Gay couple moving to Pittsburgh (York, Ross Township: how much, homes, gated)

[bethany12]

Originally Posted by Jakiss9

Everyone here has been so helpful...thank you so much. I hope Pittsburgh is as friendly as this forum. One question. Would you say Pittsburgh or Harrisburg is more gay friendly? I have been to Harrisburg but won’t be in Pittsburgh until mid September. OK, I also lived in Kansas City and had no problem being an open gay male. I know how conservative that area of the country is but never had a problem. I guess fear of the unknown. Thanks again.

Harrisburg wins that one by a mile. Harrisburg (the city, the areas surrounding are iffy) and Philly are very gay friendly. The rest of the state, not so much. Even Pittsburgh is tolerant to a point as long as it isn't flaunted. Then you will have a problem. I honestly don't know why anyone who is gay would ever move here. Pittsburgh is extremely ethnic and not exactly the most open city to different lifestyles.

[AaronClark]

Bethany, I'm pretty gay, I "flaunt it" and I live in Pittsburgh. I have never had a problem. Why is this? Can you explain why it's this way for my friends and I, yet not for others – like you say in your last post?

Pittsburgh is so intolerant they even shut down Liberty Avenue once a year and let us gays throw a huge circuit party with open containers and thousands of people! Crazy!

[JacksPgh]

Wasn't this year the largest Gay Pride yet?

[BrianTH]

I have to admit I'm not even sure what "flaunt it" means anymore. I know it used to include just gay couples doing normal couple things in public, but these days that doesn't seem particularly notable. It also used to mean things like Gay Pride events, but those also seem widely-accepted these days. So I am actually struggling to come up with a plausible behavior that would count as "flaunting it" in a modern context.

[JacksPgh]

In my travels, I've only seen 2 men holding hands in the countries largest gay communities. NYC, SF and Miami. People in LA don't walk so...

I get to Philly a lot. There are many openly gay people walking around but never seen them actually holding hands.

[DanceOfDays]

If you're in Philly's gayborhood any night of the week you'll probably end up seeing a bit more than hand-holding in public, although granted with a fair amount of alcohol involved. PDA wouldn't be out of place downtown at any time of day though. Sadly I have a very skewed perception of Pittsburgh because I have family from the North/South hills who epitomize the close-minded, conservative suburbia type. I listen to them rail against gays all the time, while little do they know... Sorry to derail the thread, OP good luck on your house search!

[Geeo]

I'm gay and have lived in southwestern PA all my life. Never had a problem. Ethnic grandma just wanted me to be happy, the church is welcoming, neighbors are great, tons of restaurants in my area with a straight and gay crowd all getting along. Of course there are still some Neanderthal bigots out there, but they're a dying minority.

[AaronClark]

"Flaunt it" ....personally I hate that term, but since she said it I used it. To me it's doing the same things any other straight couple can be seen doing in public. So basically, it means being a normal human being, which is unfortunate that there are still people who think of that as "flaunting it". Didn't mean it like I was rollerskating down the street with sparklers in hand and a pink tutu on or anything.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by AaronClark

"Flaunt it" ....personally I hate that term, but since she said it I used it. To me it's doing the same things any other straight couple can be seen doing in public. So basically, it means being a normal human being, which is unfortunate that there are still people who think of that as "flaunting it". Didn't mean it like I was rollerskating down the street with sparklers in hand and a pink tutu on or anything.

Just to be clear, from the scare quotes you used around "flaunt it" I knew that you didn't mean it to be taken seriously (I was more addressing the original poster).

And by the way, that was more or less the point I was getting at--these days, it seems to me to really "flaunt it" in a notable way, you'd have to do something normal people (gay or straight) don't actually do (the sparklers and tutus and such).

[Jakiss9]

Everyone here has been great. One more question. We are moving from Connecticut to Pittsburgh. Anyone familiar with West Hartford or Glastonbury, CT? Pretty much looking for a similar area in Pittsburgh. Thanks.