What is ‘Upstate’ New York?
Defining the Regions of New York
According to the Empire State Department website, there are 10 defined regions of the state: Western New York, the Finger Lakes, the Southern Tier, Central New York, the Mohawk Valley, the Capital Region, Mid-Hudson, New York City, Long Island, and the North Country. As you can see, there is no defined “upstate” New York region.
A Diverse Range of Opinions
However, the opinion on the topic differs based on where you grew up. For instance, people from Long Island or New York City seem to think “upstate” is either anything north of the city or anything from Westchester up. The argument for this seems to be “I don’t know what else I would call it” or “I consider everything north of me to be upstate.”
Native Northeastern New Yorkers Weigh In
When you ask native northeastern New Yorkers, however, this is where the semantics really start to come into play. Some say upstate begins at Poughkeepsie, some say Greene County, and some say none of the above.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Take
In an interview with Two Buttons Deep, Gov. Kathy Hochul said upstate begins “north of Westchester.” This, however, seemed to be the least popular answer by a small percent among those polled when asked to choose between north of Poughkeepsie, north of Westchester, and anything north of the city.
A Personal Perspective
Personally, I never put much thought into this until recently. I always thought it was generally accepted that anything north of, but not including Poughkeepsie, was upstate New York. Turns out that couldn’t be further from the truth. To my surprise, there are people at NEWS10 from the Capital Region who don’t even consider Albany upstate.
A Regional Divide
The argument there seems to be this: Albany is in the middle of what people call the Hudson Valley and upstate, even though it is a part of the Capital Region which seems to be widely accepted as part of upstate. There is also the argument that upstate begins at the state’s capital.
Conclusion
It’s unclear what upstate actually is. Maybe we’ll never know for sure. What do you think? Send your opinions over to astanley@news10.com.
FAQs
* What is the definition of “upstate” New York?
+ There is no official definition, and opinions vary widely depending on where you grew up.
* Where does upstate New York begin?
+ Opinions range from Poughkeepsie to Westchester to the state capital, Albany.
* Is Albany considered upstate?
+ Some people from the Capital Region don’t consider Albany upstate, while others do.
