Relocating to DC-Any gayborhoods?

[rlchurch]

I don't think you'll find a neighborhood in the District that isn't gay friendly. It's really not that big a deal anymore if you neighbors are gay. My advice is to just find an area that you like. Your neighbors will undoubtedly welcome you, regardless of their orientation.

[HomerBrink]

Heed what jm67 said. DuPont's lost its movie theaters, a bookstore or two and is quickly becoming restaurant row for suburbanites and out of towners.

[bogfrog]

Columbia Heights is gay-friendly, but the U street area has more upscale home furnishing stores.

[terrence81]

As a newcomer myself maybe I'm not expert of the year but still have an opinion. Yeah if you want to be in gay central it would definitely be Dupont Circle. At the same time Dupont is soooo expensive and in my observation most gay folks can't afford to live there.

A cheaper alternative would be the area around U street and Ledroit Park. I love U street lots of energy and judging by the number of revelers on election night, has a good number of liberal leaning folks. But like others have mentioned any neighborhood would be fine nobody's going to bother you.

Or you could do like me, live close to work and just drive into the city on the weekends. You'll have more money for going out and you could metro into the city. However, I've noticed a lot of gay folks that work in the suburbs, still live in the city and do a reverse commute.

[smakawhat]

The irony is that Dupont is the defacto gay center (ie bookstores, rainbow flags etc...) of DC, but I would say that probably only about 30% of the people who live there are gay.

You'll be fine anywhere in the city, people don't care, they live everywhere in DC.

[davect1]

DC proper is one of the most densely populated gay areas in the country. By city (because it's so small) it has been rated as the "gayest" city in the country in past years. Check out U Street, Adams Morgan, Dupont, and now the big gay area is Logan Circle. All these areas have unusually large gay populations. Northern Virginia has some areas as well, but they tend to be a little more "family oriented" (not that it's a bad thing :-)

[chrisherbert]

I think as long as you move to any nice, happening part of DC you'll find plenty of gay people. Dupont is not going to be affordable based on the combined income.

Arlington/NOVA is very nice and will certainly be gay friendly, but they don't have nearly the concentration of gays that DC does. Are there any gay bars in Arlington other than Freddies? The fact that you specifically asked about "gayborhoods" makes me think that NOVA isn't what you're looking for.

Regarding Shaw, I don't know if that's really the right place either. It has Town and Nellie's but I think you should look farther west.

[BearLaker]

Originally Posted by chrisherbert

I think as long as you move to any nice, happening part of DC you'll find plenty of gay people. Dupont is not going to be affordable based on the combined income.

Arlington/NOVA is very nice and will certainly be gay friendly, but they don't have nearly the concentration of gays that DC does. Are there any gay bars in Arlington other than Freddies? The fact that you specifically asked about "gayborhoods" makes me think that NOVA isn't what you're looking for.

Regarding Shaw, I don't know if that's really the right place either. It has Town and Nellie's but I think you should look farther west.

I agree. I've lived in DC for years and you might consider the Pentagon City area (where Freddie's is) because there's lots of shopping, theaters and the metro (a must). Otherwise Arlington is sort of boring.

However you might also look out toward the north...Bethesda, Chevy Chase, etc. Those are a little more family oriented communities but certainly lots to do. Just make sure you get on the metro line because traffic in DC can be a b***h. If you end up heading toward the suburbs just look at the Metro map and start from there.

Good luck!

[terrence81]

Originally Posted by chrisherbert

Regarding Shaw, I don't know if that's really the right place either. It has Town and Nellie's but I think you should look farther west.

See I have to disagree. After Dupont that area to me has the most gay folks. At least in MY experience I'd even say more younger folks (like post college) stay in the area around U street than Dupont because Dupont is soooo expensive.

But at the end of the day it doesn't get any gayer than Dupont.

[Gil3]

Originally Posted by rlchurch

I don't think you'll find a neighborhood in the District that isn't gay friendly. It's really not that big a deal anymore if you neighbors are gay. My advice is to just find an area that you like. Your neighbors will undoubtedly welcome you, regardless of their orientation.

Spot on..This is one of the most diverse and accepting areas in the country. To the OP..If you are worrried that you and your partner will not be accepted, trust me..that won't happen here. In fact, most people don't even your orientation a second thought. As for me..as long as you are a decent person, that's all that matters.