Living in Montgomery County definitely comes with a lot of perks. Besides living in a very affluent and fairly diverse area with an unlimited number of things to do. Unfortunately, Montgomery and White Flint Mall no longer fit the bill.

During a recent visit to Montgomery Mall, I realized just how serious this predicament had become. While the mall still has many well-known stores like Banana Republic, Gap, Footlocker and Ann Taylor, new stores like A Christmas to Remember, Verdict and Dollar Store + have taken the place of those not fortunate enough to survive the recession.

The issue with a lack of variety of stores is compounded by the limited merchandise that they carry. Compared to the same stores at a different mall, like Pentagon City or Tysons Corner, stores at Montgomery Mall often don’t carry as many unique sizes in their items nor do they receive all of the same merchandise of their counterparts.

It would be quite a stretch to refer to White Flint Mall as a “mall.” Yes, we all love Border’s, Dave & Buster’s, all of the restaurants and even the department stores like Lord & Taylor and Bloomingdales, but “malls” usually also contain stores in them. This cannot be said about White Flint. Taking away all of the restaurants and attractions exclusive to White Flint would leave it barren, without customers and as the ideal location for the next new project.

Due to frustration with these malls, those willing to commute quite often make the trip to nearby Tysons Corner Mall in Fairfax County. With two distinct malls to choose from, Tysons Corner Center and a more upscale Tysons Galleria, and over 400 stores spread across three levels in both malls, shoppers are often very satisfied with their shopping experience.

Suburbs of the Washington D.C. area are known for their consistently high rankings among the richest counties in America. In fact, counties in Maryland and Virginia make up exactly half of the twenty richest counties in the country, with Loudon County ranking number one, Fairfax County at number two, Howard County number three and Montgomery County number 10, according to the census bureau.

While Montgomery County is very high on this list, one thing that differentiates it from other Virginia counties like Loudon and Fairfax is its diversity and variety among income levels. Montgomery County has a higher percentage of Black, American Indian and Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander and persons of Hispanic or Latino origin than in Loudon County. Montgomery County also has a higher concentration of minorities in every demographic category than Fairfax County except among Asian persons.

It is unfortunate, but quite true that developers responsible for the creation of the Tysons Corner Shopping Center felt most comfortable placing this mall in an area with a lower concentration of minorities. As an increasing number of minorities moved into Montgomery County, certain stores and businesses began to leave the immediate area.

Although we are not entitled to any sort of special treatment simply because we live in “MoCo,” we deserve to be treated the same way as the so-called superior residents of the Virginia counties.