gay friendly? (Columbia, Greenville, Sumter: lawyers, Home Depot, subdivisions)

[gsupstate]

My partner and I moved to Greenville several years ago and have found the people of the city to be very welcoming and gay friendly. Walk along Main Street in downtown and you'll find several stores displaying rainbow flag stickers or Human Rights stickers. Most all bars and restaurants are mixed crowds (straight and gay). In general, the people in Greenville are an educated bunch and very accepting of gays. The increase of tourism as well as events that draw liberals (the US Pro Cycling Championships) have added to the gay friendly attitude. Additionally, due to the high quality of life and beauty of the Greenville area, the city is attracting many gays from nearby Atlanta who are tired of the Atlanta BS.

We have lived in much larger cities (Dallas, DC, Pitt, Atlanta, etc) and find Greenville our favorite place.

The gay scene here is not "in your face" parades or clubs, but very educated, coupled, white collar and very vibrant. We just bought a boat this past year and docked it at a marina on Lake Hartwell.....the place is a mini "Fire Island".

For the record, the ONLY place I've ever felt threatened in SC was in the "supposedly" liberal city of Columbia. Some dumb college jocks started screaming "F*G" at us as we walked down the street.

[nuevaluz]

Originally Posted by waccamatt

Columbia and Charleston both do have such an ordinance and candidates in city elections know they can't win without at least some support in the lgbt community.

Charleston has a citywide antidiscrimination ordinance? I wasn't aware of this. I was under the impression that it was only a policy for city employees. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[usc_gal98]

I didn't read all the replies but it would seem that Columbia has the best gay community. Charleston will also be a good choice.

[nuevaluz]

My partner and I are moving to Charleston from NYC this spring. The reason we chose the Lowcountry is its urbane historic downtown, vibrant arts scene, proximity to the sea, and quiet lifestyle. We're aware that the gay community is somewhat conservative and dispersed; however, by no means closeted. While nearby Columbia and Savannah both appear to be more openly gay, with their bars, social service and activist organizations, and pride festivals, Charleston's subdued community seems more integrated into the everyday fabric of the urban area. This fits our current situation here in Brooklyn where we are out to our neighbors, family and colleagues, but don't necessarily live in or participate in the epicenter of the gay community like we might have once done. Nowadays, our demanding jobs, social network of family and friends, and spiritual and physical health are most important. Thus, Charleston is the logical progression toward downsizing from the cacophony of all that is New York to a more managable lifestyle in the Lowcountry.

[Davs]

I completely understand and relate to wanting to live where there are less families and more childless couples. My husband and I are kid free with a 20 year age difference between us and we currently live in Scottsdale, AZ. And even though there are some pretty snooty people here, I see couples of the same sex all the time and it doesn't seem to bother anybody. I think people here are more open minded about the whole "gay" thing. We have talked about maybe moving to SC eventually so I'm glad to I came across this post. Good luck.

[cpking99]

My partner of 25 years is being relocated to the Columbia area with his company. I have been looking online, trying to determine whether or not the Columbia area would welcome (or at least tolerate) us as neighbors.

It is interesting reading some of the posts here... I was raised in the church my great grandmother founded - she was an Italian immigrant and created a protestant (Presbyterian) church. From the old stories, she was clearly a rebel...

Ironically, our friends and social circles tend to include mostly straight couples/families, with very few other gays. As we are not the barhopping sort of guys that many feel is the norm, we typically have no place to meet other gay men.

We currently live on 4 acres in the country and often entertain - predominantly neighborhood parties where, to my knowledge, we are the only gay couple.

I guess my point is that you can either enjoy people for simply being themselves, or you can rail against someone out of ignorance. And, as another poster mentioned, you can find "strange" people everywhere (gay and straight).

We definitely believe in God, we are definitely saved, but I absolutely avoid the evangelicals who preach hate rather than love. I'm not trying to sidetrack the thread to religion per se, but remember that Jesus preached love. You don't have to love me, but you certainly have no reason to hate me...

Originally Posted by ruralgirlz

Not one person has asked you to "worship" homosexuals! Just be yourself and the gays won't bother you a bit! And believe it or not, there are MANY gays who also believe in Christ, just not the hate preaching. Gays (OR gay friendly decent people like the original poster) do not need to live in an exclusively gay neighborhood to feel good about themselves either.

I believe the original posting was the desire for a nice area in SC where the neighbors aren't quite as intolerant as you seem to be. It's intolerant people that gays feel bad for. Very sad to have that kind of hatred and intolerance.

I totally empathize with the original poster.

It seems in the south still... there are many people with intolerance and hatred. And FYI, there are many "polluted" areas of this country where personal sexuality has absolutely nothing to do with the situation.

[Tchadly]

Florence SC is very Gay friendly, and also a great place to live. My wife and I have plenty of gay friends.

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by Tchadly

Florence SC is very Gay friendly, and also a great place to live. My wife and I have plenty of gay friends.

Come on, Tchadly, even a real estate agent can't paint Florence as gay-friendly. Tell me what laws are on the books in Florence or Florence County that prohibit discrimination against gay people.

[Greenville]

Originally Posted by waccamatt

Come on, Tchadly, even a real estate agent can't paint Florence as gay-friendly. Tell me what laws are on the books in Florence or Florence County that prohibit discrimination against gay people.

Rather than looking at laws, it seems that one should be talking to gay people already living there to see how they are treated. That is a much better litmus test than looking at laws or seeing how liberal an area seems to be. An area might look great on paper in that regard, but actually living there as a gay couple might present a totally different reality.

[Coladude]

I agree. I live in Columbia, and although there are quite a few gay people here, there are no "white collar" gay gatherings or groups. It is really a pretty dirty town and very separated. I have found Greenville to be a very progressive city, doing many things to make a more close-nit community! My choice is Greenville, overall.