Where Exactly is Northern Virginia?

As a bit of introduction, Northern Virginia, or NOVA as it is often referred to, is a region
located in the northern part of the state of Virginia. It borders Washington D.C. on the
south and west and Maryland on the north and east. The region encompasses ten
counties—Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William/Manassas City; as well as the
independent cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax City, Manassas Park City and
Winchester—and extends westward into West Virginia, although this distribution is a
bit blurry to some. The area has a population of more than 2 million people and
continues to grow with new housing developments being built every day.
For most locals NOVA does not include Winchester even though geopraphically speaking Winchester is more north than the counties of Loudoun, Fairfax and Prince William.
It depends on who you are speaking to… I have relatives in Winchester who insist they live in the true Northern Virginia.