My take, and what I've heard from other readers (not Cookie, I haven't read with her) is that regions, states, countries can mean different things to different people, readers and clients. New York and California could mean "long distance ". Or even a particular accent (southern) could come out as Georgia, "the south", or Florida. I had one reader say NYC, but then tell me when they see the New York City skyline it symbolizes the tristate (NY, NJ, CT).