It's pretty common for people living in NYC to refer to anything north of the city as "up state". I'm not sure exactly where that boundary starts but I'd imagin

It's pretty common for people living in NYC to refer to anything north of the city as "up state". I'm not sure exactly where that boundary starts but I'd imagine it's somewhere near the first grouping of 3 or more trees. It's so common in fact that I'd be willing to bet the author lives or lived in NYC and you have some relationship with "up state". :)