The fading out around the edges seems a bit odd, particularly combined with the neatline/border. The point of such a border is to give a clear idea of the extent of the map. I'd recommend having the map features go right up to the border with no fading.

Your labels could also do with some work. Labeling is difficult and one of the things that really shows the skill of a cartographer.

Some rules of thumb:

Don't cut off labels. Either include the whole thing, or don't.

Labels should be either straight and horizontal, or curved. Straight labels along a diagonal usually look bad.

Use a single clear typeface, or related family of faces. You're sticking to one, which is good, but the particular face you've chosen is a bit hard to read in places, particularly where it's smaller or curved.