Try to be nice about this question (Houston, Austin: attorney, real estate)

[mariposa]

The Woodlands has a gay women's club. This forum wouldn't allow me to put the name here. The Woodlands tends to be conservative, but I've seen gays out and about with no malice towards them there. They even have a chiropractor with a gay-friendly practice (at least 30% of her patients are gay). I know this, because I know her.

I think surfing online for Houston-area gay organizations might be a good idea. Nobody can tell you what life in Houston is like for a gay person better than one who has lived it there. There are plenty of gay organizations there too. The last I heard, the only city in the U.S. with a higher gay population than Houston is San Francisco. Dan's suggestion of the Heights is a good one too. It's a very diverse area where nobody would think twice about the sexual orientation of a neighbor.

[Fla Jo]

Thanks for your input, guys. So far, we haven't had much luck house hunting. Likely we'll make another trip to Houston in early June. We keep getting drawn back to the NE section. There are a lot of new homes there and some that look pretty good on-line. Fall Creek in Humble and Woodstream in Kingwood, but those communities seem awfully far away. We also like the Champions area in the NW. I'm not sure what would be worse, living in the NW section and having to travel in on I-45 or NE and coming in on 59.
My partner will work in the NE section of the city a couple miles south of IAH, but I'll likely be going all the way in to one of the research hospitals on the SW side.
Anyway, thanks again for you're input. We'll be sure to stay away from Sugar Land!

[Dan Corcoran]

...checking out the Heights. I mentioned this before just in general, but given your commuting situation, it would make sense. It'd be an easy commute to SW Houston and you'd be going against traffic to get south of IAH.

[Texan]

and like some say:
"something in Texas...a village is missing its idiot"
Rent for the fist six months, then you will pick the right place for you.

[UtahDarkHorse]

I think this entire thread is funny. I just moved to spring; (northwest suburb of houston) from salt lake city, utah; the most homophobic area of land on the entire earth. Granted, I'm not gay, but from what I've seen here, noone cares whether your living with a man, a mop or an inflatable sheep.

Come on down, just be yourself and live your life.

[lifertexan]

Exactly the point I made about a month ago.

[Honey]

I can definitely see where Fla is coming from though. Its easy to say be yourself but there is lots of mean people at times also. So I would definitely want to pick a nice area where I would enjoy living. A couple of my good friends are gay and do live in montrose area and of course really like it. I would tend to agree with start out renting or lease option on an apartment for 6 months so you can look and make the best decision for you both. Good Luck!

[BobTex]

I find this post interesting. Fla Jo .... just come on ..... this hateful Bush supporter will not egg your house or threaten your life. I agree with the posts that say don't worry about it. You might consider leasing a townhome or renting for a while to you "get the lay of the land".

I resent Melissa's attitude in this thread......it could have been a very positive thread without her hurling insults/inuendoes....shame, shame!

"The Board Police"!!!!

[stephie]

Hello, u said u don't want to live in montrose correct? I can def. tell u areas to avoid, like Spring (very closed minded community), Jersey village (very upity), east houston (very red-neck) U might check out sugarland/stafford or pasedena. Houston is VERY spread out and your should think about commute time when looking for a house. Most of the areas inside the beltway 8 A.K.A sam houston parkway/tollway are pretty gay friendly. Depending upon where your job is ,west houston might also be an idea. I am from Houston orrig. and grew up in montrose/upper kirby area. my mom worked on the Quilt project and in AIDS hospices; so, I am very familiar with the gay sceene in houston and the not so gay friendly areas. I hope some of this helps! Feel free to ask me any questions about houston. Happy hunting-Stephanieh

[CA2TX]

Hi Fla Jo, um... honestly, most folks don't care who you have sex with, they really don't. They have lots of other worries. Most folks don't care what your lifestyle is, as long as you don't qualify yourself to them with it. To not make it a topic doesn't equate to cowering in the shadows, well, at least, not to me it doesn't. To me, it's just plain sizing up the environment to maximize your comfort. It's horrible being an outcast, I don't care for what reason... it can be brutal... very brutal. Fortunately, you live in America, where you have the right to mess with people. So bite back. Sometimes it's sweet fun to send them on all kinds of harmless goose chases. Tell them a tall tale, sit back and enjoy. Take advantage of human nature for your amusement, trulies, it helps.