Great place for a gay man to live (houses, neighborhoods)

[Jimrob1]

I will list it this way. Don't ever move to a place simply because it is so called gay friendly. Doing so, means you are letting yourself be controlled by the so called majority US population. Live where you want, the majority of these gay friendly population areas are the highest cost areas of the country and the most crowded and do not meet everyones needs.

[west5548]

Your going to have gay friendly areas where ever you go, just like you'll have those who don't care for the gay community in the middle of the gay friendly area. Like the last poster said, you live where you want to live.

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by househunter63

What are the top places for a gay man to live? Give me your opinion. The common answer is San Francisco, but it's so expensive. What other places do you recommend?

Pittsburgh, PA. If you go over to the forum there you will see that nearly everyone who posts there is GAY! (No offense.) And from what the conversations say, there is a massive gay population there.

For what it's worth, I have a sister who is gay, she lives in Santa Cruz. She loves it there.

[lammius]

I feel like a lot of people post cities where they've seen a large, visible gay community/enclave. Does that make a city a great place for a gay man to live? Many of the cities mentioned are in states where DP benefits, unions, marriage, adoption, etc. are not permitted. To me, those rights/privileges (whichever you prefer to call them) are a bigger determinant of what a "great place for a gay man" is than where the biggest shirtless/glitter party is on Saturday night. If/when I get civilly unionized in NJ, I don't think I could move to a state where our union wouldn't be recognized.

IMO, the gay enclaves are for n00bs (I compare them to ethnic enclaves, where recent immigrants settle before dispersing elsewhere). Having been "out" for nearly 10 years I'm over it. There's no way I'd ever want to live in a place like Chelsea, Castro, Boystown, etc. I'll visit for pride or halloween or an occasional night out, but day-to-day life in some of those neighborhoods is too detached from the "real world," IMO.


Edit: At the same time, I'd agree with jimrob, that you should live where you want to live. If you can't have the rights you want in a certain state where you want to live, fight for them!

[basketcase33]

I like being black and gay in Houston (I know WOW right, TEXAS. I mean how does that happen?), but it's even better when I visit Boston because I feel like the gay guys there have never seen a gay black guy before...guess it makes me stand out a little bit more. However, I've realized that while being gay is a large aspect of my life, it certainly doesn't come before my happiness. I really think you can live just about anywhere and be a happy gay man, it just depends on who you are. Not every gay person wants to the same things, even gay marriage or civil unions...some people just want to love who they love. Sometimes I personally find it's annoying to live in a 'gay city' or 'gayborhood.'

[blkgiraffe]

Originally Posted by basketcase33

I like being black and gay in Houston (I know WOW right, TEXAS. I mean how does that happen?), but it's even better when I visit Boston because I feel like the gay guys there have never seen a gay black guy before...guess it makes me stand out a little bit more. However, I've realized that while being gay is a large aspect of my life, it certainly doesn't come before my happiness. I really think you can live just about anywhere and be a happy gay man, it just depends on who you are. Not every gay person wants to the same things, even gay marriage or civil unions...some people just want to love who they love. Sometimes I personally find it's annoying to live in a 'gay city' or 'gayborhood.'

Houston is a very gay-friendly city. My cousin lives their and he's friends what all types of people; Lesbians/Straight people (men and women). Just a overall great atmosphere.

[SteelCityRising]

I feel as if you can be happy anywhere, regardless of your sexual orientation. I'm an openly gay male who resides in the rather conservative, upper-middle-class, white, non-Hispanic, heterosexual suburbs of Scranton, Pennsylvania, of all places, yet most here also have a "live and let live" attitude and won't bother you if you don't bother them. On the contrary we're lucky if folks in our subdivision even wave to you when they drive by anymore---I think Americans in general are just becoming very insular and self-centered.

Then again though I don't know if I'd recommend anywhere in Pennsylvania until the proposed amendment to permanently ban same-sex marriages and civil unions here is passed or rejected. I think lammius summed it up the best when he said that there's a difference between what one perceives to be "gay-friendly" based on seeing rainbow flags and same-sex couples not being afraid to hold hands in publi and "gay-friendly" in terms of legislation. I think it's a travesty that there are so many uneducated dolts in this nation who still think we should ban same-sex civil unions based upon no argument other than "my Christian God wouldn't want it to be that way," but then again you and your partner can always exchange rings and vows in a backyard ceremony amid friends and family and make the occasion just as special, even if, under the law, we're miscreants. I hope to have a nice backyard ceremony myself someday with my partner in the Electric City, even though Pennsylvania is likely to ban same-sex civil unions. Who needs a piece of paper to prove your love for your partner? Then again, that legal contract entitles you to MUCH more than you'd otherwise be able to obtain as a domestic partner.

P.S. I just noticed earlier today that my employer, Lowe's Home Improvement, offers "domestic partner benefits," yet they're based in the South. Perhaps there's hope after all! Go us!

[Lakewooder]

Dallas The Lavender Heart of Texas - TIME

[john_starks]

asbury park, nj

[southernnaturelover]

Pensacola,FL has a high gay population.

Someone above mentioned the ability to own property with someone else of the same sex. Can't you do that in any state? My partner and I own property jointly in Alabama.