Anything north of the Bronx is considered upstate where I am.
OK, I guess perspective is everything. I thought you had to get further up the Hudson River before the word “upstate” applied. I guess that makes Poughkeepsie nearly on another planet...
As you said, “Upstate” is an entirely relative term. I’ve talked to Greenwich Village residents who think Midtown is “upstate”. I live in the mid hudson valley, and I don’t consider it “upstate”. Like so much in life, terminology in relative.