Gays/discrimination in Draper/Sandy (Salt Lake City: neighborhoods, tax, living in)

[Never4Fit]

Hi,

I plan on moving to Utah soon. Even though I am not gay, I've been living in gay-friendly Seattle for a few years, and I was wondering how open people are to gays in Utah, especially in the Draper/Sandy areas.

Is there open discrimination? Are people ok being friends or friendly with gay people (adults and teens)?

Thanks!

[Lmejh]

Well, we had a state Senator proclaim that gays were the biggest threat to our country, so I'm not sure Utah is quite ready to open up to gays and the like, especially suburbs like Draper and Sandy. Downtown Salt Lake City is much more liberal-minded, however.

[stycotl]

Originally Posted by Lmejh

Well, we had a state Senator proclaim that gays were the biggest threat to our country, so I'm not sure Utah is quite ready to open up to gays and the like, especially suburbs like Draper and Sandy. Downtown Salt Lake City is much more liberal-minded, however.

that guy is an ass-clown though, so i'm not sure that i'd take him as my example of the utah mentality.

that said, utah is certainly a very conservative state still, especially as regarding homosexuality, and there are many people that feel threatened by it. salt lake itself has a very large homosexual population, and is a more liberal area than the rest of the state in general, and the gays that i know that live there are pretty content. outside of slc though, it probably wouldn't be super fun or fulfilling.

[mktavish]

What? did you miss the whole prop 8 / hate debate???
That issue really polarized the community in salt lake/surrounding area's , and actually stepped up the discrimination against LDS .... But Id have to say "Did they not expect it?"

So if you want to be in the middle of people charged up on the issue , Both sides .... move on down .

[lizziebreath]

Sandy is very liberal and very actually catholic I worked at the Macy's up there and it's very gay friendly.

[mktavish]

Originally Posted by lizziebreath

Sandy is very liberal and very actually catholic I worked at the Macy's up there and it's very gay friendly.

Sandy is liberal when it comes to spending tax payer money

[markg91359]

I would think gay people looking for an accepting community would probably choose to locate in Salt Lake City proper. I think the suburbs can be pretty conservative in a social sense. Although, a lot would depend on the neighborhood.

[Mtn. States Resident]

Originally Posted by markg91359

I would think gay people looking for an accepting community would probably choose to locate in Salt Lake City proper. I think the suburbs can be pretty conservative in a social sense. Although, a lot would depend on the neighborhood.

I'd agree. Sugarhouse or the Avenues are the best bets for gay friendly, IMHO.

If it were me, Sandy/Draper would be the LAST place in Salt Lake County I'd recommend to a gay couple. Maybe some pockets of Sandy, but not the entire city. And not the Draper I know.

I'm not sure residents of Sandy/Draper would see it as discrimination, or would many other SL County neighborhoods. Rather, I believe many would see the issue that they live where they have friends and/or relatives who do many of the same things they like to do. Conversely, many gays prefer the avenues or areas in downtown SLC as there are many gay couples who have similar interests etc.

I agree with lizziebreath that Sandy has many Catholics; however, I don't think that means Sandy is a Seattle kind of liberal area. Utah has a large Catholic population.

You may want to check for former threads about the Avenues or Sugarhouse. The Avenues are the best known gay friendly neighborhood (lower Aves, not the high altitude ones).

Good luck finding the right place for you.

MSR