Gay/Lesbian in Cleveland/Chatanooga, TN (Chattanooga: relocate, job, university)

[kayla709]

Hi,

My girlfriend (we are gay) and I may be moving to Cleveland, TN because of a job transfer. I have always lived in rather liberal/accepting towns, and I am not sure what to expect in Cleveland, or in TN for that matter.

One response to a previous post of ours did address this, but I'm hoping for more feedback, opinion, etc. I want to know if we'll be comfortable in TN, can I be "out" and not afraid, what will reactions be if we walk through town holding hands, etc....

Any thoughts on this? Any personal experiences? Thanks in advance for your responses.

[chr1stys]

I'm not gay, but most of my friends are.
There are a couple of "gay" bars/clubs in Chattanooga, but the scence is nowhere near what Atlanta has.
To my knowledge, being out has not been a problem for any of my friends, though they all live in Chattanooga. Cleveland may be a little more conservative

[TriDad]

Can you name some of those bars/clubs/places

[jkmewright]

Originally Posted by TriDad

Can you name some of those bars/clubs/places

What? You wanna go to the show? LOL

Chucks, Allens, Images, the Big Chill has a nice mix...

[financelife]

I wouldn't think there would be too much of a problem although this is the south. I would imagine that people will leave you be as long as you're not perceived as trying to push the "gay agenda" or convert children. lol.

[lolou]

My g/f and I relocated here last year (I went to h.s. here and moved away for years, came back from Chicago; she's a small-town Michigan girl). We both really like it - we definitely don't get out as much as we should, but we haven't had any issues with anyone here. We're not obnoxious about public displays of affection or anything like that, but we do hold hands in public. We're both out and neither of us has faced any backlash here b/c of that.

Good luck!

[mitch1156]

my partner and I will be moving there soon if you are gay and living in chattanooga now can you let me know how things are going for you..

[SarkaVrae]

i don't think you'll have much of a problem in Chattanooga, but you may run into more "offended" people in Cleveland because of Lee University and the huge amounts of Churches in the area (73 in Cleveland proper--on the last count about 6 years ago when i was in school--from just one denomination). People are people everywhere--some are nice & some are not. I hope you two find all the nice ones & enjoy your move.

[lweaver86]

Hi, I moved here from Cleveland, OH. All I can say is that clevelend, TN is nothing like Ohio. Not very liberal, or okay with gays. There is one college in that town, Lee University which is a Christian school, and they make it very clear that being gay is wrong. Of course there are some places, but if you want to go out you are better to be in Chattanooga. Cleveland is very small bible belt town. I am now attending UTC, which is more liberal, but if you are use to be very out with being gay, you are not going to be as comfortable here. Sorry to tell you this, but thought I should pre-warn you.

[u4icmusic]

There is not much gay life in Chattanooga, but I have found the people here have a "live and let live" attitude. My husband and I (yes, we are gay AND married) have not encountered any problems or issues with anyone here and we live in a more rural part of town. Of course, we don't hold hands in public or dress like girls either.