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Can we agree that is a fair dividing line between up state and downstate?
Anythng north of there really looks like "upstate" and it runs through Newburgh, which is often a a city that people go back amd forth over whether its upstate or not.
I really think that is the best Interstate that you will find as a border.
As someone who is actually from upstate and has no personal bias or complex about being considered as such, I'd agree that anything north of Poughkeepsie can be considered Upstate New York.
It all depends on your perspective. In my experience, people from north of Rockland County and Putnam County appear less likely to travel into the city or have a connection to NYC. I am not talking about those who moved up there from the city because of a cheaper cost of living and yet continue to work in the city. I am speaking of the folks born and raised there... the locals. They are more into hunting/snow mobiling and upstate type stuff and tend to dislike NYC and the people who live there. Many are intimidated by the City and Westchester as well.
My parents live in Orange County and that is the vibe from the locals...
Meanwhile, all my Long Island friends think Northern Westchester is upstate. I guess because its north of Manhattan, which they have to circle around everytime they want to leave the godforsaken place. Forgetting the fact that places like Manhassat/Glen Cove are only a few miles away from Rye/Greenwich across the sound.
Meanwhile, all my Long Island friends think Northern Westchester is upstate. I guess because its north of Manhattan, which they have to circle around everytime they want to leave the godforsaken place. Forgetting the fact that places like Manhassat/Glen Cove are only a few miles away from Rye/Greenwich across the sound.
Long Islanders should be simply disqualified from the discussion. For them it's everything other than NYC and LI itself. Their view of what's "upstate" is limited to themselves alone and is considered a joke by everyone else.
Rochester is downstate. So is Albany. Poughkeepsie...not even remotely close. I come from Plattsburgh....that's upstate people. You have the southern half of the state and the northern half of the state. Open your eyes people. We are talking about geography here. Not population.
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New York City, with a Census-estimated population of over 8.3 million in 2012, is the most populous city in the United States. Alone, it makes up over 40 percent of the population of New York state.
Long Islanders should be simply disqualified from the discussion. For them it's everything other than NYC and LI itself. Their view of what's "upstate" is limited to themselves alone and is considered a joke by everyone else.
If you were a Long Islander (as I am) and you asked me, "Where is Fishkill?" I would say, "It's about an hour and a half upstate" since it would probably take about that long to drive there once your out of the NYC area, and that's just the easiest way to explain it. Many LIers, unfortunately, couldn't find Dutchess County on a map. We are not being selfish, that's just a convenient way to illustrate NY geography for us. Also, we generally break New York state into three categories: LI, NYC, and the rest is Upstate NY (since in most contexts it's not really important to us exactly where in Upstate NY something might be). Also most LIers don't consider Southern Westchester upstate, but usually Northern Westchester.
Rochester is downstate. So is Albany. Poughkeepsie...not even remotely close. I come from Plattsburgh....that's upstate people. You have the southern half of the state and the northern half of the state. Open your eyes people. We are talking about geography here. Not population.
Well it does not make sense to talk about geography. The term refers to culture. In your opinion, the correct usage is North Country = Upstate, Everything else = Downstate. This opinion is not shared by a majority or even a plurality.
No definition of Upstate will get a majority. Different places use it to refer to different things and since there is no majority, no answer is "correct."
I would consider Greene and northern Dutchess as a DMZ where anything north of it is upstate and anything south downstate. Anyone in that zone can say what they want at the risk of war.
Rockland county is no more upstate than Westchester and 'how often you go to NYC' or how 'intimidated' you are by Westchester* is not relevant the the upstate/downstate distinction. That is what we have the term 'metropolitan area' for. The Metropolitan area extends into downstate New York, but is neither limited to nor defined by it nor the other way around.
I went years hardly going into NYC from Mount Vernon (about 10 miles from midtown Manhattan). I went north to shop, to recreate, everything. Only went to the Bronx for the zoo and to the city as a museum visiting tourist.
Finally, culturally, I think the 'big-picture' distinction in New York state is West vs. East. New York City's presence and influence is an outlier or anomolous factor in defining the regionality of New York State. This is true of all major metropoli which have more in common with one another than they do with the state or country they are located in.
Last edited by ABQConvict; 09-04-2013 at 02:28 PM..
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