Thinking of relocating to Ashalnd... info please (Superior, Ashland: college, place to live)

[arizonagurl]

Hi I live in Flagstaff,Az and I'm thinking of trying to find a smaller town to live. Does anyone know anything about Ashland. Is it a liberal town? I don't want to move out there only to risk getting harrased for being gay. Flag is a great town but it is getting to big and being over run with SUV driving *******s. If anyone as any info on Ashalnd I'd appreciate it.

[AMJD12131987]

I am going to Northland College in Ashland starting in the fall. I have been in that area twice, but from the people I met they seemed liberal. Someone from the area could answer your political question better than I could at the moment. They have a Wal-Mart of course with a nice "old town" area. The Bay was absolutely awesome at sunset although it was completely frozen when I was Ashland. They do have very cold winters...It is quite a peaceful location, here is a picture I took looking over the bay earlier this year.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/AMJD12131987/100_0428-1.png (broken link)

[MidniteBreeze]

For northern Wisconsin, the Ashland/Bayfield area is actually quite liberal. People tend to mind their own business and you won't likely be harrassed for being gay, especially if you're discreet (you would probably get started at for really obvious PDA's though).

The northwoods region of northern Wisconsin/northern Minnesota actually attracts a fair amount of ******* couples, espcially adventerous, outdoorsy types. (i.e., you can find lots of organized "women only" retreats up to the Bounday Waters Canoe Wilderness in N. Minnesota...that sort of thing.) The area is defintely more friendly to *******s than to gay men.

You will have to be tolerant of the prevailing northwoods culture though...you'll see lots of pickup trucks, snowmobilers, hunters, etc. As such, people tend to be pro-gun. Politically, the area is very pro-union, pro working man democrat but people are usually more socially and fiscally conservative than your "average" democrat.

While there are some Native American reservations nearby, generally the area is still quite "white" and not very ethnically diverse. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of Native vs. White tension and distrust today.

Wisconsin has a good educational system with hardworking people, but many people live in a "small" world and can be somewhat naive and insular. Ashland is a little more progressive, but you'll find that attitudes toward some ideas are slow to change. You'll also find that people like to "play" as hard as they work. Drinking is very socially accepted there! (Though Ashland did recently inact an indoor smoking ban...very opposite of the rest of N. Wisconsin where you can pretty much smoke anywhere.)

The area around Ashland is gorgeous and you're not far from Duluth (about an hour and a half west on HWY 2) if you want "bigger city" ammenities on occassion. As mentioned above, Ashland is a very peacful and safe place to live and yes, the winters are cold. The south shore of Lake Superior is notorious for heavy snowfalls too (thus the high number of snowmobilers!)

Oh, and I can't mention the Ashland/Bayfield area without mentioning the annual Bayfield Apple Festival in early October. Very big tourist draw!

Hope that helps and good luck.

[MidniteBreeze]

Not sure why they bleeped out a certain word I used, but the word starts with an L and refers to a commonly accepted term for gay women.

[arizonagurl]

Thank you for your input. Very iinformative.