Would a gay conservative family fit in? (Boise, Meridian: 2014, high school)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Proud gay Trump supporting couple here exploring options for relocation from Albuquerque. Any gay conservatives in Boise willing to share how well you fit in socially? Would be great to hear from others in the know as well.
Albuquerque is quite gay friendly, but my coworkers and neighbors could not meaningfully distinguish a Trump supporter from a Neo-Nazi and we would be universally ostracized here if people knew who we voted for.
Trouble is we were lifelong Democrats before Trump offered the first credible promise of reversing our manufacturing decline, so we are quite unfamiliar with conservative communities. I grew up in liberal Santa Monica (Los Angeles) in a fairly socially liberal Republican family, so my expectations of fitting in in a more traditional midsize town conservative community might be unrealistic.
Just to be clear, we would not want to live anywhere where we would need to live more discreetly or self-consciously than our straight neighbors order to avoid some kind of social disapproval. Please know that commments like "you'll be fine as long as you don't flaunt it" - which might also be true in Saudi Arabia, Russia, or Nigeria – are not so helpful. Our lifestyle, dress, and values are quite conservative, but obviously all of our neighbors will soon figure out that we are a gay couple unless we were to put on quite a charade.
You might be able to fit in well, you might not. Whichever it is, it is very unlikely to have anything to do with your sexual orientation.
In spite of the lies that progressives make up to prove how superior they are, conservatives in the western states have a tendency to live and let live.
You might not have to live more discreetly, but you will have a better experience if you fit yourself in to the local culture.
Albuquerque is not that far away. I suggest that you spend a little vacation time in Boise and take the temperature of the social climate for yourself.
I find it interesting that it appears to me that in today's world, admitting you are pro Trump/Hillary is probably more cause for discussion than your being straight/gay. My beliefs are pretty simple, if you are a good person and are an asset to this world, you are qualified to be my friend. If you are a troll / hater - move along.
I find it interesting that it appears to me that in today's world, admitting you are pro Trump/Hillary is probably more cause for discussion than your being straight/gay. My beliefs are pretty simple, if you are a good person and are an asset to this world, you are qualified to be my friend. If you are a troll / hater - move along.
Yup.
I have yet to see a gay couple kiss in the street here, but I've seen a little hand-holding. Since folks here don't like heavy public kissing displays in general on the street, straight or gay, using some restraint in public is something at makes acceptance easier for anyone who moves here.
I really think that folks here just don't care about the issue as long they don't flaunt things. Idahoans don't care much for flaunting in anything very much, I think. But when it happens, they generally won't say anything, even when they disapprove.
Boise folks in general are pretty laid back. Conservative or liberal, gay or straight, those things don't matter as much as being a good person and a good neighbor.
Honestly, will you fit in with every crowd? No you will not. But that is true no matter where you live. If you live in West Boise or Meridian, where like 75+% is Mormon (made up statistic, don't know the actual number, but it seems that high), you aren't going to fit in as well as if you live in the North end. As a liberal atheist, neither am I. But even in those areas, a large number of Mormons are going to be just fine with you, and a large number of those in the North end are going to be fine with you being conservative. We're pretty accepting people.
I'll be polite and just say I am not a Trump supporter, but most of my coworkers are. But honestly, most people around here prefer not to talk about politics. At least until this election. So no one would think it was weird if you said you preferred not to talk about politics.
I always say that what you expect to find is what you will find. If you move here expecting people to be friendly and accepting, you will approach people that way, and in return, you will find people who are friendly and accepting. If you move here expecting people to be cold and prejudiced, then you will approach people THAT way, and will find people who are cold and predjudiced. You find what you bring expectations to find.
One thing that many people do say about Boise is that while people are very nice on the surface, it can be hard to break into being close friends. That is true whether you are gay or straight, religious or not, black or white. Boiseans tend to have a lot of acquaintances and even a lot of friends, but only a few really close friends. So if you feel like you are having trouble making close friends, give it time. It isn't specifically because you are gay. Be patient with us.
In Boise you'll be fine. There's a gay community there since the 60's. They were the 'bad boys of boise' gay pride parades back in the day. I'd hear stories about it being covered in the paper and black and white pictures of them holding signs in their cars on the way to the capital. However, my conservative gay uncle did eventually move to Atlanta. There are still pretty big and colorful gay pride parades in downtown Boise. Then there is the gay community center. The Balcony club. The Emerald club. You'll even see queens. I believe they have a performance support group at some spots. It's been awhile.
Most of the gay people I knew were low key and didn't draw attention to themselves. Unless you knew them you might never know they were gay. Most of them worked in the healthcare field there too. Most people also don't really have a problem with it and either have a relative that's gay or know someone that is. It's really not as big a deal as it used to be in prior generations.
no one would think it was weird if you said you preferred not to talk about politics.
That by itself would be liberating, to be in a place where there is enough intellectual diversity that saying you prefer not to talk about politics is not a giveaway.
Abraxas: Intellectual Diversity - yep Boise is qualified to make that list too. I have had clients ranging from high school drop outs to a very humble retired NASA Rocket Scientist and about everything in between. Some are emotional thinkers and others are logical. It keeps my job interesting! I know people that couldn't find a friend in a city of 5 million people and other people that live like they never met a stranger. Bring value to a relationship and you will do well, suck it out of a relationship and it will dry up. Pretty simple system from my viewpoint (grin).
This is a pretty confusing read I must say. Really there are two conversations going on here. Acceptance of gays and acceptance of Trump. These two items simply do not go together. Also, "I don't want to talk politics" is generally indicative that your view is contrary to the people around you. So in this polarizing time, I'm not sure that will work. Secondly, you're here gauging the acceptance of Trump, so you're obviously looking for a place where your opinions can be validated.
Many in the gay community are threatened by this administration. So without getting into acceptance of this group vs acceptance of that group or right vs wrong, the fact is there simply isn't a gay friendly Trump place or a Trump friendly gay place. If you live nearly anyplace in Boise where the gay community lives or congregates you're going to encounter anti-Trump folk. In fact, Hillary got 70-80% of the vote in many Boise precincts (soure: 2016 Election Results: Clinton Won Big (In the City of Boise) | Unda' the Rotunda | Boise Weekly). Many on this board try to mislead others by saying progressive Boise doesn't exist or try to blame Californians. Boise has always been Progressive and most of the Progressives are and always have been Idaho natives.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
