Gay - Gay friendly cities

[Spida]

I currently live around the Boston area, I would love to move, this city is getting to me! I just have no idea where to start considering, I would love NYC, but that is not feasible right now, I again loved San Fran but it is also so expensive.

 

Any suggestions of cities that are very gay friendly? Warmer climate, cool places to hang out and meet others? I am ready for a move! I have been to San Diego a few times I hear it has a great area of town that is very gay and that it is gay friendly. I would love a smaller citie that has some of what NYC and San Fran has I am just not sure it exsists.

 

Thanks for any suggestions, it may just be that it is August and we haven't had a summer to speak of! I am already dreading the cold that is on the horizon!

 

Thanks for any suggestions..

[Guest JohnPela]

>Any suggestions of cities that are very gay friendly? Warmer

>climate, cool places to hang out and meet others? I am ready

>for a move! I have been to San Diego a few times I hear it

>has a great area of town that is very gay and that it is gay

>friendly. I would love a smaller citie that has some of what

>NYC and San Fran has I am just not sure it exsists.

 

I have heard good things about Palm Springs. With the proviso, that its better to be there during late fall to spring and spend summers somewhere cooler. There is a very active social club, The Prime Timers.

 

Chicago has a wonderful gay area but the winters are bad.

 

Ft. Lauderdale is very gay friendly with the bars, clubs, restaurants, arts and on the water.

 

Key West is too far from anything, expensive but great warm weather but on plus side has the bars, very gay friendly (1 of the 4 city commissioners is openly gay, very popular and connected), arts, local theatre and the local gay residents are very close knit.

[Trixie]

Dearest Spida,

San Francisco is indeed expensive, but there's always Oakland and Berkeley, just 15 minutes away across the bay. Here we are usually 10 degrees warmer than SF, quite a bit less expensive, and just more than a tad less pretentious. (Oakland is, after all, the Queen of the Pacific's ugly stepsister.)

Be forewarned, however, that liberty breeds contempt, and in "gay-friendly" cities, the least friendly folk you're likely to meet will be other gays. There always seems to be a chill in the air in the Castro, and I'm not talking about the fog.

If you can just pick up and move, without worrying too much about finding a new job, Portland & Seattle both are pretty wonderful (if you're not bothered by rain.)

 

Trix

[tedbear]

>Chicago has a wonderful gay area but the winters are bad.

 

As a Chicagoan for the last 25 years, I'd like to correct that statement, to say (in my opinion, of course) that Chicago winters CAN be bad.

 

The first few winters after I moved here were brutal. The last several years have seen pretty decent weather in comparison. There wasn't a great deal of snow and it melted fairly quickly, unlike years long ago where snow was on the ground all winter.

 

The couple of really rotten days we had last year just made me really appreciate the better weather we experience the rest of winter!

 

I've driven my convertible with the top down on 50+ degree days in January and February.

 

And gay life here is great. There are several gay neighborhoods along the beautiful Lake Michigan lakefront. There's lots going on and it's easy to be out here.

[+ Lucky]

Is Hooville a gay-friendly city?

[+ Hoover42]

It may appear that way at first, but the residents will turn on you in a split-second.

[OneFinger]

I've lived in San Diego twice and it is definitely a great place. But, I don't know how people can afford it (or any other major city in California). I can't believe how congested and crowded San Diego has become. But, it's probably no more expensive or crowded than where you live now.

 

I also lived in a suburb of Detroit and enjoyed that. Since you're from Boston, you're used to the cold winters and high humidity that are typical of Detroit. But stay away from other areas of Michigan. Detroit is the only area where there is a good gay community. When you get outside the Detroit area you need to turn your watch back 40 years.

 

I moved from Detroit to Grand Rapids and couldn't believe the difference. As late as the summer of 2000 the Grand Rapids area was experiencing cross burnings from the KKK. And don't forget about all those militia-types running through the woods shooting anything that moves.

 

Another factor when you consider the mid-west are the tornadoes. That's an experience I wouldn't wish on anyone.

 

I have friends that live in Portland and I've been very impressed with that area. Affordable living, beautiful scenery, and an active gay community.

 

I've also heard good things about the quality of life in Omaha. Not exactly an area I thought would be gay friendly but I do know they have a very active community. Just don't expect the shopping and social outlets that you'd find in Boston, NYC, or LA.

 

Good luck.

[FourAces]

San Diego is not a small city nor is it exceptionally gay friendly. San Diego is the second larest city in California (population) and has a small gay ghetto known as Hillcrest. Outside of this area you'll find many conservative, traditional family-value houeseholds. It is also an expensive city where you'll one bedroom rentals run 1,300. and the average home price is just above the $625,000 mark.

 

San Francisco is very gay friendly but even more expensive than San Diego. As Trix mentioned you can live in Oakland or Berkley to save some money while being 20 minutes from the SF action ... as long as traffic isn't too bad.

 

Ft. Lauderdale is also very gay friendly and seems to have an active gay population. The cost of living is considerably less than California plus the weather is generally nicer than Boston.

 

I want to throw Las Vegas into the mix as well. It isn't known as the most gay friendly town but it has a small, rapidly growing community. There is currently a population boom and many of those moving here are open-minded Californians who can no longer afford to live in the golden state.

 

Good luck with your decision and let us know where you end up.

 

RT

[Spida]

I have heard good things about Portland and Seattle, is Portland less rainy than Seattle? I must go visit that area, my uncle used to live there and LOVED it!

 

San Diego is I think the 5th largest city in the country, I have been there a few times, but it was for vacation everything is different on vaca. It is much more spread out than Boston so it didn't feel so cramped and congested. I have never been to Chicago but I will be there in Sept for a long weekend, I may not be able to really visit the gay area though I will be with folks that I am not "out" to. But if I do get away for a short time, what should I check out in Chicago.

 

As for my finances and moving, I have some money saved and don't have any debt so, moving would be somewhat easy for me. I have a small amount of work that I could do to sustain me no matter where I go, until I find a job. I have good skills and a good resume so I am not worried about a job as long as the economy is somewhat decent in the area. thanks for all the suggestions so far, lets see my destinations for consideration are portland or Seattle, ft Lauderdale and I will check out Chicago but I really would rather live somewhere warmer. I am not too interested in Omaha, interesting suggestion though, I was surprised that it would have a thriving gay community.

 

thanks so far for the great suggestions, the move is probalby 6 months off but seems somewhat imminent, I need a change..

[+ deej]

>But, it's probably no more

>expensive or crowded than where you live now.

 

Indeed. Once you've lived in one of the "pricey" cities, they're all pretty much the same.

 

When I first moved to Chicago, people asked me if I was shocked at the high prices. I'd spent the previous 10 years in DC & NYC. I was actually enjoying the slight reduction. LOL

 

>Another factor when you consider the mid-west are the

>tornadoes. That's an experience I wouldn't wish on anyone.

 

Ummmm .... huh?

 

Tornados are no worse than any natural disaster you find in the rest of the country. (I grew up in "tornado alley" so maybe I'm jaded to it.) It's just a thunderstorm, after all.

 

In Florida and all along the Gulf coast, they have much bigger storms called hurricanes. In California, you have earthquakes and mudslides. In the Pacific Northwest, they have a volcano that's been known to get testy (relatively) recently. Ice storms can cripple the eastern seaboard.

 

Mother Nature is everywhere. ;-)

 

>I've also heard good things about the quality of life in

>Omaha.

 

This actually doesn't surprise me. The few times I've been in Omaha on business, it struck me as just utterly "nice". (And proud to be that way.)

[Guest Cumbee]

Hey Spida

 

I want to throw Denver into the mix. It has a rapidly growing metro area, like ALL big cities I guess. Summers are a little warm, but fairly dry. That makes them very tolerable. Winters are generally mild, with occasionally beautiful and spectacular snowfall. Normally though the snow comes one night and is GONE the next. Daytime temperatures are in the 50's. Drive 50 miles west though and you can have all the winter sports you can handle, as well as in-season camping, fishing, hunting etc.

 

The gay community is small but fairly friendly. Less jaded than in the larger gay "meccas" IMHO. And Denver is centrally located to all western US destinations. It has a large "hub" airport, so travel is pretty easy.

 

Just for your consideration. Good Luck wherever you land.

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

Housing

 

On the assumption that you will buy (or even if you rent), you should look on line for web sites that can give you a sense of how much house (or apartment) you can get within your budget, or what your current residence would cost in various other cities. In this regard, Palm Springs is still affordable, but far less so than it was as little as three, four years ago. I have clients who are flipping one bedroom condos and fairly ordinary two bedroom homes for as much as $100K in profit within one year, without doing much, if any, work on the properties. You can still find good deals there, but not in or adjacent to the "gay areas." This is also true of Fort Lauderdale, but there I do not speak from the experience of a broad base of clients, but simply from friends still there from when I lived there in the early 90s.

 

However, what I consider pricey to be adjacent or in the gay neighborhoods of Fort Lauderdale/Wilton Manors, etc. or of Palm Springs/Cathedral City, may be very affordable for you. Apartments remain reasonable in both areas, but may match what your mortgage payment would be in another city.

 

San Diego is not as congested as Boston but is a very large city without the public transit available in Boston. Because of the navy bases and large armed forces presence, it is also more conservative, both politically and socially. San Diego has frequently elected Republican mayors, which has never happened in San Francisco (or Oakland/Berkeley) and only happened in Los Angeles due to a fluke of circumstances.

 

Palm Springs and Wilton Manor both also have gay council members and Palm Springs presently has a gay mayor.

 

Good luck on your search!

[OneFinger]

>Tornado's are no worse than any natural disaster you find in the rest of the country. (I grew up in "tornado alley" so maybe I'm jaded to it.) It's just a thunderstorm, after all.

 

I agree that all natural disasters can have devastating effects. But I certainly don't consider a tornado "...just a thunderstorm". I've never had just a thunderstorm rip the roof off my house.

 

I've experienced major earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornado's. I can handle almost anything but I have panic attacks once the tornado warnings are posted. It's one of those things that I don't want to be around again.

[Guest Tristan]

Spida, I lived in the Boston area for over 25 years and now live in Ft. Lauderdale. If Boston is endless winter, Ft. Lauderdale can seem like endless summer - very humid with a lot of downpours and electrical storms. South Florida is the lightning capital of the world, but at least I don't have to scrape ice and slip and slide on freezing rain anymore. Even in the winter, it's frequently in the high 60s to 70s at night.

 

It's a much easier city to get around and is very gay friendly. Gay people are everywhere, as is the rainbow flag. While the area is not totally free of gay bashing and that sort of thing, gays are generally accepted and can be more open than in many places. The beaches are nice and easily accessible, much more so than the Boston area. I used to drive close to an hour from Waltham to Crane's Beach. Here I can easily get to the beach area any time I want. Prices have skyrocketed here, but are still much lower than the Boston area. There are a lot of people here from the north and midwest, as well as other parts of the south.

 

If you would like any more details comparing Boston and Ft. Lauderdale, please feel free to contact me.

[+ Charlie]

I don't know how old you are, but I have the impression that you are a lot younger than I am. I recently moved to Palm Springs for the warmth, physical beauty, and large gay community, but I get the sense that it is a better place for older gay men than for young ones. As Franco said, it is still one of the more affordable places in California, but that is changing fast--home prices on my block have almost doubled in the past year.

 

Portland is a wonderful city, but you have to like clouds and drizzle (ditto Seattle, but that is a lot more expensive). Sacramento has a good gay life, but you have to be a political junkie to fit in. I liked Orlando more than Ft. Lauderdale, and it's a lot cheaper, with a friendlier, less competitive gay life. A surprisingly pleasant medium size city that is very gay-friendly is Albuquerque, which has a decent climate and is very affordable (and is only 65 miles from Santa Fe, which is not affordable and can be very pretentious). Finally, if you decide to stay in the northeast, consider Philadelphia, which has everything that Boston has, but is a little warmer and a lot cheaper.

[Guest jaybirdAZ]

Here's one I'm sure you've n3ver thought about -- Tucson, Arizona. It's a queer friendly city, with lots of straight allies in both the city and county government. It was the fourth or fifth city in the nation to pass a non-discrimination ordinance (housing and employment), and that was in 1976. It was the first city and the first (and still only)county to offer domestic partner benefits to civic employees. Only city in the state to have a domestic partner registry. Active political community, boring night life (you can go up the road to Phoenix for that.) One of our federal representative is the only openly gay Republican in Congress (though we still want to get someone more progressive in) and the other is a straight ally Democratic who issued a press release after the Massachusetts ruling congratulating Mass. and reaffirming is opinion that marriage should be open to anyone in any state. it has one of the most active LGBT community centers in the nation -- larger than the centers in many much larger cities. Check out their website at http://www.wingspan.org to get an idea.

[trilingual]

All good suggestions. Here are some more affordable choices:

 

New Orleans - One of the original gay meccas. Housing is affordable, the city is genuinely atmospheric, and the food is to die for. Of course, it's one of the great all-time party towns. The usual metro area amenities (cultural and commercial) including major medical facilities. Summers are hot and steamy, but spring and fall are gorgeous and winter is mild -- one day you have the heat on, the next day the air conditioning.

 

Atlanta - Can also be affordable, physically beautiful (one of the greenest cities in the nation), a transportation hub and all the metro amenities you could want, as well as a huge gay communit.

 

San Antonio and Austin -- Affordable, attractive (even though they're in Texas) good amenities and gay communities, and friendly.

 

Many major Midwestern/mid-South cities (except Chicago): Columbus, Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, St. Louis, Kansas City, Twin Cities. Climate, of course, isn't like the sunbelt, but they're all very affordable compared to the coasts with attractive housing options, thriving gay communities, and the usual amenities of major metro areas. People are genuinely friendly and "nice." They have the advantage of not being tourist meccas (except maybe for Nashville) so the various attractions are actually for and used by local residents. Except for the most northerly cities, winters are less severe than you might imagine. In many cases, they're considerably milder than Boston.

 

Personally, I wouldn't live in cities smaller than these unless I knew them well and I already had a boyfriend! An exception would be a college town, where the university provides a more cosmopolitan cultural and political environment than in comparably sized communities.

 

As you can see, there are LOTS of options, and there's a lot more going on between the coasts than many people realize.

[ServeUncutUncle]

Three things are Essential: Sunshine, Friendly gay Bars and Southwest Airlines for affordable getaways. So Wilton Manors area - Fort Lauderdale it is, there are also lots of nearby choices all under 3 hours for the occasional weekend. South Beach, The Keys and Key West, Walt DisneyWorld/Orlando and The Gulf Resort of Naples. Plus no State Income tax :-)

[+ Axiom2001]

This was a most interesting thread. Since my life is in a stage of transition and I want to leave the area in California where I've lived for some thrity four+ years (the Monterey Peninsula, California)-- the preceding suggestions and information were most valuable! I want a place that's warm almost year around, plus the specifics that the originator of the thread posed.

 

Thanks, men! Axiom-

[Guest zipperzone]

>Three things are Essential: Sunshine, Friendly gay Bars and

>Southwest Airlines for affordable getaways. So Wilton Manors

>area - Fort Lauderdale it is, there are also lots of nearby

>choices all under 3 hours for the occasional weekend. South

>Beach, The Keys and Key West, Walt DisneyWorld/Orlando and The

>Gulf Resort of Naples. Plus no State Income tax :-)

 

But you have to put up with Jeb and Harris.

[Retired Fly Boy]

Fort Lauderdale is a good bet. You can rent a furnished apartment for 6 or 12 months. See if you like the life style first. If it is not for you, well back to Bean Town. As far as the hurricane season, you get at least 4 days warning before they strike, unlike an earthquake. I take a taxi to the airport and pardon the pun, blow town to Las Vegas for 4 days. When the storm is over I come home. Shorts, tee shirt and flip flops are the uniform most of the year. I find Florida a nice easy going way of life. Glad I moved from New York City. You can always hop a flight up north if you need some noise. Jeb Bush is in his second term and can't run for a third, so I have been told. :-)

[Guest RandyRon]

I have to put in another plug for Chicago. To me it is one of the most livable large cities. True, you have a few snow storms but that just makes for a nice white Christmas in my book. The housing prices are high but not anywhere close to those of NYC, SF, LA, etc. Also very Gay Friendly. The local alderman for Boystown is openly Gay as is one of the State Reps. In addition to excellent public transportation there are lots of inexpensive/free things to do such as Ravinia, Venetian Nights, etc. The Gay community is also very active.

 

AND, WE NOW HAVE JEAN CLAUDIO. He should be able to keep anyone warm.

[+ dutchmuch]

>

I have heard good things about Palm Springs. With the proviso, that its better to be there during late fall to spring and spend summers somewhere cooler. There is a very active social club, The Prime Timers.

 

http://www.primetimersww.com

[Rudynate]

Hey Spida

 

I want to throw Denver into the mix. It has a rapidly growing metro area, like ALL big cities I guess. Summers are a little warm, but fairly dry. That makes them very tolerable. Winters are generally mild, with occasionally beautiful and spectacular snowfall. Normally though the snow comes one night and is GONE the next. Daytime temperatures are in the 50's. Drive 50 miles west though and you can have all the winter sports you can handle, as well as in-season camping, fishing, hunting etc.

 

The gay community is small but fairly friendly. Less jaded than in the larger gay "meccas" IMHO. And Denver is centrally located to all western US destinations. It has a large "hub" airport, so travel is pretty easy.

 

Just for your consideration. Good Luck wherever you land.

 

Boulder, Colorado is a small progressive city with a major university campus only 20 miles or so from Denver.

[Rudynate]

It doesn't get much better than Santa Fe - small, progressive, historic, mild winters.