NOVA, or Northern Virginia, is a large region outside of Washington, DC that includes urban sprawl, suburbia, mansions and horses, and rural farm areas. I grew up somewhere that was mostly suburban but really close to the city. Even though NOVA is just like any metropolitan area, it's so different from the rest of Virginia that some people argue that it should become its own state. Here's a few things anyone who has lived in NOVA can probably relate to.

1. People who say they’re from D.C. but they’re from NOVA.

They’re probably from Loudoun County or somewhere equally far from the city. I grew up less than 10 miles away from the D.C. line, but I still say NOVA.

2. How large NOVA is.

It encompasses a few different counties, ranging from Arlington and Alexandria to the grassy open farmland in western Loudoun and Prince William Counties. When someone asks me where I’m from, NOVA isn’t specific enough because it’s so big.

3. Rush hour.

Don’t even think about getting on the Beltway in the morning. Or anytime between 3:30-7:00 PM. Or any road between 3:30-7:00 PM because it will take you an hour to drive three miles. We have the second worst traffic in the whole country for a reason.

4. How close the country starts.

NOVA goes from urban to suburban pretty fast, and if you keep driving west, you’ll be in the middle of nowhere in less than an hour (if it’s not evening rush hour, of course).

5. How many high schools there are.

I lived within four miles of at least five different high schools, but I still went to the one that was almost the furthest away.

6. How large those high schools are.

My graduating class had 548 students, which is smack dab in the middle compared to all the others around it.

7. Having friends from many different places.

Since NOVA has a lot of military bases and government agencies, many people move in and out frequently.

8. The Metro.

I still get surprised when I hear that people have never ridden a subway, probably considering I used to ride the Metro every weekend I could when I was a kid.

9. 7-Elevens everywhere.

I could walk to two different 7-Elevens from my house, and I’m from a suburban area. I was always jealous of my friends inside the Beltway because they could walk to cooler places than me.

10. Proximity to history and nature.

NOVA itself might be boring, but you’re both a short subway ride away from the nation’s capital and a short drive away from the pretty mountains in Shenandoah National Park.