Palm Springs

[+ Charlie]

I have decided to move to Palm Springs. Does anyone have interesting information or insights to offer that I won't find in the Chamber of Commerce brochures?

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

The Desert

 

Palm Springs is different if you have never lived in the Desert. For example, it can get very cold at this time of year, down to the upper thirties. However, the ten day forecast ranges from 60 to 67.It also is an extreme enviornment, once you leave the manicured, manufactured green lawns and palm trees that are prevelant in the urban center. The outlying area includes Joshua Tree National Monument, a number of mountain ranges and two deserts, including the Mojave. As your tour books will indicate, there are a lot of outdoor activites for the hiker, rock climber, camper, etc.

 

As far as gay life goes, there is, unfortunately, a great deal of drinking and a great deal of "going out to eat" to a number of places that are more about socialization than they are about good food. It is commonly stated that people drink because there is not much to do, but that is not genuinely true. The gay population is older, you do not see very many twinks or men in their mid 20s to mid 30s out and around. You can see any number of men in their 40s, 50s and 60s who still work out, stay in excellent shape and are sexually active. It is a fairly white community without being racist.

 

It is close not only to Los Angeles, but also San Diego. In addition to the small airport in town, you are an hour from the Ontario airport. Except for the fact that is landlocked, I could see myself living there at some point.

 

I could probably write more paragraphs but I think this will give you a good sense. You can find the main, feature and news oriented publication on the web at http://www.psbottomline.com/

 

This web site has some good information under the secondary links, such as services, organizations, etc. http://www.palmspringsgay.com/

 

If you have any other specific questions, please feel free to ask them here and I will do my best to answer.

[+ Charlie]

RE: The Desert

 

Thanks, Franco, especially for the links. I am one of those gay men in his 60s who is physically active, is not interested in twinks, and really enjoys the extreme desert climate, so nothing you have said is discouraging, except your comment on the restaurant quality (I have already noticed there isn't much ethnic variety in food, which is discouraging). I am more interested in finding socially useful as well as stimulating things to do there, rather than just entertainment.

[Guest AdamLVescort]

RE: The Desert

 

I have to say I LOVE Palm Springs... There is a dear friend of mine that lives there and I try to go down there often to escape the Vegas escapades. There are a lot of wonderful places to eat.. and if your ready to live your life in a small town atmosphere that is it.. Yeah it has its draw backs from where it is located but road trips can be fun too...

 

Later,

Adam

XOXO

http://www.theadambomb.com

[+ deej]

RE: The Desert

 

Another thing to recommend Palm Springs: the new mayor is gay and is actively promoting/courting gay businesses and activities BEYOND the White Party.

[J-Man]

RE: The Desert

 

>Another thing to recommend Palm Springs: the new mayor is gay

>and is actively promoting/courting gay businesses and

>activities BEYOND the White Party.

 

One might also note that not only is the new mayor gay, but he is BLACK (and VERY cute!) ... I bring up his ethnicity only in response to the previous post wherein the "whiteness" of the area was mentioned.

[J-Man]

RE: The Desert

 

>Another thing to recommend Palm Springs: the new mayor is gay

>and is actively promoting/courting gay businesses and

>activities BEYOND the White Party.

 

One might also note that not only is the new mayor gay, but he is BLACK (and VERY cute!) ... I bring up his ethnicity only in response to the previous post wherein the "whiteness" of the area was mentioned.

[Guest 10cc]

I celebrated my birthday this year in Palm Springs. It was my first visit and I enjoyed it. With that said I don't think I would ever move there. It's pretty isolated from larger cities (Los Angeles 90 minutes away and San Diego is about 2 hours away on the highway from hell). Good luck to you in your new hometown.

[Guest 10cc]

I celebrated my birthday this year in Palm Springs. It was my first visit and I enjoyed it. With that said I don't think I would ever move there. It's pretty isolated from larger cities (Los Angeles 90 minutes away and San Diego is about 2 hours away on the highway from hell). Good luck to you in your new hometown.

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

Ron Oden

 

Is the first black and the first gay mayor. Here is an interview with the local daily in Palm Springs where he discussed this in November, shorlty after his election as mayor.

 

http://www.thedesertsun.com/news/stories2003/opinion/20031123023335.shtml

 

He has, on the other hand, been a member of the city council for some time. His election was viewed largely as a response to the privious mayor and what many perceived as his clearly homophobic attacks on the gay community and the harm that those attacks had a tourism, which is the largest economic engine in Palm Springs. However, Palm Springs is a majority white area and I even believe Latin Americans comprise a greater majority than they do black.

 

My "fairly white" comment referred to what one might expect in public gay places, such as bars, dining establishments and the like. I meant no implication that the community, either gay or straight, was racist.

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

Ron Oden

 

Is the first black and the first gay mayor. Here is an interview with the local daily in Palm Springs where he discussed this in November, shorlty after his election as mayor.

 

http://www.thedesertsun.com/news/stories2003/opinion/20031123023335.shtml

 

He has, on the other hand, been a member of the city council for some time. His election was viewed largely as a response to the privious mayor and what many perceived as his clearly homophobic attacks on the gay community and the harm that those attacks had a tourism, which is the largest economic engine in Palm Springs. However, Palm Springs is a majority white area and I even believe Latin Americans comprise a greater majority than they do black.

 

My "fairly white" comment referred to what one might expect in public gay places, such as bars, dining establishments and the like. I meant no implication that the community, either gay or straight, was racist.

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

Palm Springs Dining

 

There are a couple of very good Mexican American cusine places, far beyond the usual tourist trap. There is a real good sea food place and an excellent chop house a client likes to take me too. However, I often prefer to cook in Palm Springs and, by and large, while there are a number of acceptable places to eat, it is extremely poor if you limit yourself to places catering to the gay community and the more popular area establishments are family dining and the like.

 

I have yet to find a good Indian or Thai establishment, for example, and only some really bad Chinese places.

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

Palm Springs Dining

 

There are a couple of very good Mexican American cusine places, far beyond the usual tourist trap. There is a real good sea food place and an excellent chop house a client likes to take me too. However, I often prefer to cook in Palm Springs and, by and large, while there are a number of acceptable places to eat, it is extremely poor if you limit yourself to places catering to the gay community and the more popular area establishments are family dining and the like.

 

I have yet to find a good Indian or Thai establishment, for example, and only some really bad Chinese places.

[Guest msclonly]

There waa a really good Chinese place in Palm Desert.

I believed it was called Red Dragon in the complex with the Washington Mutual Bank. Don't know if it changed ownership, but it was consistently good across HWY 111 from the Desert Crossing Complex.

[Guest msclonly]

There waa a really good Chinese place in Palm Desert.

I believed it was called Red Dragon in the complex with the Washington Mutual Bank. Don't know if it changed ownership, but it was consistently good across HWY 111 from the Desert Crossing Complex.

[+ Charlie]

Thanks to all of you for the information, which I couldn't have found easily on my own. If anyone does know of a good Indian restaurant, as well as other ethnic restaurants (Belgian, Hungarian, German, Japanese, etc.) I'd really appreciate it.

[+ Charlie]

Thanks to all of you for the information, which I couldn't have found easily on my own. If anyone does know of a good Indian restaurant, as well as other ethnic restaurants (Belgian, Hungarian, German, Japanese, etc.) I'd really appreciate it.

[+ Lucky]

Charlie, I am curious what other cities you might have considered and how you came to pick Palm Springs.

My understanding is that they do have some pretty nice restaurants for the ritzy crowd...

[Guest msclonly]

There were MORE good middle range places to eat in the desert, then there are in San Diego. SD has a lot of fast food and take out.

 

}(

[Guest Utopia]

Charlie I am curious too how you decided on Palm Springs and what other cities you considered and why you ruled them out. Also San Diego has some exceptional resturants especially in La Jolla and in North Costal County.

===

"You realize that life goes fast

It's hard to make the good things last"

[foxy]

I spent a week or two in Palm Springs every winter for over 10 years. It was fascinating to watch the changes take place over the years. I regret not buying a very nice little house on Sunny Dunes Road for $82,000. I wonder what it's worth now?

For me the best part of Palm Springs and what I miss most, is the quality of the light, early in the morning as the sun comes up over the mountains and in the evenings with the sun going down and the zillions of stars coming out. We don't see many stars in NY City. Those clear brilliant days with deep cobalt blue skies, it was magical. You can even escape the summer heat by taking the cable car up the mountain. A great place to hike in the summer or ski in the winter. Palm Springs is a fun place to ride a bike or ride a horse. Who doesn't like to play cowboy? I say, go for it and have a guest bedroom (and a pool). And invite Franco to come cook for you. I hear he's very good.

[Luv2play]

When I retired 6 years ago friends who had previously retired and spent their winters in PS suggested I do likewise. I had been there once for a 4 day holiday over the Memorial day weekend and had some fond memories of a pretty wild place. So I decided to spend a 10 day vacation there during the winter before I retired just to get a feel for the place. I stayed with my friends and met many of their friends who wintered there. Maybe because I was a houseguest, there seemed to be a social gathering everytime you turned around. Dinner parties, brunches, pool parties, visits to local gay guest houses, it was pretty hectic.

 

But what I noticed was that there was a lot of heavy drinking going on, something I don't personally like. The folks were friendly but the gossip intense. If you like to have a private side to your life, I imagine it would be difficult there. As for younger men, during the week, these were few and far between. The pace picked up on the weekends when people came out from LA or elsewhere. For a gay single man, I found that unless you decided to pair up with someone, you might find yourself at loose ends many an evening. PS is a resort, not a real city, so unless you really get into those kind of activities, such as golf, I would look hard before jumping in. I did (and decided otherwise).

[Guest Utopia]

Luv2play I tend to agree with most of what you said.

 

Since I was born and grew up in San Diego I am a bit biased but I would think that it is one of the best places to retire. It's close to everything, has a small town feel yet is a big city and exceptional weather.

===

"You realize that life goes fast

It's hard to make the good things last"

[Guest Utopia]

I should clarify my post I am not retired I just feel San Diego would be the best place to do so.

===

"You realize that life goes fast

It's hard to make the good things last"

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

In The Kitchen With Franco

 

>I say, go for it and have a guest bedroom

>(and a pool). And invite Franco to come cook for you. I hear

>he's very good.

 

I also tend to wear foot wear when I cook . . . .