Sad for sure. My family came from the Hudson/Athens area of NY and had been there since the mid/late 1600’s. Glad my dad left the area when he became a naval officer. Gave me a wider knowledge of the world getting to move around so much. No home town roots though. Sadly, the high density population centers control what goes on just by sheer weight of numbers. Kind of like here in NV. Vegas and all it’s union power make it tough for the rest of the state to have it’s voice heard.
It is a shame with NY state; there is beautiful land and resources, but no opportunities.