Anything north of the immediate suburbs of New York City (i.e., Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, and Southern Orange counties).

Kindly note: Long Island is Long Island. It is not upstate. It's easy of the city, not north.

upstate new york does not refer to the proximity of new york city; its the entire state in general. upstate is anything north of westchester county.

The 5 bouroughs, nassau, suffolk and weschester are downstate.

the only debate is westchester, not because of the social/economical connections with the city, its just that its north of the bronx. But most people say that it is downstate.

if you think long island is upstate then you are obviously from one of the citys bad schools or from any upstate school (north of weschester). Learn your geography! This isnt that hard! Not one person I have ever met has even knew that this was a "debate"(which its not).

Contrary to what many here seem to believe, there is more to NY than NYC/Long Island/"Upstate". People over 20 miles south of Albany do not generally consider themselves upstate, and sometimes take offense to being told so by people from NYC. Currently, the upsate economy is sadly depressing, but one can still see the remnants of the beautiful area full of character that once was Upstate New York in Saratoga especially.

The beautiful subrban part of new york. The real New york. It is a cultural ritzy expensive part of new york. Itis not all city thee is some farms. Upstaters are not hicks they just own lots of land and enjoy having fun. The average size of a yard is 1.5 acres. It is the most beautiful area of new york. It is home to niagra falls. It also has some big cities, Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany. But it is also home to some tiny cities. Phoenix Fulton Baldwinsville. We are the rel tough new yorkers that can stand anything.
LONGISLAND IS NOT A PART OF FUCKING UPSTATE

To all the morons on here and the pretentious Westchester County residents that don't want to be lumped into the upstate category: go kill yourselves. First of all, anything north of the New York City, not its suburbs, but New York City is considered upstate New York.

Second, I don't know why everybody thinks that people who live in Manhattan are so special. People who live in Manhattan are not even real New Yorkers, they are transplants from the mid-west or other lame regions of the country. The real tough New Yorkers with the famous attitude that we all get stereo-typed as live outside Manhattan in boroughs like Brooklyn and the Bronx. Outer Boroughs, here's a news flash: you have nothing in common with the rich elitists who live in the city. No one cares about who you are or your slummy neighorhood. New York gets all the lime light because of Broadway, 42nd Street, Wall Street,the Upper East Side, etc. No one thinks that Queens is where its at, so quit being such arrogant bitches about being from New York City, cause you're really not. Newark and Hoboken are as NY as you. Your crummy boroughs were incorporated into greater metro NY to expand the political power of the city. You and your stupid borough are not important.
Upstate NY is a term that does no good because it does not precisely define a specific area, instead it lumps an entire region north of NYC together. In reality not all part of upstate New York share the same cultural, political, or social characterist...

The vast area encompassing New York State north of Westchester county. A varied mosaic of farmland, woodland, picturesque rolling hills, and towns and cities ranging from the charming to the decrepit. Generally more provincial and less cosmpolitan than its densely urban New York City counterpart, its citizenry is more approachable and friendly albeit less refined and cultured than the pretentious yuppies of New York and Long Island. Some of its urban centers are buoyed economically and culturally by the influence of many universities and (in the case of the capital region) government administration centers; however most of its large cities are mired in varying states of urban decay and have been hemorrhaging population since the 1950s due to a steady loss of jobs and a subsequent increase in crime. Utica, Rochester, and Newburgh are particularly miserable places to set foot in. Its more rural areas, which feature breathtaking landscapes, are lovely and bucolic albeit mind-numbingly boring to actually live in.

In summation, upstate New York is too large and varied an area to define succinctly. As a native resident of New York City who went to college upstate I can both laud it for being physically beautiful and its natives for being candid, frank, and hospitable while noting that I would never want to live there permanently as life there can grow trite, repetitive, cold as hell, and insufferably boring after a while and the locals' lack of sophistication and city-esque ...

border of CANADA crazy north where everyone knows everyone and you can see amish people anyday