Location, Location, Location!

It's the buzzword of many a real estate agent, the location of the property they are trying to sell in comparison to where the buyer needs to be on a day to day basis.

In Washington, DC or just outside of Washington however it's more to do with where they aren't.
Federal Departments of the US Government including the FBI are quietly buying up property along the Shenandoah Valley on the Interstate 81, all in the much desired area that is outside of the 75 mile "blast range".

Aware of the current climate in the world, it seems that the US Government is re-locating many departments away from the capital, able to operate should the unthinkable happen and the DC area become ground zero of some terrorist plot or some other tragic incident.

In a story on the trend that seems to be focusing on a worst case scenario, the Washington Post explains some of the driving factors behind the rural relocation project.

"Helping drive the shift is the government's emphasis on security in a post-Sept. 11 world, which turns Winchester's location 75 miles from Washington into a geographic ideal. It is far enough from the capital to escape the fallout of a nuclear explosion -- a distance often estimated at 50 miles -- but still close enough so that employees can get to the District relatively easily when they need to."

No doubt the US Government is probably trumpeting the lower cost of land and lack of congestion for the department moves, but the concept might find use in the Human Resources Department.

It very well make for an attractive recruitment bonus for civil servants we guess, you can have federal employment without the accompanying fear of going to work...