lesbian family leaving suburbs to find a more inclusive place to raise a family in Dallas. Help! (Fort Worth: condo, sex offenders)

[TX75007]

Parts of Dallas will not be very gay friendly either.

Your best bet would be to find a neighborhood close to your work and in a great school district that is tolerant. I would suggest locating the area(s) that shortens your commute and which are great schools, then find an Unitarian Church and talk to them for suggestions. They should be able to steer you to some streets where you will feel at home.

As for your neighbor's reaction. My family is mixed race - and we run the gamut from red hair and white to dark dark brown. I've had the pleasure of being ostracized by Dallas Liberals after they meet the dark side of my family. You just do not know until you know.

[runnermac]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Ggolf- I wish I was kidding about the signs but he currently has 6 in his yard. I'm happy to post a pic if that's possible on this forum. our reasons for moving are because of the overall vibe in this area. It's much more than just one neighbor.. We would like to find a more diverse area to raise our kids. Im a stay at home mom and my partner works in las colinas (but she's willing to commute for the family) thanks again for the feedback everyone.

[Macbeth2003]

Well, Old East Dallas is very gay friendly, and the schools are good (and also very gay friendly); however, the commute might be a bit much. Are either you or your partner religious? I only ask because my wife and I go to a majority gay Episcopal church and I know several people knew to town have used it as a resource for finding out this sort of thing. Being as there aren't exactly a ton of gay friendly churches in Dallas the small congregation comes from all over the city, so it would have a wide range of geographic knowledge.
Richardson is probably your bets bet for the suburbs, but again, it would be a bad commute.
The further out the suburbs are, the more socially conservative they are likely to be. This is NOT to say that everyone in the suburbs is some kind of close minded bigot, and everyone in Dallas is going to be pro same sex families, but the fact is it skews more that way than the reverse. Down here if you sit at a Starbucks and hold hands no one is likely to bat an eye. Up in my parents area on the border of Dallas, Richardson, and Plano, the response to that seems to be, "I don't have a problem with gays, as long as they don't show it in public like that."
I have known gay couples happy in the suburbs, and happy in the city, but I have known many leave the 'burbs over issues and move to the city, and I have known no moves made in the opposite direction for that reason. My best advice would be that once you find some areas you like, go out and have a cup of coffee together. Go to the local library, go have dinner, etc and gauge the reactions.

[Double-G]

Not really sure about the concept of gay friendly but there are certainly very gay parts of DFW. The rest seems to be entirely tolerant.

Whilst there are areas that are very conservative and Christian where people will, if asked, say they are supporters of traditional marriage that does not mean they hate gays. In my experience conservative Christians tend to be some of the most accepting people when it comes to that kind of thing although obviously that has not been your experience to date.

[ggolf]

Originally Posted by runnermac

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Ggolf- I wish I was kidding about the signs but he currently has 6 in his yard. I'm happy to post a pic if that's possible on this forum. our reasons for moving are because of the overall vibe in this area. It's much more than just one neighbor.. We would like to find a more diverse area to raise our kids. Im a stay at home mom and my partner works in las colinas (but she's willing to commute for the family) thanks again for the feedback everyone.

Wow, 6 signs? Does he wear a tin hat? Does he come outside and talk to himself? Yikes!
Suggestion.... I lived in Valley Ranch and commuted to Las Colinas many years ago. I think you'd find the Ranch to be big, diverse, and part of it is in the Coppell school district which is exemplary. Canals, walking trails, restaurants, mix of housing. Might be just what you're looking for.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by Double-G

Not really sure about the concept of gay friendly but there are certainly very gay parts of DFW. The rest seems to be entirely tolerant.

Whilst there are areas that are very conservative and Christian where people will, if asked, say they are supporters of traditional marriage that does not mean they hate gays. In my experience conservative Christians tend to be some of the most accepting people when it comes to that kind of thing although obviously that has not been your experience to date.

Isn't this human nature for most people? Even people who are bigoted in one way or another will drop those pretenses in one on one situations most of the time, especially when the opposing viewpoint is found in someone with an overall demeanor of love and acceptance. If you are a good neighbor, you will find good neighbors I guess is what I am saying.

And OP, not saying this about you by any means. I just think that people with opposing ideologies can still make great neighbors, co-workers, church members, organization members, etc when one comes with an open attitude and genuine concern for others as an overall attitude.

I have had co-workers and neighbors before that I wanted to dislike for whatever reason and have made it a point (well, most of the time) to try and win them over. I find it is far easier to do this when you show genuine concern and acceptance of them first instead of demeanding they show it to you.

OK, found another 2 cents to add....

[Considering Coming Back]

More than a couple lesbian families are going to Hexter Elementary on the east side of White Rock. Check out the area along Peavy from Garland Rd to Mockingbird.

[DebinD]

Our church is in North Dallas (Hillcrest and Spring Valley) and there are several lesbian couples that have kids in the area. May are in the RISD part of North Dallas feeding into Brentfield etc. But there might be *that neighbor* anywhere -although Dallas seems more tolerant than FW overall.

[Macbeth2003]

Originally Posted by Double-G

In my experience conservative Christians tend to be some of the most accepting people when it comes to that kind of thing although obviously that has not been your experience to date.

I must say that doesn't seem to be the experience of the gay couples I know, or my experience when I am out with them. I also have friends who have found that many times more fundamentalist believing acquaintences who accepted their relationship, became much less tolerant once kids were involved.

The fact is, without getting into who is right or wrong, I imagine most people would not want to live in an area where their neighbors believe their relationship is morally wrong. I also imagine that many people who feel they don't display that feeling, display it unknowingly and inadvertently.

To the Op, I would just reiterate my original advice. Pick out some neighborhoods you like, with a reasonable commute. Then go have a cup of coffee, play in the park, go to a story-time type event, or go to the local pool then all go out for coffee. Watch how people react. That is going to tell you more that anything we say here.

[skids929]

Advice: work from the inside out instead of looking to alter your external environment to get closer to places that support your own viewpoint.

All in all, people have a right not to accept your lifestyle, or mine or anyone elses. In the end though, it's how I feel about their opinion that matters, not their actual opinion. If I were gay with kids, Screw them! I think for some people they just don't want it in their face, and these days the reality is it is. I mean if you didn't like fried food and someone constantly tried to convince you to eat fried food it becomes annoying.

Bottom line people don't have to accept anything they don't want to, but they shouldn't be rude and impolite. Or in your case have to endure a glaringly obvious rude neighbor If they are, it's not a bad idea to try and control how you feel about it before you pick up sticks.

Too many people today trying to change their environment around them rather than just change themselves to adapt a little.