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I agree Chapel hill would be a good choice, but I'm wondering why you put Columbia in the same rank as Greenville. I see adults on the C-D threads recommend it as a gay friendly city. But as Lukasage says, schools are a whole nother matter.
One question for the OP - how does your child look in a casual setting, like at the mall or movies? Would people assume they were a girl and not give it a second thought.
Thanks for the responses. Leaning towards Columbia since the schools have more students, think it would be easier to blend in and seems to be more diversity. The Harriet Hancock Center at USC was the deciding factor, think the resources there would help a lot. Gotta do the best I can for my kid no matter what.
Asheville is far more diverse than Columbia and would be a much better choice. Columbia is a very conservative, bible belt city with a strong military presence. As other posters have cited, Chapel Hill would be an even better choice.
Last edited by carolinadawg2; 03-02-2015 at 06:44 AM..
I agree Chapel hill would be a good choice, but I'm wondering why you put Columbia in the same rank as Greenville. I see adults on the C-D threads recommend it as a gay friendly city. But as Lukasage says, schools are a whole nother matter.
One question for the OP - how does your child look in a casual setting, like at the mall or movies? Would people assume they were a girl and not give it a second thought.
I'm guessing the OP is hoping to find a place where the answer to this question is irrelevant.
Wish you luck with Columbia, wouldn't have picked it myself very conservative. Think Asheville is more open to diversity. Where ever you all end up I hope your child finds happiness and sucess with the transition.
I agree with the above. I would think out of the many cities in this country, Asheville would definitely be one more accepting, as a city. However, high schools seem to have more of their own little culture, each one quite different, too. If it were me looking where to move to for a more supportive community for my child, I would call different high schools in areas I am interested in and ask to speak to the school counselors who I find often have a good feel for the student population, and get their opinion on the situation. Then I would go and visit the areas, and spend quite a bit of time in the high schools.
As far as Asheville being "snooty", I have heard many descriptions of Asheville, but never that. I think you will find it a very accepting little mecca. To me it is one of the beautiful things about the place.
How wonderful that your child clearly has your full support - that is certainly not true of all parents of transgender children! I wish you and her all the very best in your search, and may you land just where you should be.
+ Another...exc post and opinion.
And, I would take a pass on Columbia, and many areas of SC: Africa hot much of the year, very 'south' in terms of general attitudes, etc.
Asheville, Chapel Hill, Raleigh-Durham, et al vs SC.
And, I would take a pass on Columbia, and many areas of SC: Africa hot much of the year, very 'south' in terms of general attitudes, etc.
Asheville, Chapel Hill, Raleigh-Durham, et al vs SC.
GL, mD
+2 Agreed that the post that this comment referenced contains the best approaches to locating the right high school. There also seem to be some other resources that the OP could contact for specific suggestions. Ditto on the suggested locales of Asheville, Chapel Hill and Raleigh-Durham. Some consider "Asheville" to be a wide region of WNC, which does not apply in this case. Asheville means the City of Asheville. Gay Student-groups
I don't know if you're stuck choosing between Columbia and Asheville for a job relocation or if those two just appealed to you for different reasons. I imagine there are some LGBTQ resources at USC that may trickle down to the high schools if that's where you gotta go.
I can understand that your wife may have reservations about Chapel Hill being "snooty" if she had reservations about Asheville, so I just wanted to clarify that the link to the high school Gay/Straight group I posted is for the whole of the Triangle, not just Chapel Hill. If she would feel more comfortable in some place like Apex (Raleigh suburb) I think they have a strong Gay/Straight Alliance, too. Here's a video they made:
and here's the link to the Triangle wide high school LGBTQ/straight organization: iNSIDEoUT | We are ninjas. .
You might think about some charter schools, too. I know my kids' charter is very accepting of "different" kids and while your child is liable to experience negative behavior by others to some degree wherever they go, some place like my kids' school where there's a small student body and several "out" kids and many geek culture kids might work, too.
You might think about some charter schools, too. I know my kids' charter is very accepting of "different" kids and while your child is liable to experience negative behavior by others to some degree wherever they go, some place like my kids' school where there's a small student body and several "out" kids and many geek culture kids might work, too.
I don't have kids but have been following this thread with interest. I was also thinking that a secular charter school might be the way to go... smaller student body than public schools, more affordable than a private school, and likely to take a more personal approach with each student.
Chapel Hill would be best but it's too far from my job, trying to keep the commute less than 3 hours. Columbia has the Harriet Hancock LGBT Center at USC & Richland County has anti-discrimination ordinances, so as far as South Carolina, maybe Charleston would be better, but again too far.
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