Gay-Thinking of moving to Austin (Round Rock, Cedar Park: living in, airport, bars)

[Lucky12010]

Hello Austinites,

My partner and I are thinking of moving to the area. I wanted to get some insite on what kind, if any, gay community there is, where to live and how friendly it is. Please let me know what you think. Will be visiting in July of next year to make the final decision. Thank you for your assitance.

[passionatearts]

I'm not gay, but I know that Austin is a very gay-friendly city. You may be surprised to find that Austin doesn't have a "gay district" like some larger cities, but from what others have told me, the gay culture here is fine.

FYI, the Austin board has a few members that take every opportunity to bash Austin as much as possible. I won't name names, but you'll know who these people are when you see their posts. Take their exaggerated claims with a grain of salt.

[jobert]

Originally Posted by passionatearts

FYI, the Austin board has a few members that take every opportunity to bash Austin as much as possible. I won't name names, but you'll know who these people are when you see their posts. Take their exaggerated claims with a grain of salt.

I'll vouch for that. There is a real love/hate thing going on with some people and this town. It's kind of odd. Maybe other towns have the same sort of "fan club" but I don't know.

The Advocate ranked it 9th amongst the most gay-friendly cities:


http://blogs.abcnews.com/campuschatter/2010/01/magazine-ranks-austin-among-top-10-gay-friendly-cities.html

As for any gay areas? I always thought that South Lamar had the closest sort of vibe.

[1mintjulep]

I'm gay, and it's fine. I've been here for 9 years, the last 4 of which I've had a partner. There's no "gayborhood," but there are several gay/lesbian clubs/bars; we have a Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and also the Austin International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. There are a few gay sports leagues, and probably some other stuff, too.

Austin itself is pretty friendly. While you'd probably be fine in the surrounding areas, like Round Rock, Pflugerville, and Cedar Park, you'd probably feel more comfortable living in the city limits.

[AverageJoe82]

Just moved here, my wife and I noticed that there's a considerable gay community. Austin seems to be a very tolerant and forward-thinking city, you should be fine.

[mimimomx3]

Austin is very open minded, all seem to be welcome here.

[chuck_steak]

Austin is very gay-friendly. The gay areas are mostly 4th Street downtown and SoLa which is South Lamar.

[doctorjef]

The bars have traditionally been clustered in the 4th Street "Warehouse District"/"GuyTown", but actually the bar scene in Austin is pretty small, while the gay community in Austin is not at all ghetto-ised. In other words, you can live just about anywhere in the city and feel comfortable, although I think Central and South Central Austin are best (however, having said that, there is a gay-favoured area close to the old airport east of I-35, as well as areas in North/North Central Austin). It's very open and Austin has been considered one of the best places in the country for gay and lesbian couples; not as ideal for singles.

[mimimomx3]

Austin is welcoming to everyone.

[Lucky12010]

Thank you everyone for your encouragement. I appreciate everyones comments. We are visiting soon and have been looking for housing in the North/North Centeral area. I may relocate with my company, which is in Downtown Austin and I hear traffic coming from the south is awful, we will see when we visit. Keep the comments coming if there is any other input.