Best mid-sized cities for IT fields AND gay friendliness? (bigger, population, Atlanta)
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I would say Kansas City. The IT job market seems to be very hot with everything from huge companies like Cerner, which is on a continuous hiring spree, to smaller startups beginning in or relocating to KC (see Startup Village, MindMixer, etc).
The urban core of KC is definitely gay friendly. It does lack a real specific gay nightclub district or neighborhood, but the Midtown area of the city in particular has a significant number of establishments and gay population.
Compared to Raleigh (myself and others I know) found the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro area uniformly more progressive and friendlier than Raleigh proper, though somewhat similar in small areas in/around downtown Raleigh....it's not as progressive, friendly or even gay friendly as the other cities and those areas surrounding them.
All in all Eastern/Southern/Northern Wake County (surrounding Raleigh) tends quite conservative.
This is a typical response that you get from someone from Durham.
There's also typical responses that you get from people from Raleigh about Durham that usually revolves around crime/safety.
Both stereotypes are overly exaggerated but are based in some data. Durham County has a the highest percentage of Democratic voters in the state but Wake County (Raleigh) is also "blue". Raleigh's crime stats are the lowest of all large cities in the state and are low nationally and Durham's rates are actually higher. However, Durham's rates aren't high compared to many cities across the nation or even to Charlotte within the state.
Most of the Triangle's suburban communities are surrounding Raleigh but those suburbs serve both Raleigh, Durham and RTP in between them. Clearly the suburbs are not as progressive as the central cities but that's no different than in most cities in America. Even then, the largest and western suburbs of Raleigh are certainly not bastions of conservatism. At the end of the day, the Triangle area is a sea of blue in a primarily red state.
Below is a map of Wake County (Raleigh) and Chatham County (suburban). This maps shows how voters voted in that amendment 1 campaign in 2012. Oddly enough, the red is the progressive vote and the blue is the conservative vote. The darker the color, the higher the percentage of votes to one side of the other of the issue. What's interesting about this map is that the red areas are the highly populated areas (and against the amendment) while the areas in blue are those that are more sparsely populated. The dark red area in Wake County is central Raleigh and the dark red area in Chatham County is the area just south of Chapel Hill (which sits in the SE corner of Orange County (nestled against Durham and Chatham Counties). http://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/GAL...12_2_06_17.png
Why not ?
There's plenty of tech jobs in Orlando ...
Because if you're an educated young professional, not only is it difficult to secure gainful employment in Orlando, it's also difficult to develop a group of friends and/or date, as the vast majority of young people in Central Florida will be on different wavelengths.
IME, most of the young people (~22-35 y/o) who enjoy living in Orlando are usually low-wage, low-skill workers from the Northeast and Great Lakes states as well as other parts of Florida.
It's simply not a good fit from a social/QOL standpoint for educated, career-oriented, upwardly mobile professionals, economic factors aside (although the root cause).
I'd recommend St. Louis as well. From what I hear, the IT field is booming and it's a very gay-friendly city (despite being in a fairly conservative state).
I am going to assume by Richmond you mean Richmond, VA. I lived there for 4.5 years as I was attending undergrad. I also plan to move back there next year once my lease ends.
1) It is a VERY accepting city for homosexuals. You should not have any problems whatsoever. I know my university was pretty liberal so that's just my experience but I have several gay friends who did not have any problems with anyone.
2) As for employment opportunities, Richmond has many large companies such as Genworth Financial, Altria (parent company to Philip Morris), Capital One, DuPont, and plenty more! I am sure they will all have IT departments and therefore supply an abundance of IT job opportunities; however, if your partner is more interested in start ups, Richmond is a great place for that as well. I would try the following site for job start up job opportunities:
I know VCU (my alma mater) actually has a Da Vinci Center program that really cultivates a passion for creating start ups. The program takes students from The School of Arts, The School of Business, and The School of Engineering and facilitates these interdisciplinary projects. There are plenty of students and alumni trying to create start ups so I am positive that over the years the number of start ups will flourish.
I cannot speak for the comparing cities, however, Richmond has a great cost of living (hence, why I'm moving from NYC to go back). I want to purchase a home, but if you are interested in renting you can easily get a nice 1/2 bedroom apartment for a reasonable rate. What I especially love about Richmond is the fact that you can have your pick about where you want to live. If you want to live in the city downtown, check out Shockoe Bottom. It is chic area and (most) apartments come equipped with exposed brick walls that give them a lofty feel.
If you prefer slower living, you could live in Suburbia Heaven in the Far West End area (also known as Henrico, Glen Allen, Short Pump). It is just a 15 min drive to get to the city if your partner ends up getting a job there. The possibilities are endless and I cannot wait to be back.
Whatever you all decide, good luck in your adventure and next chapter of your life. Graduation was definitely an exciting time for me figuring out what city I was going to move to. If you have any questions about the Richmond area don't hesitate to ask!
OP, I'd like to know how, on God's emerald green, you came up with that list? Because most of those cities on your list truly leave a lot to be desired, save SLC.
Baltimore and Detroit are absolute hellholes, KC is incredibly boring and nondescript, and Raleigh is a snooze-fest. Admittedly, I don't much about either Huntsville or Lexington, but I wouldn't move to either Alabama or Kentucky for all the tea in China.
Some gay-friendly cities with robust tech sectors in no particular order--SF, SJ, LA/Irvine, SD, Seattle, Denver, SLC, Minneapolis, Madison, Chicago, Boston, et al. (mostly cities in the North and West).
IIWY, I'd avoid the Deep South and Lower Midwest like the plague, as the Bible Belt is a pretty unforgiving place for LGBT folks.
Raleigh/Durham and Atlanta are southern cities in the Bible Belt, and they are gay-friendly for the most part.
And before you start worrying about the Mormons hating on you because you're not heterosexual, I'm a straight Mormon. I say, please move to Salt Lake! Bring you skills and talents and settle down and enjoy the city just like I do. You might get some scowls from some of the 50+ year old crowd down in Provo, but do you really care what they think anyway? I hope you ski and enjoy a fast-growing nightlife!
Raleigh/Durham and Atlanta are southern cities in the Bible Belt, and they are gay-friendly for the most part.
While that may be true to a certain extent, those cities are located in fiercely anti-gay states.
FTR, I don't believe a city can be "gay-friendly" when it's located in anti-gay state such as Georgia or North Carolina. TBH, I have difficulty reasoning and take issue with posters on this forum who constantly recommend these alleged "gay-friendly" cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, et. al. in anti-gay states because I don't understand why you would want someone to be a second-class citizen or less than equal.
Besides, there are some smaller town and exurban communities on the fringes of the Atlanta and Raleigh-Durham metro areas that are incredibly backwards.
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