Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Illinois > Chicago Suburbs
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 12-11-2008, 04:33 PM
 
48 posts, read 243,585 times
Reputation: 50

Advertisements

What are the most gay friendly suburbs and the least?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 12-11-2008, 05:43 PM
 
Location: #
9,598 posts, read 16,560,593 times
Reputation: 6323
Quote:
Originally Posted by healinghands View Post
What are the most gay friendly suburbs and the least?
I'd say Oak Park is the most gay friendly. I'm not sure if John Mahoney of "Frasier" fame still lives there, but he did for many years. Any other suburb, I'd look at the ethnic makeup. Chicago is still a very segregated city, and the suburbs are no exception. My guess would be the more ethinically mixed a suburb, the more gay friendly it would be.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-11-2008, 10:21 PM
 
4 posts, read 18,433 times
Reputation: 10
I second Oak Park for being gay-friendly. Not sure which ones would be the opposite.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-12-2008, 12:09 AM
 
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
27 posts, read 150,480 times
Reputation: 18
Naperville never struck me as gay friendly.
I worked there and never encountered any homosexuals. Almost all of my friends from outside of work were gay/lesbian, but they're not from Naperville!
I've heard dehumanizing towards used towards people who apparently actually were gay/lesbian, and I've heard the whole "why would someone be gay?!" think far too often.
=[

I agree with Oak Park and add Evanston.

Check out outinthesuburbs.com (I think thats the url)
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-12-2008, 12:18 AM
 
Location: #
9,598 posts, read 16,560,593 times
Reputation: 6323
Quote:
Originally Posted by becoming trees View Post
Naperville never struck me as gay friendly.
I worked there and never encountered any homosexuals. Almost all of my friends from outside of work were gay/lesbian, but they're not from Naperville!
I've heard dehumanizing towards used towards people who apparently actually were gay/lesbian, and I've heard the whole "why would someone be gay?!" think far too often.
=[

I agree with Oak Park and add Evanston.

Check out outinthesuburbs.com (I think thats the url)
Naperville isn't friendly towards those who are different in general. I lived there for many years. It is a conformist's town.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-12-2008, 09:00 AM
 
1,367 posts, read 5,738,525 times
Reputation: 887
I would say Wheaton wins hands-down for the least gay friendly. As the county seat of a republican strong-hold, and the home of Wheaton College/Billy Graham Center, and the home of more churches than you can imagine, it is very conservative. Now, the people there can be nice to those who are different, but often it's just because they want to convince you to go to their church.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-12-2008, 09:04 AM
 
Location: Chicago- Hyde Park
4,079 posts, read 10,389,774 times
Reputation: 2658
Oak Park & Evanston
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-12-2008, 09:08 AM
 
Location: Chicago, Tri-Taylor
5,014 posts, read 9,454,222 times
Reputation: 3994
I would say generally that Republican-leaning and more homogonous DuPage, Kane and DeKalb County communities would be the least gay friendly and the more diverse inner ring suburbs in Cook County and, of course, Chicago neighborhoods the most. It's not that the former communities would be "unfriendly" per se, but I don't think a gay person or couple will find too many people who have lot in common with them in those areas.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-12-2008, 09:34 AM
 
11,975 posts, read 31,776,941 times
Reputation: 4644
"Diversity" does not necessarily equal "gay-friendly". The black and Hispanic communities in Chicago don't exactly have a record of being tolerant of homosexuality. I think you're better off going for a suburb that is known for educated liberal people, and Evanston and Oak Park fit that bill, as do Park Ridge and perhaps a few parts of the North Shore. Any others? Chet?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 12-12-2008, 10:08 AM
 
Location: Chicago, Tri-Taylor
5,014 posts, read 9,454,222 times
Reputation: 3994
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lookout Kid View Post
"Diversity" does not necessarily equal "gay-friendly". The black and Hispanic communities in Chicago don't exactly have a record of being tolerant of homosexuality. I think you're better off going for a suburb that is known for educated liberal people, and Evanston and Oak Park fit that bill, as do Park Ridge and perhaps a few parts of the North Shore. Any others? Chet?
Most black and Hispanic communities in Chicago are not diverse. Diversity is when there are different races and/or different income levels. 95% African American is not diverse, though that will come as a news flash for some. And I don't think a suburb has to be full of educated liberal people to be gay friendly. I know a few gay couples who live in Oak Lawn, for one example, and they are fine. Probably not a place you'd think of but 'tis true.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Illinois > Chicago Suburbs

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:27 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top