Lesbian life in various places (recommendations? warnings?)

[doxie-chan]

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.

If I end up in Boston, I would definitely be interested! Good luck with your decision and let me know if you're heading out east...

[purpledinosaur]

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??

Hey, I'm considering Chicago, and I'm really happy to hear that the gay life there is great! If you don't mind my asking though, what specifically makes you say it is great? Are there just generally a lot of queers and resources and such? I'd really appreciate any info you can give me!

[fosgfp]

Hey, I'm considering Chicago, and I'm really happy to hear that the gay life there is great! If you don't mind my asking though, what specifically makes you say it is great? Are there just generally a lot of queers and resources and such? I'd really appreciate any info you can give me!

Hey! What school are you looking at?

Chicago has a lot of resources and events. There is a more male dominated area called Boystown, which is more of your typical gay bar scene. Andersonville and Wicker Park are more lesbian dominated, and there are a number of lesbian bars, female owned sex shops, vegan coffee shops, other stereotypical lesbian things, etc. There are also city wide events/festivals, such as Reeling, which is a great GLBTQ film festival that happens every November. During the summer, besides Pride, there are a lot of street festivals and the like in each area.

I hope that helped! If you want any other info feel free to post here again or send me a PM

ETA-- Less superficially, there are also many health resources for the queer community and the city is overall very gay friendly

Edited March 6, 2012 by fosgfp

[jbriar]

Ann Arbor, Mi- Yes, queer/LGBT friendly.

[inciragaci]

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??

hey fosgfp, I don't know if the mailing list of this website is still active, but when I was living in Boston, I found my internship at a queer theater through here, and a friend found queer roommates. hope it helps: http://www.queeragenda.org/

[purpledinosaur]

Hey! What school are you looking at?

Chicago has a lot of resources and events. There is a more male dominated area called Boystown, which is more of your typical gay bar scene. Andersonville and Wicker Park are more lesbian dominated, and there are a number of lesbian bars, female owned sex shops, vegan coffee shops, other stereotypical lesbian things, etc. There are also city wide events/festivals, such as Reeling, which is a great GLBTQ film festival that happens every November. During the summer, besides Pride, there are a lot of street festivals and the like in each area.

I hope that helped! If you want any other info feel free to post here again or send me a PM

ETA-- Less superficially, there are also many health resources for the queer community and the city is overall very gay friendly

Vegan coffee shops, yay! That sounds awesome, especially the PLURAL lesbian bars... here we only have one, and it's not even officially a lesbian bar.

I'm looking at the University of Chicago, which so far I looooooove.

[fosgfp]

Vegan coffee shops, yay! That sounds awesome, especially the PLURAL lesbian bars... here we only have one, and it's not even officially a lesbian bar.

I'm looking at the University of Chicago, which so far I looooooove.

UChicago is in Hyde Park, which is on the south side (as I'm sure you know). The neighborhoods I mentioned are all on the north side, and not super easy to get to from Hyde Park unless you have a car. Just something to consider Again, let me know if you have any other questions!

[fosgfp]

hey fosgfp, I don't know if the mailing list of this website is still active, but when I was living in Boston, I found my internship at a queer theater through here, and a friend found queer roommates. hope it helps: http://www.queeragenda.org/

Thanks! I will definitely check it out

[purpledinosaur]

UChicago is in Hyde Park, which is on the south side (as I'm sure you know). The neighborhoods I mentioned are all on the north side, and not super easy to get to from Hyde Park unless you have a car. Just something to consider Again, let me know if you have any other questions!

I know... stupid Chicago, being so freaking huge.

But still, I'm glad to hear that the city in general is super lesbian-friendly! And it seems like UChicago has its own resources for its LGBTQ students, like meetups etc.

Thank you so much, I will definitely PM you if I have more questions.

[crazygirl2012]

Ann Arbor, Mi- Yes, queer/LGBT friendly.

Any specific tips for getting involved in the LGBT community in Ann Arbor? I'm not going to U Mich but I'll be fairly close to it. Very easy driving distance. I'd be particularly interested in meeting other lesbian grad students.

[stell4]

Growing up in Boulder, I had always considered Ft. Collins to be pretty conservative. The town has really come around a lot since I was in high school. Of course it still is more conservative than Boulder (isn't everywhere?). There's a lot of grads who end up staying there after college which helps contribute to a younger population, and all of the amazing things to do outdoors has drawn in a lot more. Maybe not the most exciting nightlife scene, but there's always Denver.

[Chukwu Chucks]

lesbians? I like them!

[2666]

Does anyone know about the gay life in Pittsburgh, PA? Is it a gay friendly city or is it rather conservative?

[runaway]

surprised nobody has posted this yet:

http://www.autostraddle.com/tag/queer-girl-city-guide/

[crackerjacktiming]

Seconding the question about Louisville, KY! I know KY is fairly conservative on the whole, but is Louisville an exception?

[runaway]

Louisville is the closest thing to an exception, I think, but still not entirely accepting-- I think the fact that they team up with Indiana for pride (Kentuckiana) is a pretty good reflection of the state of the community. I spent some time with my girlfriend in Louisville and definitely felt uncomfortable holding hands or dancing, things I feel completely comfortable doing in places like New York and Boston. We got looks-- and not just looks of mild curiosity, but a few really hateful ones.

[crackerjacktiming]

Oy! I'm sorry you went through that. Louisville isn't my top choice, but that doesn't sound like the most queer friendly of places. I also may be biased because I'm coming from a very accepting area of NY. Thank you for sharing your experience!

[citychild]

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 know this is old, but I go to ASU but not the main campus. All, well 95%, of LGBT life at ASU is in Tempe which impacts the climate dramatically if you fall outside one of the majors at that campus (like for me as a social work major who goes to the Phoenix campus). I could go on and on about the climate at ASU/Phoenix, but needless to say, my experiences are such that I will be going to graduate school elsewhere.

[Another Crazy Poet]

Hey All,

This is a great thread and I'd love to hear more feedback about the following cities Nashville, Santa Barbara and any word on the cultural diversity of these places?

[Quant_Liz_Lemon]

Hey All,

This is a great thread and I'd love to hear more feedback about the following cities Nashville, Santa Barbara and any word on the cultural diversity of these places?

I second that. How's Nashville?

[ladyling]

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.

A very good friend of mine went to school in Lawrence. She's straight, but is part of a mixed-race couple. She and her partner have experienced a LOT of hateful behavior, including threats to their safety. Not exactly an open-minded place.

[ladyling]

Hey All,

This is a great thread and I'd love to hear more feedback about the following cities Nashville, Santa Barbara and any word on the cultural diversity of these places?

I went to high school in Santa Barbara. My school itself was fairly diverse as it was a public high school and I'm told the same is true of the university, but the city as a whole is not. It's geared toward wealthy, predominantly white consumers. That isn't to say it doesn't have its advantages--it's a beautiful place, and especially if you like the outdoors, there's tons to do, and LA's only an hour and a half away along the PCH if you get bored. But cultural diversity? Not so much.

[BeingThere]

ALERT:  Straight person's comment, for what it's worth.  Considering how conservative Kentucky is, I'd say Louisville is quite a remarkable exception.  I find that in my sphere of friends and hang-out spots, there is a wonderfully vibrant gay community.  I moved here from San Francisco 12 years ago.  Thought I would stay one year and actually have been very comfortable as a liberal straight person.  I imagine it must be a very different experience to actually be gay (and have to face discrimination), but the folks in my life who are gay are thriving here.  There are gay bars and there is a robust gay social and local music scene.  In short, you could do better, but if you got accepted to grad school in Louisville, you could definitely do a lot worse. 

 

As for partnering with Southern Indiana for PRIDE, Louisville and Southern Indiana partner for a lot of events.  Louisville is a small city surrounded closely by small towns across the river in Indiana.  It's a matter of a relatively small population to begin with, not that Louisville relies at all on Southern Indiana for support with gay-friendliness.  In fact, just the opposite.  Southern Indiana is much more conservative than Louisville.

[Psychgrrrl]

Excellent! Thank you for the information on Louisville. :-)

[Psychgrrrl]

I second that. How's Nashville?

Liz, I've never lived in Nashville, but I have quite a few lesbian friends who do. They seem very satisfied with it, lots of live music and other places to hang out. If you have more specific questions, either post them or PM me, and I will ask my friends.