Better to "be gay" in Houston or Dallas?

[Houston Area Man]

So what happens if you happen to be gay and in the least gay city in the USA?

[Chanteuse d' Opéra]

Honestly you can't go wrong either way.

[LocalPlanner]

Historically, it seemed that Houston had more LGBTQ "community", but lesser quality / quantity of retail and bars targeted to them. Dallas supposedly had less "community", but more fun places to hang out.

There used to be a joke told by gay men in Texas who were not from Dallas (and a few that were too) - "How does a Dallas queen set the table? Fork on the left, spoon up the nose, knife in the back, and dish, dish, dish." So the overall Dallas reputation for snobbiness and glitzy living definitely leaked over to the gay community (lots of references to "Dallitude").

[LocalPlanner]

Regarding Austin, it was known as the best place for gays to party in TX back in the 80s/90s, but the gentrification of the city has taken a real toll on that scene since 2000 (not to mention smart phones). I can't comment on the quality of the "community" there, though it always seemed active if not nearly as large as those in Houston and Dallas.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

Regarding Austin, it was known as the best place for gays to party in TX back in the 80s/90s, but the gentrification of the city has taken a real toll on that scene since 2000 (not to mention smart phones). I can't comment on the quality of the "community" there, though it always seemed active if not nearly as large as those in Houston and Dallas.

I don’t think this is why. Austin has been the “favored” LGBT destination in Texas basically since it’s white liberal came in full force sometime in the last decade and a half or so. The LGBT community often associates the white liberal group as their “Allies”. I have gay friends in Louisiana that I knew from when I was there that frequent Austin because it’s their “vibe”.

But as has been mentioned above, you can’t go wrong in Houston nor Dallas unless you go to a conservative suburb in either.

Houston definitely has the best/largest pride event in Texas though. So I don’t know if this is noteworthy to OP.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

I don’t think this is why. Austin has been the “favored” LGBT destination in Texas basically since it’s white liberal came in full force sometime in the last decade and a half or so. The LGBT community often associates the white liberal group as their “Allies”. I have gay friends in Louisiana that I knew from when I was there that frequent Austin because it’s their “vibe”.

But as has been mentioned above, you can’t go wrong in Houston nor Dallas unless you go to a conservative suburb in either.

Houston definitely has the best/largest pride event in Texas though. So I don’t know if this is noteworthy to OP.

I'm sure that politically / culturally, many (white) gays from conservative communities around the south-central U.S. probably think of Austin as a refuge, and probably have since it started getting a national reputation in the 1990s. Houston and Dallas equally filled that role in the 1960s-80s, despite not being as liberal at that time, because they were so big that each contained substantial "refuge" neighborhoods. Atlanta was probably similar. And of course New Orleans, though it can be a little alienating if you're not a heavy drinker...

[Weatherguy]

I know a lot of gay men and couples living in Cypress, and they have been treated well by their neighbors (and vice versa). At least based on the last big election, south of 290 is significantly less conservative (e.g., Bridgeland) than north of 290. I'm assuming Bridgeland has a lot more young people since it's a fairly new community. Younger people, including young Republicans, tend to be more accepting of their gay friends and neighbors (and marriage equality) than older people.

[FreeVilley]

yet another category where houston and dallas are basically the same...while differences can be found, neither is the clear "winner" or is clearly "better" - can't go wrong either way.