Testosterone Replacement Therapy in Newington, VA

As their primary androgen, testosterone helps men develop common male characteristics and is essential in the production of sperm. Controlled by your body's pituitary gland and hypothalamus, testosterone helps develop and maintain:

Muscle Mass

Muscle Mass

Facial and Body Hair

Facial and Body Hair

Sex Organs

Sex Organs

Healthy Libido

Healthy Libido

Healthy Libido

Bone Density

Healthy Libido

Sexual Function

Healthy Libido

Healthy Red Blood Cell Levels

When low testosterone or hypogonadism occurs, however, males begin to notice concerning symptoms that often affect their everyday lives and romantic relationships.

 Muscle Mass Newington, VA

When men lose significant amounts of testosterone, it alters their body's levels of testosterone and estrogen. Lower T levels usually result in abdominal fat, which in turn causes estrogen synthetize levels to increase, creating even higher levels of estrogen in the body. With more estrogen and less testosterone, a number of concerning issues begin to surface. Some of the symptoms of low testosterone include:

  • Erectile Dysfunction
  • Lowered Libido
  • Lowered Sperm Count
  • More Body Fat
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Issues with Concentration
  • Male Breast Development
  • Less Muscle Mass
  • Motivation Issues

If you're a man struggling with one or more of the symptoms above, it could be because you have low testosterone. But the only way you can find out for sure is to have your testosterone levels tested by a wellness center like Proactive Wellness. If your testosterone levels are low, TRT in Newington, VA, may be the answer to your low-T problems.

Book Appointment phone-number (703) 822-5003
 Facial And Body Hair Newington, VA

Understanding The Symptoms of Low Testosterone

Are you starting to notice that you don't feel like "you" when you're at home or at work? Do you feel tired and lethargic all the time, even in your free time away from the office? Many men mistake these symptoms for being too sleepy or too busy. But the truth is, they're suffering from low testosterone. Since no two males will have the same symptoms of low T, it's prudent to recognize and understand some of the most common signs:

Erectile Dysfunction

Erectile Dysfunction

If there were two words that all men wish to avoid, it's these two. Being unable to perform in the most intimate moments isn't just embarrassing - it can affect long-term relationships and mental health. It's a difficult topic to talk about. But it doesn't have to be. Our experts are ready to help you re-light that special spark.

Low Libido

Low Libido

When you have low testosterone, sometimes the thought of having sex just isn't appealing. If you're one of the many men in the U.S. who lacks sex drive, it might not be you. I could be low testosterone. Don't settle for a mediocre sex drive - reclaim your vigor at Proactive Wellness Centers.

Lack of Sleep

Lack of Sleep

Do you work hard every day and come home exhausted, only to find that you toss and turn all night long? Whether you have undiagnosed insomnia or another sleep disorder, it could be linked to low T.

 Sex Organs Newington, VA
 Healthy Libido Newington, VA
Less Strength and Muscle Mass

Less Strength and Muscle Mass

When testosterone levels deplete as we age, men lose their ability to lift heavy items, even with weightlifting routines in the gym. If you're making a concerted effort to maintain your muscle mass and strength but aren't making gains, it could be due to low T.

Depression

Depression

Your brain is home to many testosterone receptors, but when your body has low T, it can affect your mood. With time, poor spirits can lead to serious psychological issues, like depression. However, studies show that TRT in Newington, VA, can rebalance your hormones, which can help relieve depression and improve your mood.

Lack of Concentration

Lack of Concentration

Do you find it hard to complete normal tasks when you're at work? Does it seem like your memory is fading? Does your spouse or significant other complain that you're not paying attention to them? The effects of low testosterone don't just affect your body - they can affect your mind and memory, too. When your testosterone levels are within normal range, brain fog and other concentration issues have been shown to go away.

 Bone Density Newington, VA

What are the Risks of Living with Low Testosterone?

At Proactive Wellness Centers, we understand what men must go through daily when they have low testosterone. They suffer from fatigue and lack motivation and often don't feel like their usual selves. But as bad as those symptoms sound, living with low T can have more severe health risks that that put vital organs at risk. Some of the most concerning health risks you should be aware of include the following:

Book Appointment phone-number (703) 822-5003

Some of the most concerning health risks you should be aware of include the following:

 Sexual Function Newington, VA
heart-health

Heart Health

If you've been told by a doctor that you have high blood pressure, you're probably wondering what it stems from. Is it aging? Is it hereditary? Is it something else? According to academic research, men with low T have a higher chance of developing cardiovascular illnesses. When testosterone levels are low, red blood cell reproduction suffers. When that happens, plaque buildup in your arteries may be accelerated. With time, plaque building can lead to very serious problems like strokes and heart attacks.

Anemia

Anemia

When you have anemia, your body has a lack of or dysfunctional red blood cells, meaning your organs have less oxygen with which to function. Because testosterone has a role in healthy red blood cell production, it makes sense that men with low t have a higher risk of anemia. In fact, a 2009 study found that older men with low T are 5x more likely to be anemic than men with healthy levels of testosterone. While TRT in Newington, VA, isn't a cure for anemia, it will help produce more red blood cells in your body, which can prevent anemia.

Diabetes

Diabetes

If you have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes or diabetes, and you're trying to figure out why, it may be linked to your T levels. That's because men with low testosterone have a greater chance of developing diabetes as they age. Similarly, men with diabetes are much more likely to have low testosterone, establishing a relationship between diabetes and testosterone. This relationship is further solidified by the fact that men with low T have a more challenging time resisting insulin. Though TRT won't cure diabetes, studies show that men with healthy testosterone levels also have healthier blood sugar levels and are often less obese.

Obesity

Obesity

If you look in the mirror in the morning and can't stand how much body fat you've gained since getting older, you're not alone. Many aging men have problems with their waistlines. If you eat well and exercise regularly but still can't get rid of that unsightly stomach or body fat, the culprit may be low testosterone. Multiple studies have shown the link between obesity and low T. In fact, testosterone plays an important role in food metabolism by regulating insulin, glucose, and fat. Fortunately, when combined with diet and exercise, men who undergo TRT can often lose weight and enjoy improved blood glucose and low-density cholesterol levels.

Enjoy Life to the Fullest with TRT in Newington, VA

 Healthy Red Blood Cell Levels Newington, VA

Testosterone replacement therapy does precisely what it sounds like: It is a science-backed therapy that replaces low testosterone levels in men. The ultimate goal of TRT is to improve your life and well-being by balancing your hormones. Also referred to as androgen replacement therapy, TRT helps many men deal with and overcome the debilitating side effects of low T.

Originally developed by scientists in the 1930s, TRT has grown substantially in popularity over the years. Today, it is one of the most common and promising treatments for males with low testosterone.

How Does TRT Work?

Without getting too scientific, TRT works by providing your body with the testosterone it needs to function properly. Without healthy levels of testosterone, the male body can't maintain the natural processes it needs for overall health. In fact, men with low testosterone levels are more prone to serious health problems like type-2 diabetes and even heart disease. Until their T levels are restored to normal, most men suffer until they find a solution.

That's where TRT comes into play. With balanced hormones, your body can finally begin to heal, causing most symptoms of low t to diminish greatly.

Testosterone Replacement Therapy Newington, VA

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Book Appointment phone-number (703) 822-5003

The Proactive Wellness Approach to TRT in Newington, VA

At Proactive Wellness Centers, our team utilizes a three-pronged approach to healing and treatment:

01

Patient Education. We equip you with the knowledge needed to take charge of your health and achieve optimal well-being in your life.

02

Prevention. We focus on preventing diseases by providing you with a thorough evaluation, which includes comprehensive diagnostics and the information you provide on your health history form.

03

Rejuvenation. Lastly, we work closely with you to implement a rejuvenation program consisting of several science-based treatments that aim to promote tissue regeneration, reduce cellular degeneration, foster healing, and slow your aging process.

Because no two patients ever have the exact same needs and treatment, your journey to journey to optimal health will be unique and tailored to your body.
However, to give you a brief snapshot of the average patient's TRT timeline may look like this:

Getting Started:

You contact our TRT clinic in Virginia. Based on your schedule, we'll arrange for a time for you to come in for your initial assessment.

Diagnostics and Evaluation:

One of our diagnostic experts will complete comprehensive testing to discover your testosterone and related hormone levels and your best treatment options.

Review Testing:

We'll sit with you one-on-one to discuss the results of your lab tests. During this session, a medical practitioner will also answer any questions you have about low T and testosterone replacement therapy.

Begin Your Custom TRT Regimen:

Based on your lifestyle, goals, and test results, we'll craft a custom TRT plan exclusively for you.

Success Coaching:

When you undergo TRT at Proactive Wellness Centers, you're never alone. We'll be by your side the entire way to ensure your treatment is going well and you're hitting your benchmarks. We'll keep track of your progress, and if there are areas that need improvement, we'll work with you to accomplish the goals you haven't achieved yet. Because, at the end of the day, a little bit of encouragement can go a long way.

Enjoy the Results:

This is the best part! With time and care, you'll begin to notice the effects of TRT and will be well on your way to enjoying balanced hormones.

 Muscle Mass Newington, VA

Trust The Proactive Wellness Difference

Did you know that 13 million males suffer from low T, but a whopping 90% go untreated by doctors? The reason is that conventional doctors believe that unless your Testosterone level is below the low lab reference range level, that your are "OK". At Proactive Wellness, we help you to optimize and be the best you can be, not just OK. Why be OK, when with the help of the right Testosterone dose, you can feel better, be healthier, stronger and more vibrant. If you believe that your testosterone levels are at unhealthy levels, it's time to contact Proactive Wellness Centers for testing. Living with low testosterone is a risk, but with personalized TRT in Newington, VA, you can minimize the harmful effects on your body.

Unlike other TRT clinics, we utilize a more complete and personalized approach to Testosterone Replacement Therapy. Our approach considers the role of DHEA, another very important hormone that needs to be balanced. And we look at Estradiol conversion, the unwanted effect where some men convert too much Testosterone to estradiol. In this case, these men (about 10%) need a medication to block this conversion, called an aromatase inhibitor. But notice that I mentioned that only 10% of men need this, but at many men's clinics, all men automatically get an aromatase inhibitor whether they need it or not. This drives Estradiol too low, causing other issues. Yes, Men need Estradiol also, but they need it in the proper proportion. Bottom line, our personalized approach ensures that you get exactly what you need, no more and no less.

Further, Proactive Wellness offers the widest range of Testosterone Replacement options so that men can choose the best for their particular lifestyle. Choose from pellets that are inserted just under the skin and last for 4-5 months, or the most popular option, Test Cypionate injections that are typically done weekly, or specialized transdermal cream or even a specialized intranasal application that mimics natural testosterone levels. Any of these methods are available at Proactive Wellness Centers so that you can get the option that is right for you.

Is testosterone replacement therapy enough? Maybe, it all depends on your goals and your lab results. Many men are also deficient in growth hormone (GH) and this hormone can also contribute to you not being your best. If this one is low, Proactive Wellness offers a range of Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH) peptides to increase your GH levels. Many men combine this with TRT to feel their absolute best.

If you're ready to reclaim your confidence and return to loving life on your own terms, our physicians and medical team are ready to help. Don't be one of those men who constantly complain about their health but don't do anything about it. Contact Proactive Wellness Centers today to make a difference in your life!

phone-number (703) 822-5003

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Latest News in Newington, VA

Helping Veterans with migraines and headaches

Every day of the year, the VA Connecticut Headache Center of Excellence (HCoE) focuses on treating Veterans suffering from migraines and headaches.The mission for the HCoE team is to provide quality headache care to Veterans. They do this by taking a holistic approach to treating Veterans. This can include physical therapy, exercise, diet and nutrition changes, Botox injections, medications and other advanced therapies.Leading the charge in the fight against headaches at VA Connecticut is Dr. Emmanuelle Schindler, a neurologist...

Every day of the year, the VA Connecticut Headache Center of Excellence (HCoE) focuses on treating Veterans suffering from migraines and headaches.

The mission for the HCoE team is to provide quality headache care to Veterans. They do this by taking a holistic approach to treating Veterans. This can include physical therapy, exercise, diet and nutrition changes, Botox injections, medications and other advanced therapies.

Leading the charge in the fight against headaches at VA Connecticut is Dr. Emmanuelle Schindler, a neurologist who has been with VA since 2016. “I always found the brain really interesting,” he said. “When I did my rotations during medical school, I liked seeing headache patients. That’s because there are a lot of treatments out there and you can make peoples’ lives much better.”

VA Headache Centers of Excellence were approved by a Senate Appropriations Committee. The committee recognized that over 350,000 Veterans sustained traumatic brain injury (TBI) during the Global War on Terror. It also recognized that chronic migraine/post-traumatic headache is the signature symptom of TBI.

“Headaches now manageable so they can enjoy life.”

“I would tell Veterans if you are getting headaches regularly, tell your primary care physician, and from there you can be referred to the HCoE,” said Schindler. “It’s been very rewarding working at VA. I’ve had several patients who weren’t able to work and didn’t have much of a life due to their headaches. While we haven’t gotten these patients down to zero headaches, we have able to make their headaches manageable so they can enjoy life.”

Posttraumatic headaches occur in up to 92% of military personnel who have sustained mild TBI and is associated with chronic daily headaches. The prevalence of chronic daily headaches in returning soldiers after a deployment-related concussion is 20% higher than that seen in the general U.S. population.

At the HCoE’s satellite office at the VA CBOC in Newington, CT., Dr. Ashish Adlakha runs what he calls a headache bootcamp. “Officially, it is a multi-disciplinary clinic we run every week to treat patients. I work part-time in the private sector as well. I can confidently say that what we offer here with a multi-disciplinary approach to treating Veterans, with availability to different doctors, treatments and medical devices, is unique to VA. You will not find that level of care in the private sector.”

Four-pronged approach: clinical care, education, research, innovation

HCoE’s strategic plan to treat Veterans suffering from headaches and migraines includes a four-pronged approach in which they utilize clinical care, education, research and innovation to treat Veterans. At its helm is National HCoE Program Director Dr. Jason Sico.

“One of the reasons I love neurology is that our brain, our nervous system, makes us who we are in large part,” Sico said. “When people have headaches, it impairs their quality of life. It can be disabling and prevent them from doing the things they love most, like spending time with family, friends and loved ones. That’s one of the many reasons while I’m drawn to treating patients with headaches.”

Almost half of adults have had a headache at least once within the last year. Migraine is the most common type of headache that led patients to seek medical care. In 2017, approximately 380,000 Veterans sought care in the Veterans Affairs system for a headache disorder.

“When you look at the numbers, for patients under the age of 55, headaches are one of the most disabling neurological conditions in the world, not just the United States. When you look at that age group you could argue that’s when people are at their most productive,” Sico added.

Nineteen headache centers across America

“This is when people are having families and managing careers. When you look at such an important time of life, how could you not want to help those people?” said Sico. “What I really love most about VA’s Headache Center of Excellence program is [that] it really demonstrates VA’s commitment to caring for and serving Veterans living with headache disease.”

The HCoE program started with seven centers. The program has been so successful, there are now 19 centers across the country and at least one in every Veterans Integrated Services Network. Over the next year, Congress has asked VA to grow to at least 28 centers total.

If you suffer from headaches, contact your primary care provider for a consult. You may be referred to a VA HCoE.

UConn Students Gift 100 Mini Air Filters to the VA

On February 23 UConn students drove from Storrs to the VA to deliver student-made small, portable air purifiers.UConn’s cross-campus Indoor Air Quality Initiative gifted 100 miniature, portable air purifiers to the Newington Veteran’s Administration Medical Center to help bring relief to its ...

On February 23 UConn students drove from Storrs to the VA to deliver student-made small, portable air purifiers.

UConn’s cross-campus Indoor Air Quality Initiative gifted 100 miniature, portable air purifiers to the Newington Veteran’s Administration Medical Center to help bring relief to its neurology patients who suffer from headaches.

The smaller, portable versions of the do-it-yourself (DIY) “Corsi-Rosenthal” air purifiers were built by UConn engineering students as part of their curriculum’s ENGR 1166 class as a public service learning project. These mini air purifiers are only 10″ in size.

On February 23 the “Tiger Team” of UConn students drove a UConn box truck from Storrs and the UConn College of Engineering to the VA to deliver the 100 engineering-student made air purifiers.

The students were supported at the drop-off donation event by their UConn and UConn School of Medicine faculty including Dr. L. John Greenfield, chair of the Department of Neurology, as well as State Senator Matthew Lesser.

The donation was received by Dr. Ashish Adlahka, director of the VA’s Headache Disorders program and the VA team.

“We are very grateful to UConn engineering students and UConn Health Neurology for your donation of Corsi-Rosenthal air filters, which will help in studying the role of indoor air quality in headache disorders. This could be a significant step towards understanding and mitigating the impact of air quality on veterans’ health,” shared Adlahka of the VA Connecticut Headache Centers of Excellence.

UConn’s hope is that this low-cost, public health intervention air purifier tool will help VA patients in need to reduce the frequency and intensity of their disabling migraine headaches.

“This is a wonderful example of a UConn cross-campus initiative, joining together UConn students of medicine and engineering from the state’s flagship university with the federal VA program with the end goal of providing support and innovative solutions to debilitating health challenges,” shared Marina Creed, APRN, director of the UConn Indoor Air Quality Initiative and a neuroimmunology nurse practitioner at UConn Health.

The state and federal collaboration between UConn Health and the VA will also allow for medical students and residents in training to track results of this health care quality initiative to show research results on how they can improve patient outcomes.

VA serving more veterans in N.H.

Victor McLean says he never hesitates to use the Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic at the Pease Air National Guard Base in Newington.The Vietnam War veteran has sought primary care and preventive medicine there since the clinic first opened in 1998.On Thursday morning, he waited to see registered nurse Cindy Anderson after he was bitten by a tick, which he brought along in a sealed plastic bag."I love this place," said McLean, a Newington resident who lives just five minutes away.There ar...

Victor McLean says he never hesitates to use the Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic at the Pease Air National Guard Base in Newington.

The Vietnam War veteran has sought primary care and preventive medicine there since the clinic first opened in 1998.

On Thursday morning, he waited to see registered nurse Cindy Anderson after he was bitten by a tick, which he brought along in a sealed plastic bag.

"I love this place," said McLean, a Newington resident who lives just five minutes away.

There are five VA outpatient clinics in New Hampshire. They are located in Newington, Somersworth, Tilton, Conway and Littleton.

The state also has three mental health clinics, known as veterans centers, which were established after the Vietnam War. Those centers are in Manchester, Auburn, and Berlin. Maine has centers in Springvale, Bangor, Caribou, Lewiston and Portland.

The five New Hampshire outpatient clinics are serving more veterans today than at any other time since they opened over the last decade, according to Dr. Marc Levenson, the top VAofficial for New Hampshire.

"More New Hampshire veterans are getting their VA health care right here at home than ever," he wrote in an April 3 letter to Foster's, adding that visits at the VA Medical Center in Manchester also had skyrocketed. "In 2007 nearly 21,000 veterans had over 184,000 outpatient visits at our medical center. This is a huge increase from 1997, when only 11,000 veterans used this medical center for a total of 103,000 outpatient visits."

With the opening of clinics, Veterans like McLean no longer have to drive to Manchester for routine exams and lab work. The clinic's staff regularly checks his blood sugar levels for any traces of diabetes, along with his blood pressure and cholesterol levels. They also do exams to check for colon cancer.

Like many Vietnam veterans, McLean, who served in the Marines in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970, was exposed to Agent Orange, a chemical defoliant used by the military to clear jungles.

He also was injured after the war.

"I came out of Vietnam without a scratch. I went to Parris Island and got screwed up," he said.

He tore tendons in his right hand while on a night infiltration training exercise in 1977. He still receives treatment for the injury, he said.

He is one of 4,000 veterans in who get primary care services at the VA outpatient clinics in Newington and Somersworth, according to Jim Thompson, a spokesman for the Manchester VA Medical Center.

The Newington clinic treated 46 patients Thursday morning.

Shilo Hutchins, a nurse practitioner there, said the demand for services is strong.

She's assigned to 950 of the 2,000 veterans who seek treatment there. Veterans travel from all over New Hampshire and as far away as Biddeford, Maine, and Haverhill, Mass., to be treated there, she said.

She added that she also sees her share of men and women who've returned from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The veterans seeks treatment for everything from mental health counseling to traumatic brain injuries.

Hutchins said in the next six months, she hopes to offer more women's health care for female veterans so they won't have to travel to Manchester for those services.

Hutchins said volunteers also are needed to drive veterans to clinics.

Thompson said the number of combat veterans returning from the Middle East annually has increased in New Hampshire from 800 in 2005 to 1,300 in 2007. Overall, the entire VA system in New Hampshire treats about 20,000 veterans, he said.

The number of returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans has increased from 700 in 2005 to 1,400 in 2007 in Maine, Jim Doherty, a spokesman with the Togus Veterans Administration Medical Center in Augusta, Maine, said in an October interview. He said then that Maine's VA system serves about 38,500 veterans overall.

Thompson said veterans who live in the southwestern part of New Hampshire hope an out-patient clinic will open there soon.

"There is a demand for an out-patient clinic in Keene, and the veterans would like to see one in Berlin," Thompson said.

Levenson said some lawmakers and veterans groups would like to see a full-service VA hospital in Manchester. The VA reduced the facility to a medical center in 2000 because it wasn't being used enough.

Dr. Brian Matchett of Rochester, legislative director for New Hampshire's chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart of the U.S.A., Inc., is one of those people.

"Our veterans should be treated right here and not out of state," he said Friday. "Why is it that we're the only state in the U.S. that doesn't have a full service veterans hospital?"

Thompson said by the time the hospital was changed to a medical center, "our average in-patient census was down to eight."

At one time, the former hospital had 135 beds. Thompson said the outpatient clinic model works better for vets and their families than the former VA hospital did.

"A lot of veterans were really too distant to take advantage of it," Thompson said.

But groups such as the New Hampshire Vietnam Veterans of America, the New Hampshire State Veterans Council and others say care has suffered.

Matchett said too many older veterans still have to make a difficult trip to Boston to get services that could be provided in state.

Thompson said many of those services, such as cardiac surgery or joint replacements, never were offered in Manchester when the hospital was open, and veterans always have had to travel to Boston for them.

Levenson said the Manchester VA Medical Center also may offer more acute care services through contractual agreements with nearby hospitals such as the one it has with the Catholic Medical Center, also in Manchester.

That may be the most cost-effective approach, Levenson said.

Matchett said he'd like to see the VA Medical Center enter into such contracts with Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester or Wentworth-Douglas Hospital in Dover, which also has the Seacoast Cancer Center.

A 14,350-square foot addition that will add 40 new specialty clinic exam rooms is being constructed at the Manchester VA Medical Center. The center also will have a 15-bed end-of-life care unit. The addition is due to be finished within 18 months, Levenson said.

The expansion will let the medical center provide more specialty clinics and same-day surgery clinics, he said. More services focused on neurology, orthopedics, podiatry and pain management will be offered, along with a women's health clinic, he said.

He said it's also possible VA officials could expand the state's five existing out-patient clinics.

"As demand increases, we will grow to meet the demand," he said.

What’s included in Northern Virginia anyway? I created a survey to find out.

Some months ago, I was at a party where one attendee lamented not living in Northern Virginia and having to drive back home all the way to Centreville. This led to an animated discussion about whether that town was part of NoVA, and what constituted the region. I started to wonder if it’s possible to come up with a unified definition to end the arguments once and for all.I created a Google Forms survey where I gave people a list of 50 places in Virginia, ranging all the way from Arlington to Ashburn to Richmond, and asked them i...

Some months ago, I was at a party where one attendee lamented not living in Northern Virginia and having to drive back home all the way to Centreville. This led to an animated discussion about whether that town was part of NoVA, and what constituted the region. I started to wonder if it’s possible to come up with a unified definition to end the arguments once and for all.

I created a Google Forms survey where I gave people a list of 50 places in Virginia, ranging all the way from Arlington to Ashburn to Richmond, and asked them if they considered each one part of “NoVA”. I also gave them the option to include their ZIP Code so I could analyze the data by the respondent’s location.

If one were to go by majority rule, the border of Northern Virginia would run from Woodbridge to Manassas, along the Fairfax County border to Dulles Airport, and then northwestward to Leesburg. There’s an over 20 percentage point dropoff from those places to anywhere outside that boundary. Overall, it would be a fairly reasonable definition, with the exception of perhaps including South Riding to make the border look prettier.

The government’s definition doesn’t really work so well

According to the Office of Management and Budget, the Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area contains Front Royal (10 percent NoVA), Warrenton (11 percent), Fredericksburg (9.6 percent), and even Spotsylvania (2.6 percent). Fewer than one percent of respondents included all four of those places. While those towns may not feel like a part of Northern Virginia, they still contribute to the region. Residents of Fauquier, Spotsylvania, and Stafford Counties all have longer average commute times than those in Fairfax County as people move further and further away from DC.

On the other hand, I have heard people who claim that Northern Virginia only consists of land within the Beltway. Despite that, the most frequently-included place was the City of Fairfax, a good five miles away from the proposed demarcation. Reston, even further out, was considered NoVA by over 95 percent of respondents. Going by the survey results and population density data, one could argue for a restrictive definition of the area that contains McLean, Tyson’s Corner, Vienna, Fairfax, Burke, Springfield, and points closer.

Why is a place part of Northern Virginia?

Now that we have all the percentages and raw data, is there any method behind the madness? To figure out what drove people’s responses, I ran regression analyses on the results with various census data and got the following significant factors, starting with the most important:

Newington? Never even heard of it! Newington is a census-designated place located about halfway between the Beltway and the Prince William County line and is closer to DC than Fairfax City. About 13,000 people live within its borders, and it has a respectable 2800 people per square mile. Yet, just under a third of respondents considered it to be part of Northern Virginia.

The problem is that few people have heard of such a place. The only time I’ve seen it mentioned with any regularity is the exit sign for it while driving down I-95. I don’t know of anyone who says they’re from Newington, there are no attractions in Newington that I know of, and if I were to talk about that location I’d be more likely to use something like “south of Springfield” or “near Lorton” instead.

Several other places ran into the issue of name recognition. Bailey’s Crossroads, adjacent to both Arlington and Alexandria and the densest place surveyed, was selected by only 73 percent of people. However, if we just consider those who live inside the Beltway, that number jumps to 92 percent. Woodbridge is at 69 percent while a couple miles down the road Dale City lies at just 40 percent. I suspect that number might be higher had I instead asked about the latter’s most defining feature, Potomac Mills.

We’re part of Northern Virginia too!

Unsurprisingly, people who were from the outer suburbs were significantly more generous with their definition of Northern Virginia than those who lived within Fairfax County. Those residing in Loudoun or Prince William Counties included on average four more locations as than those within the Beltway. This is even more evident when we focus on the further-out towns.

While those in Loudoun County are more willing to include themselves in Northern Virginia, they don’t tend to extend the same courtesy to those in Prince William County (and vice versa). Gainesville, South Riding, and Aldie are notable exceptions, due to them all being closer to the county line than, for example, Purcellville or Woodbridge.

Can a gas station settle this once and for all?

Sheetz is a chain of gas stations with locations ranging from North Carolina to Pennsylvania and Ohio. Similar to Wawa, they pride themselves on serving “made to order” food, which earns them their popularity during college student road trips, having spoken from experience. They also don’t have a single location inside Fairfax County. In fact, the nearest Sheetz locations to DC make for a rather accurate frontier of Northern Virginia.

The one exception to this rule is the Sheetz between Sterling (77 percent) and Dulles Airport (91 percent). Oddly enough, when I zoomed in on that location, it did not appear to exist. I’m just going to assume that there was a glitch in Google Earth and that location was added in error.

Conclusion

There will continue to be disagreements over what defines the exact borders of Northern Virginia. If we were to extrapolate our findings, we could say that over 100,000 people in the area would include Fredericksburg while another 100,000 would leave out Springfield (and 10,000 would do both, apparently). However, there is still a fairly reasonabe compromise to be found and hopefully we can all agree on it and never have to deal with this argument ever again.

Okay, maybe I’m a bit too optimistic.

Crossposted from Harry's blog.

More information about the data:

There were 944 total responses, of which 859 entered a local ZIP Code. Aldie was not included on the map or analysis because it’s not a census-designated place. Dulles Airport was excluded from analysis because it has no population. There were no attempts to weight the sample by location, but if that were done responses from Loudoun and Prince William Counties would count about double. There were also no attempts to get a representative sample, and I do not pretend that this is the pinnacle of polling science. It’s unlikely that 2.2 percent of the population does not believe Arlington or Alexandria are part of Northern Virginia; rather it’s probable that some people misclicked, intentionally trolled the survey, or misunderstood the prompt. I’m looking at you, guy who selected Herndon and nowhere else. Raw data can be found here.

A Costco bid for gas pumps sets off Tex-Mex, Italian restaurant musical chairs from Springfield to Alexandria

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) is advancing plans to add gas pumps to its Springfield store, and in the process spurring the relocation of a Tex-Mex restaurant to a new home in Alexandria where it will replace a relatively new Italian joint.The wholesale giant has put a 2.81-acre property at 7375 Boston Blvd., home to a largely vacant, roughly 30,000-square-foot office building, under contract. Costco already owns 14 adjacent acres, where it operates a 144,000-square-foot warehouse.Pending Fairfax County’s approval...

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) is advancing plans to add gas pumps to its Springfield store, and in the process spurring the relocation of a Tex-Mex restaurant to a new home in Alexandria where it will replace a relatively new Italian joint.

The wholesale giant has put a 2.81-acre property at 7375 Boston Blvd., home to a largely vacant, roughly 30,000-square-foot office building, under contract. Costco already owns 14 adjacent acres, where it operates a 144,000-square-foot warehouse.

Pending Fairfax County’s approval of a comprehensive plan amendment, rezoning and special exception, Costco will immediately raze the office building and replace it with 12 gas pumps for its members, and additional parking to support the store, according to recent testimony before the Fairfax County Planning Commission.

The gas pumps are moving through Fairfax County’s site specific plan amendment process, a biannual opportunity for individual property owners to propose changes to the county’s long-range land-use plan. On March 2, after a public hearing that saw one community member testify strongly in favor, the planning commission preliminarily offered its support for moving that amendment forward in the SSPA process. A more extensive review of the proposed amendment would follow.

“The ability to acquire additional abutting land has eluded Costco at this location for many years,” per the SSPA application. “There is now an opportunity to accomplish this and upgrade and revitalize the overall operation of a successful business that was established thirty years ago.”

Dos Amigos, which sits on the ground floor of the office building, announced it will close March 31 in advance of its move to 1603 Commonwealth Ave. in Alexandria. There it will rebrand as Dos Hermanos, but hold to the same concept and menu, the restaurant said March 5 on Facebook. Dos Amigos already operates a restaurant in Alexandria, at 535 E. Braddock Road by the Braddock Metro station.

The Commonwealth Avenue storefront is currently home to Elo’s Italian, which co-owner Jeremy Barber confirmed Tuesday would close, also on March 31. Barber and co-owner Justus Frank plan to focus for now on the beer garden they're working to open in historic Occoquan, then perhaps relocate Elo’s closer to Barber’s home in the Springfield-Burke area. In the meantime, the Elo’s lease will be assigned to the Dos Amigos team in a deal, Barber said, that came together very quickly.

Elo's launched in 2021 as a pop-up in the space formerly occupied by Live Oak Restaurant, which had closed earlier in the pandemic. It became the permanent Live Oak replacement only last year. The space was occupied from 1996 to 2015 by Monroe's, an American trattoria.

Finmarc Management Inc. acquired 7375 Boston Blvd. last June as part of a $127.5 million deal with Boston Properties Inc. (NYSE: BXP) that included a cluster of 11 buildings in Springfield's larger Virginia 95 Business Park. Separately, Finmarc is working with Halle Cos., also through the SSPA process, to convert other parts of its Virginia 95 Business Park assemblage to residential.

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