LGBT in Louisville Area (Lexington, Albany: hotel, home, weddings)

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by JayInCA

Thank You! We don't have plans to move away from California since all of our family live here, but I was just curious to know how a very diverse family like ours would be perceived in a medium-sized Midwestern or Southern city. I've seen someone mention in another thread that "their" community accepts gay couples as long as they don't make out in public, which I found offensive, since we're very private people and don't show much affection in public anyway. We might have a quick hug when I see him off at the airport or something but that's about it. Louisville sounds like a nice city, and we would definitely like to visit sometime.

Louisville is very diverse and accepting. There is even a big push to bring more gay marriages here to boost tourism, and Louisville has one of the only gay oriented hotels in middle America, the Vue Guesthouse.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by ServoMiff

Well said.

Good rule of thumb for LGBT types in Louisville is to stay within the border of east of I-65 within the I-264 loop. The downtown and nearby early suburbs are the most open and welcoming areas of town, and likely where the concentration of LGBT people and supporters live. As others have said, avoid the southern part of the city and far east suburbs, and you'll do just fine in Louisville.

Not true.

This leaves out all of downtown and Old Louisville, which are arguably the epicenter of gay culture in Louisville, along with the Highlands. These areas west of I-65 like Old Louisville are stellar. To the OP, I would look at

Downtown
Old Louisville
Nulu
Butchertown
Highlands
Clifton
Crescent Hill
Germantown
(there are many "sub neighborhoods" in those broad, colloquial defined areas. For example, my belief is that if you can handle some grit, the areas SE of downtown, like Phoenix Hill and Shelby Park, offer some great, dirty cheap urban living options). Highlands, Crescent Hill, and to a degree, Nulu, will be the most "big city yuppified" places.

[ServoMiff]

Originally Posted by Peter1948

Not true.

This leaves out all of downtown and Old Louisville, which are arguably the epicenter of gay culture in Louisville, along with the Highlands. These areas west of I-65 like Old Louisville are stellar. To the OP, I would look at

Downtown
Old Louisville
Nulu
Butchertown
Highlands
Clifton
Crescent Hill
Germantown
(there are many "sub neighborhoods" in those broad, colloquial defined areas. For example, my belief is that if you can handle some grit, the areas SE of downtown, like Phoenix Hill and Shelby Park, offer some great, dirty cheap urban living options). Highlands, Crescent Hill, and to a degree, Nulu, will be the most "big city yuppified" places.

It's a loose border for cryin out loud. We're talking mere blocks from I-65.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by ServoMiff

It's a loose border for cryin out loud. We're talking mere blocks from I-65.

No, parts of these areas are over 1 mile west of I-65. That's a big difference. Also, there are very up and coming areas in parts of Portland near Tim Faulkners gallery, and even some areas near Shawnee, along the river, are not terrible.

[Ry00]

I would look at Clark/Scott/Floyd/Harrison/Washington counties in Indiana if you're looking for acreage, I would say Jefferson County (Louisville) itself would be really expensive on land, but I'm not exactly sure. But Southern Indiana isn't 'Kentucky', so it's not quite as bad. I'm from Southern Indiana, so I can attest that going south of Louisville vs north of Louisville makes a world of difference in terms of how 'uninviting' it gets for anyone who doesn't have a beer gut and drive a Chevy truck. Southern Indiana isn't much better, it's not like Mississippi though, but Kentucky outside metro Louisville and Lexington isn't a place I would want to be. I think it would be more hassles the further south you go into Kentucky, and you start running into more people who think the south will rise again, and that dumb stuff.

I think Louisville has a nicely sized gay population at this point. It has two gay clubs, and about 6-7 other gay bars (I doubt you're into the bar scene, but I figure it's a measure of the liberalness, maybe..), all located pretty centrally in or near downtown. I think the atmosphere is nice, and I've never had any problems, granted I'm not exactly showing PDA in public either, but it's not a stifling environment by any means. It's not New York, but being 21 and having visited New York I would rather live here as a gay guy honestly. The main takeaway is this area is extremely affordable, moderate, and if you get to know your neighbors they aren't going to give you any hassle (this isn't Alabama). lol

[JaxRhapsody]

Originally Posted by Ryno25

The Highlands is the most gay friendly part of town then Crescent Hill is a close second. You'll do fine in those two areas. Louisville is becoming accepting of lgbt but it's taking some work. The south end of Louisville is pretty conservative, I don't recommend Bulliet County which is dye in the wool red republican. The east end of Louisville has conservative spots too but I've noticed that the east ender conservatives are more fiscally conservative than social so a lot of them don't care. The Highlands has the bulk of the gay bars and hangouts though and all in all its the best part in Louisville in terms of just about everything. I'm actually disappointed about moving out of the highlands and into another part of town but I still work in the highlands so it works out.

The highlands has one "gay bar."

[JaxRhapsody]

Originally Posted by Ry00

I would look at Clark/Scott/Floyd/Harrison/Washington counties in Indiana if you're looking for acreage, I would say Jefferson County (Louisville) itself would be really expensive on land, but I'm not exactly sure. But Southern Indiana isn't 'Kentucky', so it's not quite as bad. I'm from Southern Indiana, so I can attest that going south of Louisville vs north of Louisville makes a world of difference in terms of how 'uninviting' it gets for anyone who doesn't have a beer gut and drive a Chevy truck. Southern Indiana isn't much better, it's not like Mississippi though, but Kentucky outside metro Louisville and Lexington isn't a place I would want to be. I think it would be more hassles the further south you go into Kentucky, and you start running into more people who think the south will rise again, and that dumb stuff.

I think Louisville has a nicely sized gay population at this point. It has two gay clubs, and about 6-7 other gay bars (I doubt you're into the bar scene, but I figure it's a measure of the liberalness, maybe..), all located pretty centrally in or near downtown. I think the atmosphere is nice, and I've never had any problems, granted I'm not exactly showing PDA in public either, but it's not a stifling environment by any means. It's not New York, but being 21 and having visited New York I would rather live here as a gay guy honestly. The main takeaway is this area is extremely affordable, moderate, and if you get to know your neighbors they aren't going to give you any hassle (this isn't Alabama). lol

The Connection
Purrrswations
Play

These are the actual clubs, I know what used to be Club 21 has a gay night.

Tryangles
Teddy Bears
Nowhere Bar

These are the gay, or gay friendly bars.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by JaxRhapsody

The highlands has one "gay bar."

Missing some you forgot

Mixer
Nowhere Bar
Big Bar
Chill Bar

Day's Espresso is a gay coffee shop.

Several other bars have a very large LGBT contingent but are not specifically gay bars, among them Cumberland Brews, Holy Grale, and even Cahoots, to a degree.

gaylouisville

The Vu hotel will open nearby in Shelby Park this fall, and it already has the nearby Vapor Spa and bathhouse open.

Louisville has a large and growing LGBT scene. I am straight but have been to a couple of these bars with a gay friend. I would say that Nowhere Bar gets a decent amount of straight patrons, especially on weekends, to dance. However it seemed to me to be a solid 80% gay crowd.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by JaxRhapsody

The Connection
Purrrswations
Play

These are the actual clubs, I know what used to be Club 21 has a gay night.

Tryangles
Teddy Bears
Nowhere Bar

These are the gay, or gay friendly bars.

These are the other gay bars indeed. Nowhere is in the Highlands.

I am pretty sure there is at least one more gay bar in Old Louisville but cannot recall the name.

I know that the Rud and Mag bar are very gay friendly.

The "old Club 21" you refer to is actually called the Cure Lounge and has been for around 4 years. It is in Germantown and is a straight hipster bar, but it is very LGBT friendly.

[JaxRhapsody]

Originally Posted by Peter1948

Missing some you forgot

Mixer
Nowhere Bar
Big Bar
Chill Bar

Day's Espresso is a gay coffee shop.

Several other bars have a very large LGBT contingent but are not specifically gay bars, among them Cumberland Brews, Holy Grale, and even Cahoots, to a degree.

gaylouisville

The Vu hotel will open nearby in Shelby Park this fall, and it already has the nearby Vapor Spa and bathhouse open.

Louisville has a large and growing LGBT scene. I am straight but have been to a couple of these bars with a gay friend. I would say that Nowhere Bar gets a decent amount of straight patrons, especially on weekends, to dance. However it seemed to me to be a solid 80% gay crowd.

Nowhere bar is what I was talking about. I'm not much of a bar goer, per the price of drinks and not having, or having a crappy job.