Does Austin have a "gayish" neighborhood?

[artsyguy]

lol. I don't play rugby.

Ya I guess I don't care much for the overall equality of gays but much more for me not being single anymore. Then, later I can deal with equality.

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

Single and searching is, indeed, an issue. But in order for there to be true equality for gays, there needs to be the kind of blending that we're discussing.

It appears that there ARE places for you to go, though (gay rugby teams? who knew?) without there being entire gay ghettos and that at least one person here actually has a clue as to where one can meet potential mates.

[geoquiz3000]

I understand your frustration, Arstyguy... I didn't really care for being single and feel like it was a bolt of lightening striking when I met my current partner. I just don't have any comparison really since I've only been adult and out here but I can see how it would be hard--I feel really lucky as my dating interlude was none too pretty. I can definitely see the attraction of being in a place like Cedar Springs if you're young, single, and want to meet someone.

Right, it would not include any singles. The report authors use couples as a surrogate for individuals, assuming that the proportions are similar which probably does not always hold true, especially in traditional gayborhoods where lots of single guys live. I think the wording from the Census was "How is this person related to Person 1 [the person who fills out the survey]?" and one choice was "unmarried partner." That along with another bit of info about the gender of the two people gives you the number of same-sex unmarried partners.

If anyone's interested here's an update to the 2000 Census on this subject--
http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinst...dGLBpopACS.pdf

Notable items from this 2006 update are that greater Austin has the estimate 6th highest per capita gay/lesbian population in 2006 of all US metros, at 5.9% of the adult population (around 61,000 people). Dallas-Fort Worth has the estimated 7th largest population of gay/lesbian adults at 183,000, slightly more than Atlanta or Miami-Fort Lauderdale. This puts the Metroplex g/l percentage at 4.5%. If you just look at the City of Dallas, the percentage is 7% which is actually higher than Austin.

[artsyguy]

Seriously, there are so many single gay guys in DFW area. It is really unbelievable. That could be why it seems like there are more gays there. I like the unity that gays have there too. They just seem to be in harmony with the city or something... Nothing against Austin. I think if I was not single, it would be an ok town to live with my BF in.

Originally Posted by geoquiz3000

Right, it would not include any singles. I think the wording from the Census was "How is this person related to Person 1 [the person who fills out the survey]?" and one choice was "unmarried partner." That along with another bit of info about the gender of the two people gives you the number of same-sex unmarried partners.

If anyone's interested here's an update to the 2000 Census on this subject--
http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinst...dGLBpopACS.pdf

Notable items from this 2006 update are that greater Austin has the estimate 6th highest per capita gay/lesbian population in 2006 of all US metros, at 5.9% of the adult population (around 61,000 people). Dallas-Fort Worth has the estimated 7th largest population of gay/lesbian adults at 183,000, slightly more than Atlanta or Miami-Fort Lauderdale. This puts the Metroplex g/l percentage at 4.5%. If you just look at the City of Dallas, the percentage is 7% which is actually higher than Austin.

Again, the report authors use couples as a surrogate for individuals, assuming that the proportions are similar which probably does not always hold true, especially in traditional gayborhoods where lots of single guys live.

[Slappy san]

Gay coffee shops? Really?

[artsyguy]

lol. yes. it is sort of funny isn't it.

Originally Posted by Slappy san

Gay coffee shops? Really?

[soulful]

Geoquiz... thank you so much for the detailed info. re the eastside and the links. Both of your posts have been so helpful.

Actually, thanks to everyone in Austin who has responded to my posting. You've all been a big help and full of good information!

[jesuisfou]

Originally Posted by geoquiz3000

Wow, I like the diversity of opinion here... I agree w/Horselady that UT is a rarified environment in which to date, especially if you're a gay grad student. During my grad school days I never actually dated another student, the pool of people I regularly had classes with was so small there just wasn't anyone of particular interest. I guess it's coincidence, but I actually met both my first and current partners at small parties held by friends of friends, where someone just mentioned they were going and asked me to tag along. I'm fairly sociable and easy going, so my personality probably helps me to feel comfortable in those types of situations and I understand that not everyone does as well in a room of strangers.

As for data:

Based upon data from the Gay & Lesbian Atlas, Dallas does have more gay folk overall and is barely beats Austin for per capita gay male households (index of 1.48 to 1.41). Austin has a very high concentration of lesbian households (#12 for the nation's top 50 cities) which makes Austin overall "more gay" than Dallas, but only percentage-wise and not in sheer numbers.

The tremendous size of DFW and Houston's urbanized areas (both over 5 million) compared with Austin's 1.5 million, coupled with the fact that Dallas and Houston have been big cities for a lot longer than Austin (during the 60s and 70s when most gay districts evolved) would virtually assure that these cities have way more gay people and contribute, I believe, to their gayborhoods.

You're right, Artsyguy, about Dallas having a tremendous gayborhood. The most heavily same-sex-coupled neighborhood in Texas is zipcode 75219 in Dallas (I assume that's Cedar Springs?), which is actually the 8th gayest in America, beating out even Chelsea in NY and the Haight in SF (the Castro, Provincetown, and West Hollywood are the top 3). Again, this is in terms of concentration (per capita) of same sex couples which is the only data the Census really has, so it's a surrogate and doesn't reflect the absolute size of the populations.

I've heard anecdotally that Montrose is no longer the gay concentration it once was but am not familiar at all with Cedar Springs. I think Dallas and Houston's size and history allow them to offer both options, while Austin's culture and relative smallness have not contributed to formation of a gay district.

In fact, last I heard 77006 has the highest concentration of censused same-sex couples in a given Zip code in Texas.

[BluesConnect]

Houston's gay area, Montrose, is second in its gay population only to San Francisco. We moved to Houston in the 70s and lived in Montrose. Back then it was hippie, gay, intellecutal, aclectic, the Greenwich Village of Texas. It's pretty much still the same except that developers are ringing the area with condos and apartments. It's close to downtown, has tons of antique shops, pubs, trendy restaurants, the best hair stylists, etc. St. Thomas University is in Montrose and right next door is the Musuem Area and right down the street is the Medical Center. I'm not gay and would move back to Montrose. It's suppose to have the highest crime rate in Houston, but we've never been bothered when we've gone there for parades, art festivals, and night life. Houston's Montrose has been a well-established gay area for 30 years. Austin has just boomed in the last 30 years, and as was mentioned before, probably just didn't have the room for a "gay area" to develop as downtown was always the UT college scene.

[geoquiz3000]

Originally Posted by jesuisfou

In fact, last I heard 77006 has the highest concentration of censused same-sex couples in a given Zip code in Texas.

Montrose is virtually tied with 75219 for the largest number and the most concentrated Texas zip code for gay couples in the 2000 Census. There are clearly a lot of problems with measuring gay populations since it's not something directly tracked by the Census, such as the fact that singles are not counted but instead couples are used as a surrogate figure.

Here's another online resource that's really interesting (if you're a data geek like me): Texas: www.gaydemographics.org USA data

It shows the epicenters of Dallas (75219) and Houston's (77006) gayborhoods each had around 500 same-sex couples. Cedar Springs is 14.8% of all couples and Montrose is 16% so it is the most concentrated in Texas. I had heard (from a relatively low income gay Houstonian friend) that wealthy yuppies had pushed up property values in Montrose and so lots of gays had moved out, but that was my only info. It looks like there are still lots of us living there.

If you add in Dallas' downtown zips (75204, -01, and -02) and 75235 you end up with another 300 or so couples in the general area of Cedar Springs. Other major concentrations extend down Greenville (75206) with 230 couples and NW (75209, 75220, 75229) with another 400 or so.

Oak Cliff/Cockrell Hill in Dallas (75208 and 75211) has 500 or so couples too, a second gayborhood maybe? White Rock Lake/Lakewood has several hundred also.

The areas surrounding Montrose (77019, 77002, 77004, 77005, 77098) had another 500 or so at least. The (greater) Heights area (77007, 08, 09) had 670 couples. Not sure if there's much of a gayborhood feel there or not.

In Austin, 78722 is the gayest but since it's a small zip code it doesn't have the most. Here's the list:

78704 -- Travis Heights/Bouldin/Zilker area with 300 couples (4.3% of total couples)
78745 -- Manchaca/Brodie/Sunset Valley/Oak Hill area with 200 (2.1%)
78758 -- Far North Austin with 166 (2.2%)
78723 -- NE Austin/Cameron Road/Windsor Park with 150 (3.3%)
78751 -- North Loop/"North Hyde Park" with 86 (4.3%)
78722 -- Cherrywood/Wilshire Wood with 65 (6.6%)

Of the 29 Texas zips with 150+ gay couples in 2000, 10 were in Houston, 4 in Austin, 14 in Dallas/Richardson, and 1 in Mission (The Valley).

Anyway, as we've all more or less said, the really big gayborhoods are in Dallas and Houston while in Austin we tend to spread out more. None of Austin's neighborhoods have the "gayborhood" feel of Cedar Springs or Montrose, in my opinion, but for me I prefer to occasionally visit those places rather than live in them. Were I single and 25... who knows?

As for Montrose having the country's second biggest gay area, based on the (admittedly flawed) Census data it's no longer one of the top areas (I'm tired so this is a quick-and-dirty from the above source, based on zip codes):

Castro-Mission-Noe Valley, San Francisco with 4,000 plus
Andersonville/Boystown/Lincoln Park, Chicago 2,000
West Hollywood, LA 1,600
Balboa Park/Mission Hill/Hillcrest, San Diego 1,500
DuPont Circle, DC 1,500
Greenwich Village/West Village, NYC 1,400
Chelsea, NYC 1,300

Since Montrose (and Cedar Springs) are split into more than one zip code (to be fair so are the above areas), based on the Texas info above, I'd guesstimate them both at around 800 couples each, and probably next in line after the ones listed above.

[BouldinG]

Sorry to bring this back from the dead, I just wanted to echo allAmericanTx's sentiments, for posterity.

Austin just might be the best place for as close to healthy living a gay person can find. If you have no qualms about being gay, you'll find Austin to be teeming with a large array of inclusive diversity. Living, working, contributing, and dating, all over Austin.

The gay thing just isn't an issue here. It's on par with caring what color your car is.

If you've been conditioned to "feel comfortable" in a gay neighborhood, that's something you have to take up with wherever you've come from. Try to see the benefit of not needing a gay neighborhood, not insulating yourself from the rest of society, and instead becoming a part of said melting pot.

And in Artsyguy's case, a town where you can hit on a straight person and no harm will come to you. And besides, how many more gay art kids do you need!? I can't throw a rock a few feet without hitting one, not that I'm complaining.

Here, everyone eats at the same table. And we all watch out for each other. Gay/straight, dem/rep, muslim/catholic, whatever. We like people who don't look like us.

So quit yer wimperin and welcome to Austin!