In answer to Erica Garman’s “Eastern Loudoun Is Best” post from yesterday, Tom Regan, our correspondent who lives near Lovettsville, has this post for us.

I'm not use to defending anything in the west. After all, I hail from Nova Scotia, which is about as far east as you can go. Since I moved to the United States 18 years ago, I've spent all that time living on the eastern seaboard. But since I moved to western Loudoun County two years ago, I've decided that indeed, the west is best.

To start off, the place where I live, EcoVillage off the Taylorstown Road, is a wonderful community. I've written about EcoVillage in the past, the closeness of the people who live in the community, the scenery, the “big skies,” the 180 acres of paths. But you know what I really like the best about it? I love how when I get up in the morning, the only thing I hear are birds. That's it. No cars, no trucks. Now and then, a train in the instance. On a summer day, the lazy sound of a lawn mover.

I think that my wife put it best: There is a touch of Ol' Virginny in western Loudoun County. Things move slowly for the most part. People take the time to stop and talk to neighbors. And you can still find beautiful small towns like Taylorstown and Waterford, or the older parts of Leesburg, where if Robert E. Lee came back today, he might still recognize the scenery.

OK, we need to drive a bit. But let me see. I'm seven minutes from Lovettsville, 10 minutes from Brunswick, Md., 18 minutes (I timed it) from Leesburg and about 20 from Frederick Md. Gee, that's far ... NOT. Look, I grew up in an urban setting. And I lived in Boston and in Vienna, Va., before I came here. In Vienna (and in Sterling), it can take 20 minutes to go two blocks at certain times of the day. Well, actually, almost any time of the day.

When I go into my local bank branch or the local post office, people there know my name, and I know theirs. Yes, there are times when I just want to use the ATM. But other times, I like going in and just shooting the breeze as I mail something. And in return, the people who work at these organizations don't just treat me as “another customer.” I've been alive long enough to know that this means something.

I LOVE the schools out here. Mind you, I think that all the schools in Loudoun County are good. But being in a rural area has not diminished their quality, as some might believe. Sarah Stillman, the music teacher at Lovettsville Elementary, is one of the best teachers I've ever seen working with younger kids. In a day and age when many schools are getting rid of music programs, my kids are lucky enough to go to a school with the best music teacher in the state.

Plus, you can’t beat road sign fruit and veggie stands where you just leave your money in a bucket and no one would dream of stealing what was there. Or seeing horses, lots and lots of horses.

I have wireless broadband Internet that lets me work from home. But if I need to go into the city for some reason, my wife takes five minutes to drive me to Point of Rocks, where I pick up the Brunswick line train into Union Station, which takes an hour and 10 minutes. Before, when I lived in Vienna, it took me an hour and a half to get to downtown D.C. First the bus, then the Metro, then another bus. I live 30 miles farther out from D.C. and it takes me 20 minutes less to get downtown. I always get a seat, and I can read or do work on the train.

When I first moved to the D.C. area, I wasn't sure I wanted to stay here. But since we moved to western Loudoun County, I'm not sure I ever want to leave. The west IS best.

For a quick peek into the beauty of the western part of the county and why I love it, check out this video (for those of you using Internet Explorer, click here instead):

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