Atlanta has 3rd largest gay population (Roswell, Dunwoody: live, shop, statistics)

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by matt8325

Yeah, i'm sure cities like Newnan, Peachtree City, McDonough, Covington, and Villa Rica are very welcoming to gays. LOL.

You're probably right (minus the sarcasm)...I haven't heard of any suburbs UNwelcoming to gays, and believe me there are gay people living happy lives throughout Metro Atlanta. There may be individuals in practically every corner of the world who don't want gay people in their neighborhoods, but most people in 2008 realize that anyone of any color, religion, sexual orientation, etc. can live anywhere they choose to live...and if anyone is lucky enough to get gay nextdoor neighbors they will probably be the best nextdoor neighbors that person has ever had.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by matt8325

Yeah, i'm sure cities like Newnan, Peachtree City, McDonough, Covington, and Villa Rica are very welcoming to gays. LOL.

Yes; surprisingly so.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by jsimms3

^^^Yea I had never heard of Seattle being so gay,

Note though that they say gay, lesbian, and bisexual are included in that total percentage. We tend to look at things here as up or down, but miss the in-betweens. They eat lots of granola in Seattle - I think that causes it.

Either way, the bigger shocker was "Minneapolis" ??

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by DeaconJ

You're probably right (minus the sarcasm)...I haven't heard of any suburbs UNwelcoming to gays, and believe me there are gay people living happy lives throughout Metro Atlanta.

I've lived in the Atlanta area for 25 years now, and I've had gay neighbors both intown, in Vinings, and here in West Cobb. Few people seem to raise an eyebrow at it. As a matter of fact, I have a roommate, and when we first moved out here to West Cobb in my house, I didn't find out until about a year later that all the neighbors thought we were a gay couple!

Then one day, again a whole year later, a neighbor said something like, "You know, it's none of my business, but just how long have you boys been together?".

Actually, I really laughed. It was great. I told her that no, we weren't a gay couple. Just two long-time friends who were splitting the cost of a house that neither of us could otherwise afford. She turned beet-red, but that's when I found out that everyone else there thought we were a couple too, since they didn't see lots of women coming and going from the house, and as she put it, "The yard looks so nice". Yes, that's right - in West Cobb if you plant a flower at your mailbox - you're gay. LOL!

Needless to say the roommate was sent into mental oblivion, and since that time now makes a point of always working on his car engine where everyone can see him so that as he puts it, "They won't think anything". Geeeeeez. But the point of it was, that according to this neighbor, HAD we been "the type" to move in and fly rainbow flags on the porch, some of the neighbors might not have liked us so much. As it was, they thought we were "mainstreaming" and they accepted us like um, "normal folks". So, I'm not sure gay stereotypes would be so accepted out this way - but "normal actin' gays", seem to be (even if you're not).

Oh, for the record, I know someone who works at the Home Depot in Hiram who says that there are tons of gay couples who buy stuff there, apparently in the tradition of renovating homes. So Paulding has gays, apparently. And they buy lumber at Home Depot.

[Zel Ya]

Originally Posted by GF72

After San Francisco and Seattle, and it's practically tied with Seattle. I always knew Atlanta had a lot, but I didn't realize it was so far ahead nationwide.

source

I think these statistics are flawed, because the source of this chart is the U. S. Census.

I don't trust the U. S. Census stats as to the percentages of same-sex households. Sure, in San Francisco a gay couple would truthfully answer the question but not in rural areas of red states. Consequently, same-sex household stats are meaningless.

If these stats are based on percentages, Santa Fe, New Mexico should be near the top of the list. Santa Fe has a huge GLBT retirement facility and Santa Fe is a relatively small town.

[Zel Ya]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

That is untrue...there are many suburban areas of the city where the gay community is well established.

Unfriendly and well-established are two separate issues.

The Cobb County Roommate Ordinance is clearly anti-gay, even though Cobb County has a large GLBT community.

"Well-established" can encompass a commercial side and a political side. Politically, the gay community is not well-established in many of the surrounding metropolitan counties.

When I had my LA Fitness membership, I was surprised at the number of gay men working out in Gwinnett and Forsyth County. The Discovery Mills LA Fitness, in Gwinnett County, was at least 20 percent gay.

[afonega1]

Originally Posted by Zel Ya

Unfriendly and well-established are two separate issues.

The Cobb County Roommate Ordinance is clearly anti-gay, even though Cobb County has a large GLBT community.

"Well-established" can encompass a commercial side and a political side. Politically, the gay community is not well-established in many of the surrounding metropolitan counties.

When I had my LA Fitness membership, I was surprised at the number of gay men working out in Gwinnett and Forsyth County. The Discovery Mills LA Fitness, in Gwinnett County, was at least 20 percent gay.

Ive always been perplexed that even in the hood in the thickest ghetto's you see rainbow flags and a nice house.These are somewhat dangerous areas but gays seems to flourish there.

[atlantaATL]

ATLANTA does have the highest black population in the USA thats probably a big boost for the city

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

Note though that they say gay, lesbian, and bisexual are included in that total percentage. We tend to look at things here as up or down, but miss the in-betweens. They eat lots of granola in Seattle - I think that causes it.

Either way, the bigger shocker was "Minneapolis" ??

Why is Minneapolis such a "shocker"...?

[GF72]

Originally Posted by Zel Ya

I think these statistics are flawed, because the source of this chart is the U. S. Census.

I don't trust the U. S. Census stats as to the percentages of same-sex households. Sure, in San Francisco a gay couple would truthfully answer the question but not in rural areas of red states. Consequently, same-sex household stats are meaningless.

If these stats are based on percentages, Santa Fe, New Mexico should be near the top of the list. Santa Fe has a huge GLBT retirement facility and Santa Fe is a relatively small town.

The article specifically mentions the chart only ranks MAJOR cities.

Besides, website epodunk lists cities by "gay index" with 100 being the national norm. Sante Fe has a gay index of 201 and Atlanta has 299.