What do you consider UPSTATE NY?

[ICEMAN73]

Am I the only one that is confussed when someone says Upstate NY?
To me Upstate NY is anything north of Albany.  But then I hear folks call WNY as Upstate NY.
What gives???

[ALLEGANYCOD]

Upstate is anything north of New York City!

[PACKMAN241982]

i agree upstate is anything above that stink hole of a city

[Fishnhard]

Heck, I live in Lyonsdale, which is about 45 minutes south of Watertown, and I call this upstate, when its actually closer to central I guess. I think anything north of Yonkers is upstate though, I could be wrong

[bart]

Anyone above the Thruway(90) are "Frozen Brains". Anyone below the Thruway(90) are "Flatlanders". Upstate is relative...

[deebsey]

Upstate is up way from the poop hole city that anyone from out of state thinks is the whole state.  I also clarify more west of I81 is western NY & anything above the thruway is northern NY to sum it up

[bigredonice]

well people from outside New York State and from NYC and the island all consider Upstate anything north of yonkers.

Me, I'm from the capital district.  

Upstate to me is the ADKS

then there's central NY (west of amsterdam out to somewhere between 'cuse and rochester)

Western NY

Downstate - anywhere south of green and columbia counties.

**bonus area**

Flatlanders - from the westchester/nyack area south to the city and including long island, NJ, CT  

[fingerlaker]

There is New York and there is upstate New York...1 is a poophole leaching waste of a city and the rest is upstate.  Thats what i was taught....?

[Pasquatch]

Anything north of Westchester is what I consider to be upstate.

[hamilton county new york]

Where English is the first language spoken, you see gun racks in trucks and bumper stickers don't talk about your kid being on honor roll? 

[fishlakegeorge]

from here up

[o2rmk800]

i would say anything above newburgh

[Berkley4life]

I refer to upstate as the adirondacks and anything north

[FrankM]

Upstate is any part of NY north of New York City.

[icepike]

I say anything north of Ulster, Sully, and Dutchess

[bassinbrian_on_ice]

I think people from the different areas look at it differently.


I think of it as north of Albany , people from down state think of it as any thing north of NYC
I never call western Ny "upstate" , i call it western LOL




BB

[carcaju]

well people from outside New York State and from NYC and the island all consider Upstate anything north of yonkers.

Me, I'm from the capital district.  

Upstate to me is the ADKS

then there's central NY (west of amsterdam out to somewhere between 'cuse and rochester)

Western NY

Downstate - anywhere south of green and columbia counties.

**bonus area**

Flatlanders - from the westchester/nyack area south to the city and including long island, NJ, CT  

[FISHFORPIKE]

Wikipedia Definition:

Upstate New York is an ill-defined region north and west of the metropolitan area of New York City
There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York, but the term "Upstate" is sometimes used to refer to the whole of the state besides New York City and Long Island. Latitude is generally a consideration in whether or not a place is "upstate", as well as elevation and being away from sea level (hence the prefix "up", meaning both to the north and having a greater altitude). Distance from New York City is also a consideration. Complicating any definition is the usage of the word "upstate" (in lowercase) as a direction, rather than as the name of a region.
Another common perception of the Upstate/Downstate boundary locates it at the point at which New York City's suburbs segue into its exurbs. This line would place most, but not all, of Westchester and Rockland counties south of the boundary, putting the northwestern edge of Rockland as well as the northernmost quarter of Westchester (such as Peekskill) in Upstate New York.
A more nuanced view would suggest the boundary lies further north. Because most New York City bedroom communities in Dutchess and Orange counties are situated in the southern part of those counties and the New York City's suburban public transportation system extends some distance north, the Upstate/Downstate boundary can be defined roughly by a border extended from Wassaic (where Metro-North's Harlem Line ends) across to Poughkeepsie, down to Newburgh and then across to Middletown and Port Jervis. This definition of Upstate New York corresponds to the yellow and green areas on the map above and roughly corresponds with the area north of Interstate 84. This imaginary line also demarcates the northernmost reach of high housing prices associated with the Downstate region in contrast to the relatively low housing costs found further Upstate.
Particularly within Upstate New York, the definition of the word "upstate" is often much further north. For instance, many communities clearly beyond the New York City commuter orbit are part of New York City's media market, which includes Dutchess, Ulster and Sullivan counties, and thus do not get local television (via cable) from Albany or Binghamton TV stations. Many upstate residents note that the state capital of Albany, being mostly dominated by New York City-area politicians, has more in common with downstate than upstate, and imply that everything in between, including the Hudson Valley region and occasionally the Catskill Mountains, can be considered downstate; for example, Buffalo News columnist Donn Esmonde (in defending Caroline Kennedy's abortive Senate run) criticized Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's upstate credentials by saying "In the end... [w]e get a [so-called] 'upstate' senator whose Hudson Valley base is equidistant from New York City and Albany, the state’s power centers."[1] Charles Schumer once famously stated "To me, the West begins across the Hudson River."[2] Politics aside, the term "upstate" is occasionally used (somewhat ambiguously) to refer to Northern New York, including the Adirondack Mountains, as opposed to other areas of traditional upstate such as Western New York and Central New York.
Many, if not the majority, of 'upstate' residents do not actually refer to themselves as living in Upstate New York, but rather one of the more localized areas they live in, such as Western New York, Central New York, the Finger Lakes, the Southern Tier, the Capital District, etc. In addition, while these residents will talk of 'downstate', many will also call New York City simply 'the City'.
For some, the term Upstate evokes sentiments of rural lifestyles and traditional values contrary to those of New York City. In the New York metropolitan area, usage of the term "Upstate New York" typically implies unfamiliarity with (and occasionally condescension towards)[citation needed] the area that the speaker is denoting as such. It denotes areas that are both somewhat north of and considerably more rural than the home location of the speaker. Usage of the term is often taken to be an insulting manifestation of the famous New Yorker magazine's view of the world.[citation needed]
New York City is dependent on upstate for a variety of services; it is the source of the city's water supply via the Delaware Aqueduct and the Catskill Aqueduct; much of the city's electric power supply comes from state owned hydroelectric plants at Niagara Falls and the St. Lawrence River such as the Robert Moses power station; and most of the state's prisons are upstate; hence the popular term "being sent up the river" (however, the term originally referred to Sing Sing, which is "up the Hudson River" from New York City, but being in Ossining in Westchester County is still in the "downstate" region). Conversely, the operation of state facilities providing these services is an important part of the upstate economy.
Although much of the eastern end of Long Island is rural, Long Island is never considered upstate, as it is not contiguous (one cannot pass from Long Island to upstate without either navigating waters or passing through New York City). Long Island is also significantly wealthier than upstate regions are and has a significantly different culture.

[nypike]

I agree with bigred

[Lookin Up]

from here up

Ditto...  Lake George and everything west of it, up state.  Everything east of it is down state and then there is the city.

[Grady95]

If you are from Long Island or any of the five boroughs, upstate NY is anything north of the Tappan Z Bridge.  Being from western NY, I always thought of it as anything north or west of Albany.  Honestly,I don't really know what this means!  I just know it pertains to me somehow.  My favorite lakes are all in "Upstate NY" though and that's all that matters.  Now let' go catch some fish!!
Stay Sharp, Be Safe
Grady

[jkoegel]

I think it applies more when talking to people from outside of NY. They all think we live in NYC when you say you are from NY.
When you say "Upstate NY" they don't immediately assume "New York City"
I never use the term when talking to other people from NY. Most of us are from "upstate NY".

[ICE4ME75]

i live in the greene county area and consider myself an"Upstate" New Yorker. anything north of newburgh is upstate to me.

[pooley]

it just depends on your location. i live in rockland county. i have beautiful mountains outside my window, but can be in manhattan in 35 minutes! i would say anything from the catskills north, and west is upstate new york.

[FISHFORPIKE]

i live in the greene county area and consider myself an"Upstate" New Yorker. anything north of newburgh is upstate to me.

So you put greene county residents in the same geological area as folks from, say, St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties (on the Canadian border)?    I feel that the other terms I hear to define the more northern areas of the state to be more defining than "upstate".  Like: the     "North Country of NY", Central NY, Western NY, Southern-tier of NY, Northern NY, the Adirondaks of Ny, Capital Region, etc. 

[Gamalot]

West of the Hudson river and north of the Delaware river.

As soon as you break over the Tapanzee and get out of the smog & stink you are in Up State NY.

Gary

[fishman79]

there's 3 major parts to NY, politically, financially, and geographically...
NY is the metro area of NYC and long island
upstate is the area around albany, Schenectady, up to lake George, etc
The Forgoton state is everyone else... also known as the people who pay the bills and get little for it.

[ICEMAN73]

there's 3 major parts to NY, politically, financially, and geographically...
NY is the metro area of NYC and long island
upstate is the area around albany, Schenectady, up to lake George, etc
The Forgoton state is everyone else... also known as the people who pay the bills and get little for it.

BRAVO!!!!

[th31278]

well people from outside New York State and from NYC and the island all consider Upstate anything north of yonkers.

Me, I'm from the capital district.  

Upstate to me is the ADKS

then there's central NY (west of amsterdam out to somewhere between 'cuse and rochester)

Western NY

Downstate - anywhere south of green and columbia counties.

**bonus area**

Flatlanders - from the westchester/nyack area south to the city and including long island, NJ, CT  

Agreed

[TimberKing]

WOW  lots of post here. So I have to add my 2 cents.. Upstate to some is just a state of mind where we can get away from our daily lives and relax. To me it has always been the the Adirondack's "A great place where I spent my youth. A place were the state has come in and bought more land that they can afford ,Plus taken the land off the TAX roll. Costing town Town and County's Millions. A place where the State has put people out of work, By shutting down their business's ie. "Loggers". A place where the young have no future,because of no jobs thanks to the state and the tree hugger's types. Maybe at best a job grooming trails and running flatlander down the river.
                                               The best part is now they call my HOME A PARK!!!!
  sorry to have gone on like that. just thinking outloud.
  Dwight