Growing up ‘on’ Long Island, I wasn’t really sure what to expect going to college eight hours across New York State. I live in the suburbs of traffic, beaches, bagels and a train ride away from New York City. In my mental map, New York consisted of the Big Apple, Long Island and Upstate.
I traveled approximately 400 miles away from home to attend college at SUNY Fredonia, an hour south of Buffalo. I expected the green forests, huge snowstorms and missing the bustling city. However, I wasn’t prepared for being chewed out by the locals for calling Western New York, ‘Upstate’.
Understandably so. I’ve met many friends and professors from the area over the course of three years bickering with me over pizza, the Bills and things I’ve never even heard of. I realized that Western New York owns a unique culture that makes it stand out from geographic counterparts.
My mission is to learn more about Western New York culture coming from the perspective of a downstate, Long Island girl. I want to take a step in your Bills Zubaz pants and explore a place that I never knew about. Hopefully, from an unbiased standpoint, I can answer or get close to “What makes Western New York, Western New York?”
Help me explore your region by providing recommendations and new places to try! This is me, Sara, trying Western New York!!
