Residents, he notes, have demonstrated an eagerness to upgrade their skills. Each year, about 9 percent of the shore's population takes advantage of courses and other services at Eastern Shore Community College. Along with Old Dominion University, the school offers bachelor's and graduate degrees via videoconferencing. Manter says the school has also provided valuable training programs for area businesses and will custom-design training programs for prospective companies. Little has changed here in recent years.
Shops move in and out of the same weathered buildings that line the street.
But this hamlet on the northern end of the shore maintains its isolated, carefree feel, luring throngs of tourists in the summer and a steady flow of visitors the rest of the year. The ponies live in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on adjacent Assateague Island, a haven for waterfowl and a powerful magnet for ecotourists. The pristine sand of Assateague Island's 15 miles of beaches also attracts crowds, even when the days are cool. Parker says many visitors are traveling south from New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., and leave wishing they could wrangle a way to live here permanently. Many of them are finding the answer.