Date:  Thu, 3 Nov 1994 18:27:03 -0600

From:  Daniel S Goodman <dsg[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MAROON.TC.UMN.EDU>

Subject: Re: new york city and upstate



On Wed, 2 Nov 1994, M. Lynne Murphy wrote:



> which leads to the topic of "upstate" and "downstate". to us up

> rochester-way, anything from the catskills south is "downstate" but

> to the NYCers, westchester co. (commuting distance) is "upstate". (i

> frequently have to explain to people that no, being from upstate ny

> doesn't mean you get to benefit from the culture of the city. it's

> a7-8 hour drive for me.) the relativity of these terms is

> interesting, but not as interesting as in illinois, where someone

> from dekalb or rockford (NW of chicago) can be from "downstate".

>

I never encountered the term "downstate" applied to NY State till

recently. (I grew up in Ulster County, lived a while in The City.)



When people ask where I'm from, I sometimes say I'm from the part of the

Appalachians that used to be Dutch-speaking. It shortens the explanations.



Dan Goodman dsg[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]maroon.tc.umn.edu