Why do people refer to the northern part of New York as upstate New York?

Question

I live in northern Wisconsin and when people ask me where I am from, I dont say I am from upstate Wisconsin.

Answer 1

I live in NY State... and the reason we tend to do this is because when we tell people we are from N Y people tend to think we mean NYC... I hate to say this, but many people assume all of NY is like that when in reality its not... we who live upstate have farms around us , open spaces , trees etc... and it is our way of separating ourselves from any stigma / pre conceived opinions associated with living in the city...

Answer 2

I am originally from Upstate New York. The distinction between Upstate And Downstate depends on where you are from. If you live in the City, anything North of Yonkers is considered Upstate. If you live Upstate, the Northern Edge of WestChester County is considered Downstate. It's a designation because most residents of New York State have "New York City" and "Not New York City" The average guy in Idaho or wherever doesn't understand that there's a lot more to New York State than Concrete and Skyscrapers. There's actually places that are worth living other than the worlds largest cesspool.

Answer 3

I'm from Michigan and we have the Upper Peninsula, but I guess that kinda makes sense since it is a different part of land.

I was actually thinkg about that today...why is Chicago called Chicagoland...like that's LONGER not SHORTER :-)

Upstate does sound cooler than Northern New York. I guess they say "Upstate" because if you say "Northern New York" people might think you're talking about the city

Answer 4

They say upstate New York to differentiate themselves from New York City.
I am from Chicago, we call all of Illinois downsate, even the western part of the state. Chicago and New York are great cities, but you can be in the same state and have rural areas with farms and forests.

Answer 5

because most people think of New York City when they hear New York. Thats why they say upstate New York

Answer 6

I used to live in Wisconsin and we used it whenever we drove up north (upstate) to our cabin. Just because you don't use it doesn't mean that other people can't or don't.

Answer 7

upstate new york doesn't have the redundant sound that northern new york does...one of those peculiarities of human nature...

Answer 8

ms fortunes got it right. whenever i say im from ny, people are like oh nyc how is it! and i have to explain how i'm not from the city, i live about an hour from the city, bla bla bla

Answer 9

Perhaps because the terrain goes uphill !