Why "Upstate/Downstate"?

I named this site Upstate/Downstate because it's vaguely related to travel (the initial incentive for creating it) and also serves as a shorthand distinction between rural and urban, the small town and the city, and the city and the big city. Despite their differences, Wabes and I like visiting them all. Also, while we both currently live in a "downstate," we grew up in other regions of the country known as "upstate" and "downstate" and as such are both a little defined by such labels and everything they mean. So we embrace them.