Seattle a good place for gay Asian couple? (Bellevue, Shoreline: find a job, neighborhoods)

[leongil]

We are a gay binational couple. I am Asian-American and my partner is Asian and speaks English as a second language. After living in Asia for several years, we are looking to relocate to the States but haven't settled on a place yet. I am originally from the east coast but don't wish to return as New York is the only place I feel that we could find a community but it's too expensive.

I am wondering if Seattle is a place where we could potentially find a community and not feel judged or stared at for being minorities on multiple fronts. Other places we are considering are San Diego, LA, the Bay area, and Portland.

Affordability is another big issue for us as he will not be able to work at all for the first several months and I will probably not have a very high income (once I find a job). The Bay area would be my first choice but the desirable (safe) communities all seem too pricey. LA appeals to me but again, the safe/decent parts of LA seem to be too expensive. San Diego seems a bit too conservative and not necessarily Asian-friendly or gay-friendly. Still, it's cheaper and has a near-perfect climate so it's still an option. Portland and Seattle I don't know too much about other than that they are both progressive and have sizable Asian populations (at least Seattle does, don't know about Portland).

Thoughts?

[shaylahc]

Seattle recently surpassed San Francisco as having the largest gay population in the US. I don't think you'll need to worry about discrimination here.

Seattle is expensive, but San Francisco is even more so.

Good luck to you whatever you decide!

ETA we have a huge Asian population, so no worries there either.

[amaiunmei]

What can you afford?

If it matters to you, also know that a lot of the Asian nationalities are spread out in different neighborhoods. Chinese are in Bellevue, Koreans are living north of the city around Lynnwood and Shoreline, Filipinos are all over but coalesce around the Beacon Hill area, and Japanese folks are also all over.

[wutitiz]

I think you would be okay anyplace in the US. The nation was founded on 'e pluribus, Unum,' after all. I can't say about the deep South, although I lived in Atlanta for a little while, and you would be OK there. Seattle tends to go in boom-bust cycles. There was a famous billboard from 1971 that said "Will the last person leaving SEATTLE -- Turn out the lights."
HistoryLink.org- the Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History

The Seattle region is currently in a boom, so your timing is good. On the other hand boom=high cost of living, and there is reason to question how long the boom will last, based on past history. If it were me I would look at unemployment by state, and go to one of the states with lowest unemployment. Washington is pretty far down the list at 29 out of 51.
Unemployment Rates for States

Anyway welcome aboard, and good luck.

[kaday]

Yes.

[eskercurve]

We have body-art-piercing-studded-gay-dad couples walking around here with no one batting an eye. Also, people claiming to be superheroes and actually attempting to fight crime.

In comparison, you two will be fairly pedestrian. You'll do fine here.