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^ It's simply false to assume that all of them or even most are midwestern just because it's a midwestern city. There's people from all over the place in Chicago, being a city of 2.7 million people (9.5 million in the metro) and a massive economic area in the world. The guys in the gay community are no different. I have gay friends from the midwest of course, but I also have other gay friends from India, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Greece, Mexico, NYC, Los Angeles, Miami, London, San Francisco, San Diego, DC, etc. Funny enough, my friend from Iowa is the most liberal and out there gay guy I know, and one of the most out there people with what he says I've ever met.
So just from my perspective and although I'm not gay, but having a lot of gay friends and going to parties and getting to know a lot of people, there is a big mix. Some are conservative but there are many who are not (and these guys are NOT afraid to approach anybody, and even grab your junk in a bar without even knowing you, which has happened to me before more than once while with friends. I also know about places where guys are having sex out in the open). There are many super femme guys and queens, but at the same time there's a lot of masculine ones too. It completely runs the gamut.
I'm a gay guy who's been living in Chicago for 13 years. I love the city, and the gay scene is very huge and has become more spread out, really there's about any scene you want to look for. Bears, rugged, twinks, sports obsessed. People are people, they come in all walks. There's really no one "scene" in Chicago. The main gay community is centered in Lakeview, there are maybe 25 main bars that are lined up along Halsted with some on Broadway as well and the main gay areas seems to be really spreading north of Addison/Waveland and from living in Uptown I've noticed it's VERY gay, and then you get a lot of middle aged and calmer people (not as crazy as down by Halsted) living up around Andersonville and through Edgewater. Anyway, it's a highly transplant population as far as the gay community, most came from outside the Chicago area. I would say it's heavily Midwestern transplants, people from Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, etc. That said, in my tight personal group I have friends who moved to Chicago as natives of California, Philly and Florida.
I really love that the gay community is centered in what's basically the premier area of the metro if you're a 20-40 year old who isn't binded in a long-term relationship/marriage and likes to be social and get out and have fun. Right by the lakefront, most dense areas of the city, multiple train lines and express buses that take you directly into the downtown area, cute housing, tons of restaurants, little shops, theatres, but still lots that's affordable. I've been car free in this area for 12 years and had no problems at all, that saves thousands a year. It's not the RICH area of the city, but it's got the most going on for a resident. Downtown has more going on, but I don't know many young people who really thrive there, it's too touristy, business, etc. I've never once had a problem being gay in Chicago as far as people fussing at me or being judgemental, so I'm not implying you NEED to stay in the gay neighborhood or that it's not fine outside of it - just that if you're gay and looking for gay nightlife or to hang out there with friends - it's really nice that it happens to be right in a hugely desirable area.
Here's the main gay area of Chicago, it's sandwiched right between Wrigly Field and the lakefront.
Both are gay centers in their respective regions. It really just depends on whether you like a more walkable city like Chicago or a more sprawled, but spacey Atlanta. Chicago is also just a much larger city so naturally it is more important to the rest of the world than Atlanta is.
Chicago probably has a more diverse gay scene, but Atlanta is no slouch and always tops the lists for best gay cities.
Well, I haven't checked out Chicago's gay scene in about four years, but I will still give it the vote. My friends post enough pictures for me to realize that it is still roughly the same. Chicago has always been known for its thriving gay nightlife.
I'm gay and I have been living in Atlanta for the past 7 months. The scene here is strange...... Each bar tries to be a restaurant, a club, and a bar all at the same time. This is because to be able to serve alcohol on Sundays you have to have a certain percentage of your business revenue coming from food sales.
What this ends up doing though is that each gay place kind of lacks character. And as each bar is trying to be so many different things at once they each just end up being mediocre in all things they attempt to do. For instance, all the busiest hang outs in Atlanta lack a significant dance floor. This is because dining tables are scattered all around the bars because they have to serve food during the day to be open on Sunday.
Edit: Eh. Took out my negative comment about Chicago. I'll be nice today.
Last edited by CravingMountains; 06-10-2014 at 09:13 AM..
Chicago60614 - I've been to Chicago once and Atlanta 4-5 times because it's closer to North Carolina. I've spent my adult life in Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill and Charlotte. I'm currently 29 and excited to move in my 30th year.
At first I was leaning towards Atlanta because it's a large city within 4 hours drive of my family in Charlotte. But the more I think about it and do research Chicago is much more appealing except for the weather. The urban neighborhoods, affordability for what you get, and large population centered on the north shore seems awesome, whether gay or straight. Jsimms3 is kind of right in that Atlanta's population is a little more over the top, for whatever reason. I'm much more traditional, conservative in appearance and I think i'd enjoy dating in Chicago better (understanding there are all types in Chicago). Also, I think Jsimms3 is right about Atlanta drawing guys from small southern towns. There's nothing wrong with that and I think it's great Atlanta provides great opportunities for all types of people, I'm just not sure if that's the type of person i'll share the most with in terms of background and values. Obviously there are tons of exceptions in all of this, i'm just trying to identify generalizations and think strategically about my future.
Atlanta's gay scene is definitely dominated by small town southern types. As someone from Florida, I definitely noticed a pretty big difference in culture, in fashion, in upbringing. And I'll admit, there have been several guys that I have dismissed that I actually found attractive because I can't get past their southern drawl. You will find that often in Atlanta. If Southern culture is a turn off to you then Atlanta wouldn't be a good city to move to.
^ It's simply false to assume that all of them or even most are midwestern just because it's a midwestern city.
It's also simply false to assume most are not from the Midwest. Typically how it works, even on the beloved coasts, is that guys go to the nearest big city. Here in SF there are tons of guys from all over CA (mostly NorCal, and Sacramento is our Milwaukee if that makes sense, lol), parts of OR, NV, etc. Chicago is the midwestern draw, plain and simple. Atlanta is the SE draw plain and simple. Of course there are guys from elsewhere in both cities, but it's absurd to try to claim locals/regionals are the minority. SF (and DC and NYC and probably Atlanta too) are far more transient than Chicago, and yet there are still tons of locals and guys from smaller towns in the region. How can it be different in Chi? I'd say *most* guys in Atlanta are from a smaller town, though (everything in the SE is much smaller than Atl). Some very very small. That's the nature of the south.
I had trouble, personally, finding common ground with guys from small southern towns. I have had more success finding common ground on visits to Chicago, meeting guys from mid-size towns and up. My mother is from Chicago and I grew up going there, so maybe I'm part "Midwestern" and that's why. I'm also Swedish in heritage, and it almost feels like "coming home" when I go to Chicago and there are tons of northern European looking guys.
It's also simply false to assume most are not from the Midwest. Typically how it works, even on the beloved coasts, is that guys go to the nearest big city. Here in SF there are tons of guys from all over CA (mostly NorCal, and Sacramento is our Milwaukee if that makes sense, lol), parts of OR, NV, etc. Chicago is the midwestern draw, plain and simple. Atlanta is the SE draw plain and simple. Of course there are guys from elsewhere in both cities, but it's absurd to try to claim locals/regionals are the minority. SF (and DC and NYC and probably Atlanta too) are far more transient than Chicago, and yet there are still tons of locals and guys from smaller towns in the region. How can it be different in Chi? I'd say *most* guys in Atlanta are from a smaller town, though (everything in the SE is much smaller than Atl). Some very very small. That's the nature of the south.
I had trouble, personally, finding common ground with guys from small southern towns. I have had more success finding common ground on visits to Chicago, meeting guys from mid-size towns and up. My mother is from Chicago and I grew up going there, so maybe I'm part "Midwestern" and that's why. I'm also Swedish in heritage, and it almost feels like "coming home" when I go to Chicago and there are tons of northern European looking guys.
Rep'd for this. Same thing for me.
Atlanta is more transient, but a huge chunk of the transplants or from the small town deep south, so they don't really feel too much like transplants.
When I think of a transplant heavy city I think of a place like Tampa. I was there for eight years and had friends literally from all over the country. No one had parents born in Florida. Everyone in Atlanta I meet is from somewhere in the deep south.
It's also simply false to assume most are not from the Midwest. Typically how it works, even on the beloved coasts, is that guys go to the nearest big city. Here in SF there are tons of guys from all over CA (mostly NorCal, and Sacramento is our Milwaukee if that makes sense, lol), parts of OR, NV, etc. Chicago is the midwestern draw, plain and simple. Atlanta is the SE draw plain and simple. Of course there are guys from elsewhere in both cities, but it's absurd to try to claim locals/regionals are the minority. SF (and DC and NYC and probably Atlanta too) are far more transient than Chicago, and yet there are still tons of locals and guys from smaller towns in the region. How can it be different in Chi? I'd say *most* guys in Atlanta are from a smaller town, though (everything in the SE is much smaller than Atl). Some very very small. That's the nature of the south.
I had trouble, personally, finding common ground with guys from small southern towns. I have had more success finding common ground on visits to Chicago, meeting guys from mid-size towns and up. My mother is from Chicago and I grew up going there, so maybe I'm part "Midwestern" and that's why. I'm also Swedish in heritage, and it almost feels like "coming home" when I go to Chicago and there are tons of northern European looking guys.
Yeah, I didn't mean that nobody is from there. My point is that you can't look at everyone and assume they are from the midwest. The fact is that there's people from all over just like many other cities. No denying many are from the midwest, just that there are many from other parts of the country and world too. I have gay friends from the midwest, but most of my gay friends are actually not from the midwest, though I've met my fair share at parties who are.
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