What does "upstate" mean in the US?
What does "upstate" mean in the US?
I hear it in movies so the time. We're going upstate. I went upstate. Etc
I never hear downstate, or similar. Does it just mean going north?
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Like others are saying, it is a new york thing. But in general, upstate means further from the city than where the speaker lives. Until you crouse some imaginary line, then downstate means closer to the city. Comonly, but not always, it is used in a derogatory sense. They city people think the upstaters are rural hicks. And the upstaters think the city people couldn't survive outside a city. Source, I grew up in an area that didn't consider itself upstate, but all the city people sure did.
Is it due to the fact NYC is in the southern part of NY?
Yes but also when people are telling someone they're from New York they tend to assume the city, so the follow-up answer is for clarification. The state is big and wildly different from NYC
Yeah, I went sightseeing to Niagara Falls, then to Buffalo. They're nothing like NYC.
I think it's elevation as much as north/south.