Just from the photo, I think I know his town. I don’t live far away.
Indeed, all of NY State is in an absurd situation. The best jobs, pensions and health care (besides the relative few on Wall Street) are with government. Everyone just accepts it. In all ways, including weather, it reminds me of softer version of late-communist Eastern Europe
If you can earn a living, and can avoid taxes - Upstate NY is a pretty good place to live. Leftists have mostly avoided flooding small towns with rootless migrants. Cost of living is low (besides taxes) and people are long-term and stable.
While we have left CNY and are glad for being away from the government and the dreary weather, there are some stunningly beautiful areas of Upstate and I do miss the agriculture and other aspects of the state.
There was a lot to do in Upstate and I enjoyed the rural life there.
“Upstate NY is a pretty good place to live.”
Small towns in western NYS also are very nice — where I grew up. They’re actually more “Tennessee” than Tennessee is in some ways. When we visit, we see more Confederate flags there than we do in TN — seriously. (THEY know the flags don’t represent slavery; THEY know they’re symbols of rugged individualism and freedom.)