I think most Noo Yawkahs feel that way about the rest of the country.:razz:
Perhaps because "most folks" in this country can't, or won't, distinguish between NYC and the entire rest of the State? And that's a very ignorant and narrow minded world view and another topic altogether.
But I disagree. I think that "New York" has the same connotations as "London" or "Paris". All these cities still have that elite status that people associate with a higher standard. Sure, they're all in some state of decline, but they're admired for what they once represented concretely, and now more abstractly. And this is good because most of this Country's other benchmarks are long gone. When you say 'steel', is Pittsburgh the first thing that come to mind? How about 'cars'? Detroit? Nope. What aspiring (fill in the blank) wants to move to, say, Duluth to make it big? See what I mean? (No offense to you Iowans.)
Love it or hate it...and I'm NJ born & bred so you know which side of the fence I'm on...New York still has an allure to it. And nobody should be ashamed of where they call home.