Is Olympia Lesbian Friendly? (Seattle, Spokane: homes, college, live in)

[lilith99]

Does Olympia have much of a lesbian community? As a person new to town, what would be the best way to meet other lesbians?

Is the area generally gay-friendly or unfriendly?

I'm applying for a job in Olympia and it would be good to know. Currently live in LA, and looking for someplace more peaceful where I can get out of the traffic :-)

Thank you!!!

[azcallin]

Most areas of WA are gay/lesbian friendly - Downtown Seattle is the place to meet people - many gay clubs there - and Craigslist. Good luck with your move - you will like it here.

[theRain]

Olympia, home to Evergreen College, sometimes referred to as the lesbian college. You should be fine.

[ysabella]

I would say it's gay-friendly, but I'm not gay so I can't say with authority. I know two lesbian couples around here who seem happy. I'm not sure how you would meet others in the gay community, but I think there is probably a way. This is a lovely area, and I hope you will like it here.

The Rainbow Center
Capital City Pride, Olympia, Washginton

[Sandy Nelson]

I would say Olympia is gay/lesbian friendly. I'm judging this purely by the frequency and number of lesbian couples I see in public, openly displaying affection, as well as people displaying the rainbow flag outside their homes and wearing rainbow pins. If there were strong anti-homosexual sentiments in Olympia, I doubt people would be so comfortable expressing their sexual orientation.
Diversity is good.

Sandy

[moonmaiden]

Definitely - speaking as a mom to a gay son, he loves the Oly area and there are a lot of gays/lesbians there plus with the college life there, people are just pretty tolerant of anyone that's a bit unusual. If you walk downtown, you'll see a bit of everything and the town is just lovely - I think you'll enjoy it!!

[emeraldmoon]

I can only agree with what the others have said here. And add that Oly has some traffic but a lot less that L.A. It's a nice town, relaxed and easy with people.

[suenwayne]

Olympia is still a lot of old fashioned logger types. Not many tree huggers or open minded folks there. Portland may be more for you.
Their motto is "Keep Portland Weird". Seriously! They are unabashedly flamboyant about their liberalism.

[AngelaE8654]

I am also not gay, but Olympia is very liberal in its thinking. I am from Aberdeen, out on the coast, and we are more the old fashioned logger types. I don't think you'll have too much of a problem in Olympia. I work there and the people there are pretty diverse and quite friendly.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by azcallin

- and Craigslist.

I'd be a bit more cautious about suggesting CraigsList as a great venue for meeting new quality people. I don't know if you've seen the personal ads lately on most city forums on there, but 99.9% are solely people soliciting sexual favors from one another under the guise of "chilling", "hanging out", "being friends", etc. I myself responded to an ad there for the Scranton, PA CraigsList and was optimistic to read about a fit young college student who wanted to "hang out" at his home. I thought to myself "Great! I could use more gay college friends, and since he's "fit" maybe I'll finally have a running partner!" I showed up at the front door and was met by an overweight, late-30s-early-40s, balding, hairy guy. It truly was an eye-opening experience and made me think twice about meeting people on the Internet.

A helpful word of advice would be to always arrange to meet someone from the Internet in a very public area such as a mall, park, grocery store, etc. so that if he/she tries to abduct you or do anything illicit, you'll have a good supply of witnesses around to call 911. I'm sorry to get all "preachy" here, but from my experience as a young gay male the only usage for CraigsList personal ads are for random hook-ups. Sadly with the limited gay nightlife scene my area affords, one must drive two hours into Manhattan or Philly to enjoy a "night out on the town," which is why resources like CraigsList have become so popular in smaller metropolitan areas.

I've always heard that Washington overall is a very liberal state. A part of me has always wanted to visit the Puget Sound area, but I'd never live there until the "big one" finally hits so that I won't have to worry about being in the Space Needle when it tips over or on the Alaskan Way Viaduct when it collapses like an accordion! Spokane, however, has always intrigued me too.

Best of luck in your relocation, and I also wish you good fortune romantically! I was single for three years until I found my current partner, and we'll be celebrating our six-month anniversary in a few days with a wonderful night in the city. I'm sure you'll find someone to love and appreciate as well!