Gay professional might move to Chicago from San Francisco...will I like it? (Lincoln: health insurance, credit card)

[Maintainschaos]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

Interesting. I think many could make the argument that Chicago is open, accepting, and progressive BECAUSE of the people that are not actually from Chicago. Small town Indiana may be less open and accepting, however, those young professionals that come from there are in Chicago because they love the energy, diversity, etc. and make the city just a tiny bit more open and accepting as opposed to the white ethnic natives of Chicago who are somewhat removed from what makes Chicago distinct from smaller, less hip cities.

I think you misunderstand me. This comment was directed towards the encounter I had with a tourist, i.e. someone not from Chicago that also didn't live in Chicago. And it only happened once.

[Maintainschaos]

Originally Posted by RonnieJonez

Fashion is acceptable for women in Chicago, but as a male, the threshold is still very low for what is considered gay and/or possibly gay. It's still an across-the-board midwestern city, which probably makes sense given it's in the midwest. It constantly makes the fattest city list, Minneapolis is consistently among the fittest. That should show a difference right there.

You've mentioned being questioned in Iowa, but you also went to ISU which is a known conservative school. Had you gone to Iowa City, that wouldn't have been your experience nearly as much. (Now you're gonna say you know someone who said ISU is more liberal than UIowa).

I know you've used non-gentrified neighborhoods as some barometer of knowing the city, but those neighborhoods are usually even less open minded.

I've said before that there are a few neighborhoods that are obviously not like the majority, but the overriding culture is not like Wicker Park.

So are you implying that somehow Chicago is more Midwestern than Minneapolis because a city of 2.7 million has more obese people than a city of less than 400,000? Or that Minneapolis has different thresholds for male fashion because it has a higher percentage of fit adults? Or is it a complete non-sequitor you just chose to throw in?

It sounds as if you've had a very niche experience with Mpls, which is not something I've really ever known or experienced or would have ever gathered from the countless times I've been there. Nor an experience of my partner's, who lived and grew up outside St. Paul. Honestly, this thread has nothing to do with the Twin cities, and it isn't on the OP's radar given the original criteria (i.e. desiring a bustling, dynamic, urban, and wordly city).

[Ace Rothstein]

Originally Posted by RonnieJonez

Fashion is acceptable for women in Chicago, but as a male, the threshold is still very low for what is considered gay and/or possibly gay. It's still an across-the-board midwestern city, which probably makes sense given it's in the midwest. It constantly makes the fattest city list, Minneapolis is consistently among the fittest. That should show a difference right there.

You've mentioned being questioned in Iowa, but you also went to ISU which is a known conservative school. Had you gone to Iowa City, that wouldn't have been your experience nearly as much. (Now you're gonna say you know someone who said ISU is more liberal than UIowa).

I know you've used non-gentrified neighborhoods as some barometer of knowing the city, but those neighborhoods are usually even less open minded.

I've said before that there are a few neighborhoods that are obviously not like the majority, but the overriding culture is not like Wicker Park.

I've noticed that nobody really gives two ****s about fashion in Chicago.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Ace Rothstein

I've noticed that nobody really gives two ****s about fashion in Chicago.

There are many people who do, and many people who don't. It's just like any major city in that you have areas where you'll see it and then (probably more) areas where you won't. To say that nobody gives two ****s about fashion in Chicago is false though. Many do, and then many don't. Nothing abnormal to most other American cities IMO.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by RonnieJonez

Fashion is acceptable for women in Chicago, but as a male, the threshold is still very low for what is considered gay and/or possibly gay. It's still an across-the-board midwestern city, which probably makes sense given it's in the midwest. It constantly makes the fattest city list, Minneapolis is consistently among the fittest. That should show a difference right there.

Again. Bull****. There's a difference between not doing it yourself and tolerance. Do you have to be gay to accept gay people? No, so you don't have to practice fashion forwardness to tolerate it. And in my experience, I have never run into anybody giving two ****s about my fashion forwardness in this city like I have in some other states/cities.

I know you've used non-gentrified neighborhoods as some barometer of knowing the city, but those neighborhoods are usually even less open minded.

And yet, nobody has ever said anything to me and people in these neighborhoods at bars still talk to me like anyone else. Oh and it's funny you bring up the ISU thing like I was bound to my experiences at ISU. I used to go to Iowa City and also Des Moines all the time, and still got **** in both of those cities. I have never experienced it in Chicago.


It's not 2000 anymore. People here tolerate it and there are those who practice fashion too now.

[uber clever user name]

Originally Posted by Ace Rothstein

I've noticed that nobody really gives two ****s about fashion in Chicago.

Except for gay men! LOL!!!!

[uber clever user name]

Originally Posted by Freefall18

I wouldn't say you will never run in to trouble, I'd just say you have to be mindful of your surroundings. People can't tell at all that I'm gay, and I'm rarely one for any type of 'pda' (it can make me uncomfortable/uneasy). But anyway, my second time visiting Chicago I found somebody who I ended up going on several dates with. I had a hotel room in the Lakeshore East area, and we had a late dinner in River North. We were holding hands as we walked back to my hotel at around midnight (not many people out). When we were at Michigan & Wacker a car with two tough-looking guys in it rolled down their window and yelled quite loudly "HAA, FA****S". Obviously it could've been worse. Nothing violent happened, but it still made me feel very uneasy and got my blood pumping as I didn't know if they were going to get out of their car or what was going to happen. Since then I'm even more reluctant to do anything that shows that I'm gay if I'm not in a safe area with people around.

I don't say this to say that Chicago isn't safe for gays, or accepting, but rather I think it's naive for some of the people on here to say that there's no way there could be a problem in Chicago.

Wow, that really sucks. My sympathies to you. I am not gay nor am I one of those people who think it should even be an issue (I mean in terms of anyone discussing their sexual or romantic proclivities) but I certainly think it's effed up for people to scream stuff out of the window.

When I hear "straight" men doing sh*t like that, I feel they are latent as hell. A REAL straight guy isn't terrified of seeing two gay guys go at it if it doesn't turn him on...

But River North is NOT Chicago, IMO. Not what my Chicago stands for. It's very touristy and filled with people who have lots of money but it isn't very interesting to me as part of the city. In other words, it probably attracts lots of shallow people in the first place. Go to areas like Boystown/Lakeview, Andersonville, maybe Wicker Park/Bucktown and you will see more out-of-the-box types.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by uber clever user name

When I hear "straight" men doing sh*t like that, I feel they are latent as hell. A REAL straight guy isn't terrified of seeing two gay guys go at it if it doesn't turn him on...

Amen.

But River North is NOT Chicago, IMO. Not what my Chicago stands for. It's very touristy and filled with people who have lots of money but it isn't very interesting to me as part of the city. In other words, it probably attracts lots of shallow people in the first place. Go to areas like Boystown/Lakeview, Andersonville, maybe Wicker Park/Bucktown and you will see more out-of-the-box types.

It is, and it isn't. You're absolutely right though that it's full of people from all types of areas of the world. You never know who you will run into really.

[Chicago60614]

Originally Posted by RonnieJonez

Fashion is acceptable for women in Chicago, but as a male, the threshold is still very low for what is considered gay and/or possibly gay. It's still an across-the-board midwestern city, which probably makes sense given it's in the midwest. It constantly makes the fattest city list, Minneapolis is consistently among the fittest. That should show a difference right there.

You've mentioned being questioned in Iowa, but you also went to ISU which is a known conservative school. Had you gone to Iowa City, that wouldn't have been your experience nearly as much. (Now you're gonna say you know someone who said ISU is more liberal than UIowa).

I know you've used non-gentrified neighborhoods as some barometer of knowing the city, but those neighborhoods are usually even less open minded.

I've said before that there are a few neighborhoods that are obviously not like the majority, but the overriding culture is not like Wicker Park.

I dunno, I've been here since 2001 (came from Iowa City actually, grew up there) and am a gay guy. I've certainly noticed the dress of straight people in Chicago has changed since 10-12 years ago. Certainly in the past 3-5 years I've noticed it the most, with the more tailored and "fashionable" dress for guys. I've caught myself wondering if some straight guy was gay (just random curiosity) much more the past few years than I ever did before. The whole macho/midwest/jock/frat/meathead dress has tamed down a great deal and people are dressing a lot better. The whole metrosexual thing.

From what I've seen though this has happened all over the country. Coasts just as in the Midwest. Moreso in places like NYC and Cali, but that doesn't mean everyone in the central states are just wandering around eating lard out of a can with their fingers up their butt.

[marothisu]

^ I very much agree with the above. You obviously still see the meathead look, but I've actually been surprised the last two years even at the amount of guys wearing various stylish, colored pants here, regardless of their sexual preference. Obviously it's still behind the likes of NYC, LA, and Miami, but there's some headway here.

I think in some ways too companies like Trunk Club are doing a good thing here. Women, for example, are putting more pressure on guys to "up" their game and they're responding. So some guys who used to not care, are caring now, funny enough. I have actually been thanked by the women I've dated in Chicago for being able to dress well and all but 1 or 2 have actually told me they'd never date a guy who couldn't dress at least semi well. Obviously this isn't everyone, but IMO from what I've seen it seems as if they are becoming less afraid to tell guys what they think.

Chicago Startup Trunk Club Is Disrupting the Men's Fashion Industry - Forbes