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I'm 19 and I currently live with my parents. I'm a gay atheist and they are hardcore Catholics. I would REALLY love to move out on my own to a city that's affordable, doesn't require car ownership and is friendly to us heathens.
I've considered DC but from searching Craigslist it appears that a rented room anywhere near the city is at LEAST $700.
I'm looking for a city where I can rent a room for <$600, live without a car, and not have to hide who I am.
Chicago seems pretty good but I'm not sure. Anyone have any tips or ideas?
I have an IT certification and currently work in IT Support for a library so I'm hoping that can help me out in finding a job.
If it makes any difference, I would be looking to move in about 2 months so I can save up some more money.
Last edited by yuanmoons42; 05-22-2011 at 06:08 PM..
You're gonna have a hard time in a big, nice city like DC. The cheapest city I know of, that caters to many gays well is New Orleans. You should be able to get a room, or apartment for a good price and not need your car as long as your in the city.
You're gonna have a hard time in a big, nice city like DC. The cheapest city I know of, that caters to many gays well is New Orleans. You should be able to get a room, or apartment for a good price and not need your car as long as your in the city.
It doesn't necessarily have to be a completely gay friendly city. I'm actually not a huge fan of "gay culture".
I'm sure Chicago and Philly have plenty of tough guy homophobes but they appear have decent transit and bicycle infrastructure and don't seem terribly expensive. However I'm not sure because I've never visited Chicago or Philly so I would love hear recommendations and opinions.
As long as I'm not somewhere like Tulsa or SLC I think I could manage as far as homophobia.
gay friendly - America's "Gayest City" according to the Advocate
huge IT industry presence - check
walkable neighborhoods + mass transit - check
bike friendly - America's best city for cycling according to Bicycling magazine
room rental <$600 - easy. You can get a one bedroom apt for around that
gay friendly - America's "Gayest City" according to the Advocate
huge IT industry presence - check
walkable neighborhoods + mass transit - check
bike friendly - America's best city for cycling according to Bicycling magazine
room rental <$600 - easy. You can get a one bedroom apt for around that
I've considered Minneapolis but it seems like the transit system isn't all that great. From searching around the consensus seems to be that going car-free in the Twin Cities is doable but not optimal and nothing like DC or NYC.
What about Portland, OR? Or Eugene, OR for a little cheaper rent?
I used to be enamored with Portland when I was younger and I would definitely like to visit and maybe move there someday. However Portlanders don't seem to like out-of-towners and I think their job-market isn't all that great.
I've considered Minneapolis but it seems like the transit system isn't all that great. From searching around the consensus seems to be that going car-free in the Twin Cities is doable but not optimal and nothing like DC or NYC.
Mass transit ridership is higher here than in Portland for the sake of argument, but only SF and Boston are going to compare somewhat favorably with NYC and DC. Mass transit here is largely bus and light rail and I know slews of people who don't own cars.
Fwiw, only Portland has more people commuting by bike per capita than Minneapolis.
Anyway, your perception of the quality and scope of mass transit in MSP is going to depend largely on the neighborhood in which you live. It's not great even from inner ring suburbs but most city neighborhoods are very well served.
I used to be enamored with Portland when I was younger
I am having a hard time wrapping my head around this considering you are only 19 years old. Sheesh I am old!!!!
Chicago might be the right place to look. From my experience, it's one of the more affordable big cities in the nation in terms of housing. This is especially true if you consider it has a functioning mass transit system. However, while it's going to be pretty easy to find housing on a transit line, you will probably run into challenges finding a job that's on the same line and fairly easy to reach. It might be best to find the job first and then find a place to live within a short public transit commute.
Regarding you being atheist....not to worry, many of us didn't get raptured on Saturday.
New Brunswick,NJ
White Plains,NY
Philly
Asbury Park,NJ
Morristown,NJ
Providence,RI
Alot of Satilite Cities of smaller NE cities are cheaper and are the Transit network.
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