Requiring a bachelor's degree or higher

Click the appropriate button to make your selections and then you can hit "search" to find a job with growth potential.

In this case we'll select "Fastest growth" and "overall" educational requirements.

When you search to find a job with these criteria, you'll receive results based on the fastest growth in sheer number of jobs and you'll receive listings that may require no education beyond high school up to jobs requiring a two year community college or vocational school training program or 4 year bachelor's degree.

What do you see when you do the job information search?

You see the first 25 of (for Alabama) 513 fastest growing jobs as determined by the number of jobs that will be available between 2000 and 2010.

As might be expected the job with the highest growth prospects for Alabama is computer software engineering and applications.

By clicking on the job itself you find the "Occupation Report" for that state.

You'll learn a wealth of information about this particular job and be able to watch an online job video showing you just what a particular job involves.

Since you want to find a job with good income potential, you'll see - on average - the kind of money people in this job make in the particular state and nationwide based on government labor market information.

Now let's try to find a job that's in the "Highest Paying" category but only requiring a 2 year training program at the most.

What job's come up? Hint: They'll be listed by the highest pay expressed (when possible) as an HOURLY wage and then an ANNUAL WAGE for the job you find in Hourly/Annual format.

For Alabama (the answer may vary for your state) the Top 10 are:

1 Commercial Pilots N/A /$59,100

2 Computer Specialists, All Other $24.52/$51,000

3 Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay $23.59/$49,100

4 Radiation Therapists $22.67/$47,200

5 Electrical and Electronics Drafters $22.02/$45,800

6 Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technicians $21.98/$45,700

7 Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technicians $21.71/$45,200

8 Appraisers and Assessors of Real Estate $21.16/$44,000

9 Ship Engineers $21.13/$44,000

10 Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers $20.79/$43,200

Again, you can click on the job titles you find and go directly to an occupational report.

By using Labor Market Information, you can find a job with high growth potential, high wages, and usually a training requirement that involves only 2 years of training or less beyond high school.

Remember, you do not necessarily need a traditional 4 year degree to find a job with high growth potential. You DO need specific skills however not more "underwater basket weaving courses" at college that are unrelated to a specific field.

4 year degrees are nice and even graduate degrees are important to find a job in some fields. But increasingly, 2 year specialized programs are dominating the field as far as improving wages.