Nobody moved to southern Fairfax County 30 years ago for the neighborhood, because there was no neighborhood. People bought houses on the fringes of horse farms to get away from everything.

But those folks are older now, and they're missing something — neighbors to lend a hand, offer a ride to the grocery store or drop by to say hello. To remain in the homes they have long enjoyed, residents are creating a new kind of village.

Following the lead of nationally known Beacon Hill Village in Boston, residents have formed an organization that would stitch their lives closer together and offer a variety of services that might allow them to hang on to their lifestyle as they age. Known as Clifton-Fairfax Station Transition in Place Services, it is one of a half-dozen of such grass-roots organizations forming in the Washington region and across the country as America's baby boomers age together. (more)