Is the bay area safe for an arab lesbian?! (San Francisco: rental market, theatre)

[Sushixoxo]

Hello there,
my partner and i are thinking of moving to San francisco to attend graduate school. we're both middle eastern and we're thinking of living there after taking our masters. but how friendly is san francisco (the bay area)?? we did visit the place for like 4 days and loved it. but we're not sure if we're going to meet people and have friends and all.. its a big change.

[Sushixoxo]

we just wanna know how friendly is san francisco after you live in it? Especially if you're an middle Eastern, is there any LGBT middle eastern group or meet ups?! any tips or advices would be really helpful. thank you.

[pch1013]

I don't know about groups or meetups (I'm sure you could Google that) but your biggest problem in SF -- by far -- will be trying to afford it. The rental market is the cruelest gatekeeper there is, and the only people against whom it discriminates are poor ones, i.e. those earning less than $100K.

[Sushixoxo]

Originally Posted by pch1013

I don't know about groups or meetups (I'm sure you could Google that) but your biggest problem in SF -- by far -- will be trying to afford it. The rental market is the cruelest gatekeeper there is, and the only people against whom it discriminates are poor ones, i.e. those earning less than $100K.

Been trying to google around and can't find much. maybe its just hard to google for things like that from here. half of the websites here are blocked. I guess we're gonna do that when we're in SF. Rent isn't a main issue for now only because we'll be staying in campus housing. but i did read that they're pretty expensive, kind of like where I'm from. Thank you so much for the reply.

[pch1013]

Here's a listing of resources, which includes a couple of gay groups (though one is apparently for men only):

Resources

I know there are a few mosques (assuming you and your partner are Muslim) as well as narghile bars etc. But then I suppose you might encounter anti-gay discrimination from other community members.

I should add that if you're political at all, and even perhaps if you aren't, you might find yourselves -- merely by virtue of your ethnicity -- drawn into pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel politics, which are omnipresent in the Bay Area and particularly in academia.

[beb0p]

This is not Nebreska, I can almost guarantee you that if you have a problem in SF, that problem will not be about race or sexual orientation. If publicly naked transgender potheads with outsized egos can be accepted here, there's no reason you won't be. The only people who may have a problem here are Republicans, ok kidding; half kidding.
.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Sushixoxo

we just wanna know how friendly is san francisco after you live in it? Especially if you're an middle Eastern, is there any LGBT middle eastern group or meet ups?! any tips or advices would be really helpful. thank you.

You could start one. There are Islamic associations around the Bay Area. You might be able to start there, at least for a sense of community, and do some kind of networking. Or....maybe not. You decide.

http://www.iseb.org/

http://www.mcceastbay.org/

[justinbro2002]

you should have almost no problem with being lesbian in San Francisco or the greater bay area. Where you might run into problems is within the Arab community where being gay is not equal opportunity where being a gay man is kept "secret" but really it is more or less accepted as boys will be boys being lesbian is not accepted. But if you were going to find a community of Arab lesbians anywhere on earth this is where you would find it.

[Sushixoxo]

we're not really muslims, i mean my partner is an atheist and i believe in god but not in religion so that isnt a problem at all. we just meant the who arab lesbian thing. and if its a friendly place? if its easy to live there and be apart of a community??

Thank you SOOO much for all of your replies, they were helpful ^_^

[pch1013]

Sure, as long as you can find your niche. Many people here have a compulsive need to be "interesting" in some way, and to have friends who are "interesting" in similar ways -- but merely being gay, or even being a gay Arab, is probably not enough. You'll have to find a smaller niche. It'll help if you're really "into" something -- people in SF are heavily into being "into" things -- like music, art, theatre, yoga, etc. Or even organized outdoor activities like hiking or biking.