Is Orlando/Kissimmee/Celebration gay-friendly? (Winter Park: fit in, rent, crime)

[OCMichael]

I live in Southern California with my parnter. We are both teachers and want to live in a happy, diverse, accepting place. I want to know if the Orlando area is open minded toward mainstream gay people who just want to "fit in" and be part of the community. Is there a "southern" mentality or is Orlando open minded and accepting????

[blueoktober]

The city of Orlando and possibly Winter Park is pretty gay friendly. 15 years ago it was a nightmare for gay people but today it seems not many really care. The downtown area is bustling with a lot of gay people.

Kissimmee or anywhere else in the area I would have to say - not very friendly at all. It's still small town, conservative and republican. Celebration I have no idea. You would think the wealthy would be more accepting but I find that here in Florida the wealthy are the more conservative in nature.
I think as long as you live within the Orlando city limits you would be quite happy here.

[rholborn]

i would completely agree with blueoktober. welcome to orlando though! my husband works at disney as a firefighter and a lot of upper management live in Celebration.

[cmj_fla]

Celebrations is totally gay friendly from what I have seen (I worked in the welcome center a few years ago) but the rest of Osceola County is not very much but I don't think you would have a big problem - Good luck!

[Jfunk]

I agree.. I do not think you are going to have much of a problem in Celebration.

[Nirvana-Guy]

Originally Posted by OCMichael

I live in Southern California with my parnter. We are both teachers and want to live in a happy, diverse, accepting place. I want to know if the Orlando area is open minded toward mainstream gay people who just want to "fit in" and be part of the community. Is there a "southern" mentality or is Orlando open minded and accepting????

I am not sure if they are 'gay-friendly' or not, BUT they are very illegal alien gang-friendly. These guys run the streets and you do what they allow you to do.

Disney is VERY gay-friendly. You cannot even get into upper management if you are NOT gay at Disney.

So it's a mix. Keep in mind these 'Latino gangs' are Machista (meaning Macho or Machismo) and they do NOT like gay people. On the other hand, Disney is gay-paradise, so like I said it's a mix.

[blueoktober]

I am starting to believe the above poster is obsessive/compulsive and the topic is hispanics.

OP - don't listen to this person. Orlando is nothing at all like the picture he paints. Celebration is wonderful, Orlando (yes, Orlando) is a great place as well. The above poster hasn't seen much of the US or any big city because if he had there wouldn't be so much hyperbole.

hy·per·bo·le /haɪˈpɜrbəli/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[hahy-pur-buh-lee] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun Rhetoric.
1. obvious and intentional exaggeration.
2. an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally, as “to wait an eternity.”

[blueoktober]

Originally Posted by Nirvana-Guy

I am not sure if they are 'gay-friendly' or not, BUT they are very illegal alien gang-friendly. These guys run the streets and you do what they allow you to do.

Disney is VERY gay-friendly. You cannot even get into upper management if you are NOT gay at Disney.

So it's a mix. Keep in mind these 'Latino gangs' are Machista (meaning Macho or Machismo) and they do NOT like gay people. On the other hand, Disney is gay-paradise, so like I said it's a mix.

I hope someone at Disney corporate sees this and thinks about how slanderous it is. Hint hint.

[nb_mitch]

I lived in Celebration for 4 years and it is a very safe and friendly place to everyone, we only moved because we couldn't afford to buy a home there, which were running from $400K-$2M. In general it is a very upscale area, nice downtown, activites, close to Disney. Rent did generally runs $1/sqft, not sure if it is up or down since we left.

In the 4 years, the only crime I was aware of was some kids setting the woods on fire a few times. I know there was some usual stuff, but I would say the crime is lower than most places in the Orlando area, because it is so isolated.

[rdmb57]

Originally Posted by Nirvana-Guy

Keep in mind these 'Latino gangs' are Machista (meaning Macho or Machismo) and they do NOT like gay people. On the other hand, Disney is gay-paradise, so like I said it's a mix.

This is a BIG misconception. Having lived in Central Florida all of my life and also being gay, I've found that the "Machista" crowd is the first to want to have a thing in their mouth or other places. Generally it's called an "overcompensation". The more "butch" a guy acts it's definitely a red flag (or pink one)

With that being said, to the original poster, yes, most any place can be "gay friendly" - me and my partner have never had a single problem and get along well with our neighbors and the community but we're also not the kind to be waving rainbow flags in the front yard, open mouth kissing while we walk down the street hand in hand and trying to organize a gay pride parade down Cypress Parkway. You know what I'm talking about.

Just like anywhere, if you do your damndest to make people notice that you're different, you can expect what you get. It's like these guys with multiple tatoos and piercings who cry about having a hard time finding a job or the best one "people are looking at me... waaaah!"

Best of luck to you and your partner on your search.

Rick