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I'm a 38 year-old gay, Mexican American from Long Beach, CA. I'm tired of the traffic, urban reality and quality of life in Los Angeles County. Being a native from here and already having lived in other states, it's hard for me to make a decision of where I'll spend the next possibly 5 years of my life at. I'm not sure if it's an attitude adjustment, or maybe have to be more optimistic, but it seems harder right now for me to figure out where is the "ideal" place for me in the U.S. I've always known there is no perfect place, but it seems with age, I've become focused and more cynical of what I may want or not want.
I'm not working currently, took a leave of absence. I was planning on opening a business with my brother, or for myself, but couldn't get the loan. My dream has been to open a small business, but the way our political system and economy is, I'm wondering if it's even worth getting into my own business the way healthcare and insurance in general is.
I met the man of my life, he currently is in Diamondhead, MS (hour away from New Orleans), he has a great job, cheap rent, but he has been wanting to make a move too, not for me, but for ourselves. I met him a little over a year ago and we both had been planning to move, before we even met each other and now are working on that objective.
Can someone out there give me some answers as to what I should be asking myself on a move outside of where I live. We want to develop healthy friendships with other gay men, gay couples and straight people. We want to work hard. I have a business degree and he has IT skills, working at Nasa right now. My ideal city is San Francisco, but I'm tired of buying into a quality of life that gives little back to me and more to corporate companies. We like small towns, love the west coast weather, but not sure if I should think of smaller towns and deal with little contact of other gay people. Chicago and the Northeast don't have a refreshing feel and Texas seems like it isn't good enough. Fort Lauderdale seemed appealing, but not sure if it's more of a retirement place and if it is. I feel like I'm in the crossroads of my life. I know wherever I'm at, I'll make it the best decision, just seems like all the cities are missing one major crucial quality, and not just some small factor.
I am tired of LA and wondering if there's a question I'm missing that I should ask myself.
Sounds like you want perfection. Something's gotta give. You're going to have to make a compromise somewhere.
If weather is one of those compromises you're willing to make, look into Saugatuck MI. The winters are harsh but the payoff is an absolutely perfect summer.
You could try New Orleans. Your S.O. would be close to home, and New Orleans is about as close to San Francisco you can get culturally (but without the sky-high costs). Plus, since the city is in the process of reviving itself, there would be plenty of room for entrepreneurs.
Maybe Louisville? It's pretty gay-friendly there, and will offer that nice blend of city and small town.
Have you considered some college towns? In particular, places like Gainesville and Tallahassee FL and Athens GA are smaller towns that are much more gay friendly than most other small towns. Tallahassee, being the state capital, might also have better job opportunities, but don't quote me on that.
Or, for a complete change of scenery, how about Asheville NC? It's an uber liberal city nestled smack in the Appalachians, amazingly beautiful and very gay friendly.
Here are some pics of Asheville I found a while back under Google images:
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Location: St Simons Island, GA
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Check out Atlanta...the stats related to gay women and men on this city (which you find on this website) will show you that this city has one of the largest gay communities in the country. The Latino community is growing by leaps and bounds here as well, and is developing a very well-organized network.
There is good weather here, and plenty of oppurtunity relative to other cities in the country.
I'm a 38 year-old gay, Mexican American from Long Beach, CA. I'm tired of the traffic, urban reality and quality of life in Los Angeles County. Being a native from here and already having lived in other states, it's hard for me to make a decision of where I'll spend the next possibly 5 years of my life at. I'm not sure if it's an attitude adjustment, or maybe have to be more optimistic, but it seems harder right now for me to figure out where is the "ideal" place for me in the U.S. I've always known there is no perfect place, but it seems with age, I've become focused and more cynical of what I may want or not want.
I'm not working currently, took a leave of absence. I was planning on opening a business with my brother, or for myself, but couldn't get the loan. My dream has been to open a small business, but the way our political system and economy is, I'm wondering if it's even worth getting into my own business the way healthcare and insurance in general is.
I met the man of my life, he currently is in Diamondhead, MS (hour away from New Orleans), he has a great job, cheap rent, but he has been wanting to make a move too, not for me, but for ourselves. I met him a little over a year ago and we both had been planning to move, before we even met each other and now are working on that objective.
Can someone out there give me some answers as to what I should be asking myself on a move outside of where I live. We want to develop healthy friendships with other gay men, gay couples and straight people. We want to work hard. I have a business degree and he has IT skills, working at Nasa right now. My ideal city is San Francisco, but I'm tired of buying into a quality of life that gives little back to me and more to corporate companies. We like small towns, love the west coast weather, but not sure if I should think of smaller towns and deal with little contact of other gay people. Chicago and the Northeast don't have a refreshing feel and Texas seems like it isn't good enough. Fort Lauderdale seemed appealing, but not sure if it's more of a retirement place and if it is. I feel like I'm in the crossroads of my life. I know wherever I'm at, I'll make it the best decision, just seems like all the cities are missing one major crucial quality, and not just some small factor.
I am tired of LA and wondering if there's a question I'm missing that I should ask myself.
I can relate to just about everything you said, and Im a bit older than you. Im beginning to feel like some of us are born and raised in this country, but its a bad fit. A bad fit meaning politically, economically, just plain mindset wise, too much of a divided country, and not very accepting of gays people in so much of it. It makes making a decision on where to live, where to work, and how to relate to all of this so much more difficult. It ends up taking a tremendous toll on many gay people. You mentioned Ft Lauderdale, no it isn't the retirement mecca you may of thought so. It does have that population somewhat but not as much as years past, and most are more well off than most retirees. I will tell you much of it is a party town for the younger set both gay and st8. I also have thought of Asheville myself, in fact I have a st8 friend that just moved there this past week from Florida. Many people by the way are moving up into Asheville and surroundings states to escape Florida. I wish you alot of luck, I wish all of us alot of luck. I think if we want to live in the USA we just have to be very very flexible and I just don't know what else. Best of Luck to you.
Thanks for the pictures of Asheville - it's such a gorgeous place!
(Also, I wouldn't say that extreme growth is a problem in Asheville..most growth in NC seems to be concentrated around Raleigh and - to a lesser extent - Charlotte.)
My partner and I are looking for a winter home to retire to, and we have chosen SoCal because my family is there.
But since you live in LB let me point out to you that southern states have a huge religious right contingent and in some of those states I believe sodomy is still actually illegal (but the law is not enforced..usually).
Have you thought about a smaller liberal community in another area of California? My guess is that you would have a lot of choices.
Since my partner and I essentially HAVE to move to OC (because that's where my family is) I did demographic research and found areas that voted heavy Obama and NO on Prop 8. That's where we're starting. Maybe you could do the same thing for some areas your interested in.
Or look at the last election results regarding voting demographics in other states to get an idea of what an area is like. The higher the education of an area the more likely it is to be gay-friendly.
However, we are also considering Long Beach or Seal Beach, so any input you might have would be helpful. We're late middle-aged, probably looking for a little less action than you are!
If you wanna open your own business you should seriously look into Albuquerque.. the economy here is pretty good, and even for opening a business, we rank at best for that..not only that but its a great place to live
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