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I live in Union County, New Jersey and have been to upstate New York numerous times, both staying up there and driving through. I have to say that I feel it is in no way similar to New York City and the metro area. The fact that there are transplants from the city upstate means nothing. Where I live, people move from Staten Island and Brooklyn to here all the time but that's not what makes my area similar to NYC. It's because of the more fast-paced lifestyle, the fact that I can hop on a train and be at Penn Station in thirty minutes, and the fact that half my town works in Manhattan or Brooklyn. The tri state area refers to NYC, Long Island, Westchester County, Northern New Jersey, and some of Connecticut. We share the same news channels. I have never seen any New York city or town farther than Westchester County on any NYC news channel. It's just not the same type of lifestyle. Hell, the shore area of New Jersey is more similar to NYC than upstate is just because so many New Yorkers go there in the summer. MTV's 'Jersey Shore' features almost all New Yorkers.
And yes, where I live we refer to Manhattan as "the city", and the other boroughs by their names. Everybody in the metro area truly thinks of upstate and western New York as a completely different area. And be proud of that fact. It's beautiful up there, so much calmer in general and much more scenic than down here. New York is a very diverse state in many ways, but just because NYC is in New York state doesn't mean it's more similar to the upstate region than the immediate areas surrounding the city are (NJ and CT).
Actually Snooki and JWow are upstaters.....and yes, I am deeply embarrased that I know that.
Listen guys, just because upstate is not "exactly" like nyc metro does not mean that it is not like the area at all. Basically, nyc, north nj, LI, upstate and western ny are just different shades of the same color.
Actually Snooki and JWow are upstaters.....and yes, I am deeply embarrased that I know that.
Listen guys, just because upstate is not "exactly" like nyc metro does not mean that it is not like the area at all. Basically, nyc, north nj, LI, upstate and western ny are just different shades of the same color.
I thought JWow was from LI? Lol not like it really matters, I guess, still not from Jersey! And yes, Snooki's from Poughkeepsie.
need to dig up the old "what is upstate NY" thread
if people are not counting buffalo & rochester as upstate, but are including westchester county then you really are looking at it through city eyes and not an upstate view
when you are from upstate NY you play the upstate NY game ... it goes like this:
Q: Where are you from?
A: Upstate NY - (which means I don't live near the city, don't really go to the city much, don't know your cousin in Queens and yes, the thanksgiving day parade is fantastic but I really don't notice an increase in traffic from it)
If the person isn't familiar with upstate NY you get the following types of questions:
Q: It must be great living close to the city, do you go there a lot?
A: No (because Toronto, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and a host of other cities are closer)
If they are familiar then you start to narrow:
Q: Oh really? What part?
A: You familiar with Western NY? (or the finger lakes, southern tier, andirondacks, etc)
Q: Kind of, one of my neighbors used to live in Fredonia
A: Right on - that's about an hour south of Buffalo and about 40 minutes from Jamestown (they'll know Buffalo, most likely not Jamestown - but you never know - i've discovered people who grew up 15 minutes from me in a casual conversation 1500 miles away playing the upstate game)
Q: Yeah, I know where Buffalo is - is that where you are from?
A: No, a bit over an hour to the east is the city of Rochester - you familiar with the area?
From here you get a couple paths:
Q: Nope - Is this where you are from?
A: Pretty much
or
Q: Yeah, my sister in laws family is from that area I think, although I wasn't sure where it was - is that where you are from?
A: Pretty much - actually it's a place in the western portion of the metro called Chili - although it reads like Chili it's pronounced ChiLie
need to dig up the old "what is upstate NY" thread
if people are not counting buffalo & rochester as upstate, but are including westchester county then you really are looking at it through city eyes and not an upstate view
when you are from upstate NY you play the upstate NY game ... it goes like this:
Q: Where are you from?
A: Upstate NY - (which means I don't live near the city, don't really go to the city much, don't know your cousin in Queens and yes, the thanksgiving day parade is fantastic but I really don't notice an increase in traffic from it)
If the person isn't familiar with upstate NY you get the following types of questions:
Q: It must be great living close to the city, do you go there a lot?
A: No (because Toronto, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and a host of other cities are closer)
If they are familiar then you start to narrow:
Q: Oh really? What part?
A: You familiar with Western NY? (or the finger lakes, southern tier, andirondacks, etc)
Q: Kind of, one of my neighbors used to live in Fredonia
A: Right on - that's about an hour south of Buffalo and about 40 minutes from Jamestown (they'll know Buffalo, most likely not Jamestown - but you never know - i've discovered people who grew up 15 minutes from me in a casual conversation 1500 miles away playing the upstate game)
Q: Yeah, I know where Buffalo is - is that where you are from?
A: No, a bit over an hour to the east is the city of Rochester - you familiar with the area?
From here you get a couple paths:
Q: Nope - Is this where you are from?
A: Pretty much
or
Q: Yeah, my sister in laws family is from that area I think, although I wasn't sure where it was - is that where you are from?
A: Pretty much - actually it's a place in the western portion of the metro called Chili - although it reads like Chili it's pronounced ChiLie
I admire your ambition in writing that, but to be honest I have no idea what the hell any of that means. If you want to define new york, the majority would tell you it goes like this:
I don't know how New Yorkers define upstate exactly. But I'm using upstate to refer to all of New York state that isn't part of the New York City CSA.
that would be most accurate.
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