I grew up in Syracuse, and as silly as it sounds, I was never fully aware that I lived in Upstate New York until I went to college. I always considered myself part of Central New York, and anywhere north (Watertown, Saratoga, Plattsburgh, etc.) was actual Upstate New York. Other students assumed Upstate-esque things about my identity that I was never aware of, which caused me to question why there was so much beef about my hometown. Upstate is generally considered as anywhere north of New York City, aka middle-of-nowheresville (but how is that possible if almost the entire state is considered Upstate?). A Syracuse native, I am here to tell you how actual Upstate New Yorkers feel about living Upstate. And it's nowhere near as bad as people say it is.
1. I will never admit that I live in Upstate New York.
Syracuse is in Central New York. Buffalo is in Western New York. Albany is the state capital. Anything north of these cities is Upstate, hence the term UP-state.
2. I wear sandals in 30-degree weather.
Over time, you become accustomed to the weather, and you feel an innate need to defy it whenever possible. Partly sunny and 30 degrees? Sandal weather. Snowy and negative windchill? Maybe I'll put a coat on today.
3. It's not all farmland. Not at all.
New York is home to 101 state parks, 49 state forests, one state fish hatchery, one state wildlife area, one state wildlife management area, three national historic sites, one national historic park, five national wildlife refuges, one national recreation area, one national seashore and countless other unlisted parks. Upstate is known for its nature, but not all the nature is farmland.
4. I never knew that I had an "Upstate accent."
An integral part of the Upstate dialect is hypernasality. For example: Heeai, maeei naime ees Eei-na. I painfully realized that I had an accent when people outside of Syracuse didn't understand what my name was because of my accent. (The "A" sound in "Anna" needs to come from the back of my throat.) Resembling a fusion of a Canuck and a Minnesotan, the accent emphasizes "A" and "E" sounds, and hardens the soft "A."
5. I have more knowledge about the Iroquois than the average person.
One word: SCOOM. An acronym for the Five Nations in the Iroquois Confederacy: Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk. Because we live in this historic region, our elementary school teachers made sure SCOOM was engrained in our heads for the rest of our lives. And aside from that, we can effortlessly spell and pronounce places like Skaneatelas, Canandaigua, and Schenectady.
6. Tom Cruise? (The voice of) Spongebob Squarepants? I know them.
Well, not really, but I feel like I do. They were both born in Syracuse—where stars are born. Tom Kenny (the voice of Spongebob) even went to the same elementary school as me. Does Tom Cruise's daughter's name (Suri Cruise) just coincidentally sound like Syra-cuse?
7. I have a natural bond with anyone from Upstate New York.
Isn't it funny how the one thing humans can agree on is the type of weather we want to experience? Since 1940, Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, Binghamton, and Syracuse have taken turns in winning the Golden Snowball award. The endless amounts of snow is one aspect that links Upstaters together, and New York State doesn't feel so big when you know that almost 500,000 people are experiencing the same weather, dialect, food, nightlife, and nature as you.
