Why "Nobody" Lives In Upstate New York

7.5 million people is not “nobody” or “empty”

As someone who lives in upstate, don't feel bad if you forget there's more to our state than the city, our state government does too

You can see this when flying over NY in a commercial plane. The land and Finger Lakes look mystical from the air, like you're entering another dimension.

as an introvert in upstate ny, I see this as an absolute win

Upstate isn’t “empty” it’s just that NYC is SO populated

On behalf of the empty part of the state we like it that way. We invite the crowds in NYC to stay where they are.

Syracuse Binghamton and Buffalo are pretty big. Maybe not classified as major but still big ass cities

I moved to Upstate New York from Idaho, and there are a lot of things that feel similar about the people and towns...just a lot less distance between places. (I previously lived in SoCal, where there is so much traffic and sprawling suburbia suburban. Upstate NY seems empty compared to that, but it's far from empty.)

Born and raised and still live in Rochester, I have never felt that upstate NY is "empty."

As somebody who lives in Buffalo and has my entire life, I think the single biggest reason why people don't relocate to upstate New York is the weather. The three largest cities outside of NYC (Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse) all get an unfathomable amount of snow that dominates the months of December - March. If you're looking to relocate, why would you intentionally move to an area where you have to wake up an hour early every single day in the winter to shovel a significant amount of snow out of your driveway before you can leave for work? Of course, if you have lived here awhile you really do just get accustomed to it, but if I was relocating from an area that doesn't get much snow, this would be a huge deal breaker to me personally. For the first time in 70 years, Buffalo's population increased which honestly isn't too surprising. The city has a lot to offer, is relatively safe, and is extremely affordable. My first house I bought in 2020 was 1600 sq ft., in move-in ready condition, and cost less than 150K. The small village of Gowanda has houses even larger and cheaper than this. So when much of the country is facing an affordability crisis, Buffalo and WNY in particular seem to be relatively unphased. if you can brave the snow and cold in the winter, you'll be awarded with some of the most beautiful summer weather in the country. It rarely gets too warm (proximity to the lake), rarely gets severe weather, and there are always a plethora of sunny days to enjoy. In the fall we have amazing foliage, and many local farms that boast the regions many locally grown apples and grapes. Not to mention regular farmers markets selling fresh beans, peas, and corn as the majority of this region is still agricultural (albeit on a smaller scale than the midwest). I personally would have probably moved to a warmer climate if my family lived elsewhere, but the older I get the more I appreciate the area. And honestly, I would rather have a blizzard than a hurricane or tornado.

As someone who lives Upstate it would be great to have the 5 counties of New York City and Long Island form their own State. Most of us are tired of paying for the mess that is New York City.

I love our waterfalls in NY. The Finger Lakes are now a respected wine region and Taughannock Falls has been in so much media. There's a wonder of the natural world an hour from me. People know "15 miles on the Erie Canal" where I grew up. The Adirondacks are not only forever wild, but have a chair design named after them. Apples are named after different NY places and things. Car guys know Rochester carborators, and helical gears were invented in Rochester which are in every car. NY even made the iconic steam engines still in operation. There's so much history in my state.

I married a western New Yorker, but we lived in another state for many years, just coming back a couple times a year to visit family. Every time I said we were “going to NY,” everyone assumed I meant NYC, so I learned to say “western NY” and mostly got blank looks. We moved to the Finger Lakes region several years ago and it is absolutely gorgeous! All of “upstate” N.Y. is, with beautiful trees, mountains, valleys, an abundance of waterfalls, rivers, and lakes. I’ve lived in a lot of states, and this is truly the most beautiful, in spite of cold winters!

I'm an Irishman, and I visited Upstate New York last summer. Lake George is simply stunning. Cant wait to go back some day

As a nobody who lives in upstate NY, I can confirm that this is 100% true

What a great presentation! Very informative, well paced, good look at history (the maps helped), beautiful photos. Thank you for this excellent look at the state of New York.

As a Brit,I have travelled the length and breadth of New York State, and it is absolutely beautiful.

As a person born and raised in Elmira, NY, upstate population has been very much impacted by the loss of manufacturing jobs during the 1970's and 1980's. Elmira had 10 major factories in 1970; by 1980, they were all closed. While upstate New York was never as populated as New York City, many more people lived there (proportionally) during the 1950's and 1960's when good jobs were available.

As a person from upstate NY just the beginning of this video makes me mad, it is FAR from empty.

Born and raised in Massena.. all the big attractions were in Canada.. shopping . concerts, dining.. heck the only rock stations I could get as a kid came from CHEZ 106 in Ottawa n CHOM FM in Montreal.. First time I saw a middle turn lane was 18 when I went to college in Rochester