Lesbian life in various places (recommendations? warnings?)

[eikko]

Yea! Thank you so much to all who have taken the time to post and comment on this...I'm actually moving from the west coast (portland) to Rhode Island University in the fall and I'm wondering how gay friendly my new neighborhood will be...Is there anyone, anyone at all, who has been to Rhode Island and knows anything about the community there? I know that URI used to be noted as one of the most homophobic universities in the nation due to assualts, though several years ago, they reversed the trend with a mention in the Advocate as having made huge strides, particularly with a queer center on campus...I'm wondering if anyone on this forum has a perspective on this? Will I need to be in the closet? How accepting are the students at URI? Thanks for any advice you have!

I don't know about URI, but I grew up in eastern CT and have spent some time in Providence, and you certainly won't be in the closet there! There's plenty to do, gay clubs/parties and lots of queer student life around Brown and RISD. Maybe you'd want to live in Providence and commute to URI? Rhode Island is really small...

[wavicle]

Hello! I am considering the following places

Columbia, MO

Lawrence, KS

Knoxville, TN

Ft. Collins, CO and Denver suburbs

Some because they have been ranked as "cool college towns". I am a straight male, but I did a search for LGBT and this seemed like the best existing thread. I'm interested in LGBT friendly cities because I figure, where there is tolerance of same sex PDAs there are open minds. PDAs of course that are tasteful, and not nauseating regardless of the genders involved. Basically, I'm wondering if same sex couples have to "watch their step" in any of these places.

[gellert]

Can I third (or is it fourth?) the Chapel Hill/Carrboro/Durham recommendation? I'm LGBTQA and it's generally a great scene. Especially Carrboro, which can seem more queer than straight. Even the straight people I meet in Carrboro always preface it like, "well, all of my experiences have been heterosexual, so...."

[orst11]

Since this thread has been revived some I thought I would comment some. First off, I wanted to comment on Corvallis, OR since I know it was brought up earlier, but no one had commented on it. Oregon as a whole is fairly split on issues, where many parts of the state are liberal(Portland, Corvallis, and parts of Eugene), Eastern Oregon and rural Oregon is fairly conservative. There aren't any gay bars in Corvallis which is somewhat of a shock given the city is definitely progressive, but most places are gay-friendly.

Hello! I am considering the following places

Columbia, MO

Lawrence, KS

Knoxville, TN

Ft. Collins, CO and Denver suburbs

Some because they have been ranked as "cool college towns". I am a straight male, but I did a search for LGBT and this seemed like the best existing thread. I'm interested in LGBT friendly cities because I figure, where there is tolerance of same sex PDAs there are open minds. PDAs of course that are tasteful, and not nauseating regardless of the genders involved. Basically, I'm wondering if same sex couples have to "watch their step" in any of these places.

I can note on places I have visited in the past. Columbia, MO is probably the most liberal town in the whole state of MO. Even more accepting than KC or St Louis at times, despite Columbia having less LGBT related activities. With that said it is Missouri and while most people won't have a problem, you occasionally will come across some ***hole.

Also, as far as Knoxville, TN, the university area definitely is getting more liberal. Last time I was there there were a few gay bars but once you travel some out of Knoxville it really is hit and miss when it comes to overall open-mindedness. Read about the shooting the a few years ago at the unitarian universalist church and you will then be reminded that the city is in TN. Other than that the city is fairly open-minded but I think tourism throughout the region helps that. I know a few friends of mine have informed that Chattanooga and nearby Asheville, NC have growing LGBT populations as well and are becoming a lot more open-minded than they were in the past.

[gellert]

^ Oh yeah, Asheville, NC is very LGBT-friendly. Stores there even have "visibility matters" or "we welcome all families" stickers on their doors.

[NoMoreABD]

So, if you were a gay couple and had to chose (leaving all other parameters aside for a moment, and focusing only on gay family life, liberal feeling, and places to go out to have fun):

Clemson SC vs. ASU

?

[orst11]

So, if you were a gay couple and had to chose (leaving all other parameters aside for a moment, and focusing only on gay family life, liberal feeling, and places to go out to have fun):

Clemson SC vs. ASU

?

Both SC and AZ are conservative states, but truthfully are completely different when it comes to politics. AZ is more libertarian conservative while SC is more bible thumping conservative. Recently there was some assault on a gay student off-campus at Clemson, which goes to show the state is still somewhat narrow-minded. With that said, the cities of Greenville and Spartanburg do have a small gay scene. I think if you live there you won't have much of a problem, but if you decide to live in Clemson proper it may be harder. Atlanta, Asheville, and Charlotte are also just a few hours a way for more nightlife. As far as the Arizona Valley, I would say gay friendly areas include most of central and parts of East Phoenix, as well as Tempe. I would say Mesa or other parts of the SE Valley are not the most gay friendly given the LDS church's influence there. As far as gay nightlife, I don't think Tempe has much of anything, but Phoenix is really only like 20 minutes away and does have quite a bit to offer.

Looking at family life, I think people tend to be a little bit more hospitable in the SE part of the US than the SW, but with that said I think if your looking for similar families ASU definitely may be a better option.

Comparing just the universities, I would say typically you will find more open-minded people at ASU than Clemson. If you are a member of the LGBT community, working environments are better at ASU than Clemson as well.

[wavicle]

So, if you were a gay couple and had to chose (leaving all other parameters aside for a moment, and focusing only on gay family life, liberal feeling, and places to go out to have fun):

Clemson SC vs. ASU

?

Check out http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=13104 . Really cool site, and the name made me LOL. On a lot of the cities you can view the gay lesbian index, which incidentally are absent from the Clemson page. For example, Columbia, MO has 98% gay/lesbian index. This basically means there are 2% less same sex couples co-habitating in Columbia than the national average.

[orst11]

Check out http://www.epodunk.c...?locIndex=13104 . Really cool site, and the name made me LOL. On a lot of the cities you can view the gay lesbian index, which incidentally are absent from the Clemson page. For example, Columbia, MO has 98% gay/lesbian index. This basically means there are 2% less same sex couples co-habitating in Columbia than the national average.

Clemson,SC is a college town while Columbia, MO is Missouri's fifth largest city, that happens to have a college. Really there is no comparison, given that LGBT communities tend to be larger in more urban areas. The site is good though and I would say take a look at Greenville, SC while looking at Clemson.

[dimanche0829]

Someone was asking about USC earlier:

USC is very LGBQT friendly. It's just a couple miles south of the heart of downtown LA, which has really shaped up over the past couple years to be the mecca for younger, more accepting, and alternative folk (FIDM is also in DTLA).

[NoMoreABD]

Comparing just the universities, I would say typically you will find more open-minded people at ASU than Clemson. If you are a member of the LGBT community, working environments are better at ASU than Clemson as well.

Check out http://www.epodunk.c...?locIndex=13104 .

The site is good though and I would say take a look at Greenville, SC while looking at Clemson.

Thanks guys!

great advice.

hopefully I'll have a choice...

[jjr8888]

What about Madison, Wisconsin?

[orst11]

Madison, WI is one of the most gay friendly cities in the Midwest, possibly the US. As far as nightlife, the city does have a few bars/clubs, more recently trying to cater to a more professional crowd. Prior the city really did only cater to the university for nightlife which I would assume would be hard for anyone out of their mid twenties. Also, for more nightlife Milwaukee and Chicago are really only a few hours away, really for the occasional get away. These cities are connected via Greyhound/ Amtrak. Working conditions for people of the LGBT community are comparable to more progressive areas of the country. If you are somewhat religious you won't have a problem finding a church in Madison as well, given a lot are LGBT friendly.

[mathpharmgrad]

So, if you were a gay couple and had to chose (leaving all other parameters aside for a moment, and focusing only on gay family life, liberal feeling, and places to go out to have fun):

Clemson SC vs. ASU

?

I can't tell you anything about ASU but I can tell you Clemson is in no way, shape or form LGBT-friendly. The campus invited several performers who were openly anti-gay last year. There is a small pride group on campus but they are more of a support group and not too active with the larger campus community. I also spent a lot of time in Greenville and though I never experience any anti-gay displays there, well, I never experienced any LGBT scene either. If there was one I never saw it. In fact I did not meet a single person in my time in SC who openly admitted to being gay or lesbian.

[crazygirl2012]

How about Toledo, OH and Norfolk, VA? It sounds like the general area of Norfolk has gotten some great reviews, as it's fairly close to Durham, Raleigh, and Greensboro. I doubt I would run into serious problems anywhere, because people are always surprised to hear that I'm a lesbian, but I do want to date women while I'm in grad school.

[sociologyplease]

Anyone know anything about Louisville? I hear it's LGBTQ friendly, but I come from Portland, OR, so I'm still expecting some culture shock when it comes to outness of LGBTQ people- is this correct to assume?

[Frostfire]

I've never been to Davis so I can't say anything specifically about that, but personally I find it much more pleasant to be more than tolerated ("I can't imagine your sexuality being an issue"). For me, it's important to live in a place where there is at least some visible gay community for me to feel a part of, and I imagine that the same is true for others.

No gay bars? It's not like I don't go out and drink with straight people! But think about having only gay bars to go to (those of you who are straight). Of course it would be fine, you would have a good time with your gay friends, but wouldn't you also like to go somewhere occasionally where you felt like you fit in? It's lonely to be the only one, or part of an invisibly small group, even if no one gives you any trouble directly. Not to mention boring if you're in the dating scene.

It's been a while, but from what I recall of Davis, you pretty much have to go to SF or Sac to go to a bar. Granted, I didn't exactly get out much, and I'm not much of a drinker anyway, but Davis? Not really a happening place, so to speak. Half the time, we'd go to sac to see a movie that wasn't playing at the smallish movie theater. So ... *shrug* ... keep in mind that SF is about 1 - 1/2 hours from Davis, and Sac is probably 3/4 - 1 hour. Depending on traffic, obviously. So it's not exactly a hardship to head out of town to get your party on.Unless you like to party more than me. Which, actually, wouldn't be hard, but I think you get the idea. ;)But like I said I've never been to Davis. This would apply to most smallish cities, college towns maybe being the exception.

(edited so my reply isn't thrown in with the quoted text. my bad.)

Edited February 7, 2012 by Frostfire

[hungryhungryhipster]

I know it's not on your list, but you can't go wrong with Canada. Except maybe Alberta. Folks there are pretty conservative, but they're also pretty harmless. I think they just try and mimic what they hear on US television or something.

[Historiogaffe]

I'd put in a good word for Alberta, at least for Calgary. I've wandered around there holding hands with my partner, and nothing has happened. As with other big-to-large cities, there's a gradient from queer-friendly to ultra-conservative where neighbourhoods are concerned. Vancouver (especially Commercial Drive and Main), Toronto (especially West Queen West and Kensington Market), and Montreal are pretty hard to go wrong with, and I've heard hip things about Winnipeg (much to my surprise).

[inciragaci]

how about ann arbor,mi or state college,pa? for the most part I've heard good things about ann arbor but I've only ever lived in boston in the states so I don't know how it would compare... any input would be appreciated!

[Hanson's Fan]

The L(os AngeleS)-T(erm) Word- and its nearby counties... Pretty much CA..

[abc123xtc]

How's U of Victoria for queer life? I'm not a lesbian per se, but being freely queer is important to me.

[fosgfp]

Hey, thought I'd join the queer thread. Deciding between Chicago (Uchicago and Northwestern) and Boston (MIT). I am from Chicago so I know gay life there is great, and I had a good impression of Boston when I visited.

Along the same lines, does anyone know any good resources for finding queer roommates??

[doxie-chan]

I'm trying to decide between Princeton and Harvard. I know Boston is pretty fantastic for queer life, but frankly have no idea about Princeton. Does anyone have any idea?

[fosgfp]

I'm trying to decide between Princeton and Harvard. I know Boston is pretty fantastic for queer life, but frankly have no idea about Princeton. Does anyone have any idea?

Can't help on the Princeton front, but if you (and I) end up in Boston we should potentially look into rooming together (if you are interested)... def want to room with glbtq students.