5 Best Towns/Places in Each State for LGBTQ Individuals (house, neighborhoods)
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- Bay St. Louis - I believe this may have been the first town in Mississippi to adopt an LGBT equal rights ordinance. Next-door neighbor Waveland did the same. Being next door to New Orleans has its perks apparently. I'm assuming that Biloxi down the road is fairly LGBT-friendly, given its diversity (military base, casinos) but haven't heard one way or the other. And presumably the historic part of Ocean Springs, although I think the suburban part of Ocean Springs is very conservative.
- Hattiesburg - Remarkably Hattiesburg has city government posts designed to protect against discrimination against LGBT people and passed laws banning discrimination within city government. Having the University of Southern Mississippi there and perhaps proximity to New Orleans and the Coast seems to have made Hattiesburg a bit more moderate than other places. I wonder about next-door Laurel, now that they have the HGTV "Home Town" tv show based there. Laurel is too beautiful not to become a Mecca for the LGBT community.
- Fondren and Belhaven (Jackson) - Jackson just got its first Capitol City Pride organization a couple of years ago, based right there I believe in Fondren. The president was featured in Mississippi Today a couple of weeks ago proudly exclaiming that they have hosted something like 100 social events in just these first couple of years, providing a community that did not exist before doing so. He also teared up and said they've only just begun and have a very long way to go to garner acceptance. It will be fun to see how they're doing say 25 years (or 30 or 40) from now. In many ways Metro Jackson itself has only just begun, but has many cute things about it and quite a lot of affluence. Fondren and Belhaven are tailor-made for the LGBTQ community.
- Natchez - I've heard several times that the gays adore Natchez with its grand homes, Spanish moss, and its perch high above the Mississippi. The movie industry under Tate Taylor has taken hold there. This one might should have been number 1 or 2.
- Oxford - I've heard Oxford these days is fairly LGBTQ friendly. I would imagine that old-school conservatives in Oxford are upset at the arrival of liberals in town but who knows.
- Starkville - Starkville hosted its first pride parade about three years ago. Initially the city council was famously split over the issue, with the mayor in support and several councilman opposed. Flash forward three years and now local restaurants and businesses are sponsoring the pride parade and hosting big social events before and after the parade.
1. Birmingham (by a mile). The ONLY city in the state with a perfect 100 scorecard from the HRC. Active organization (https://www.centralalabamapride.org/) with an annual Pride celebration and parade, going on 43 years... first festival was held in 1980, the longest in the state. First parade was held in 1989 (amazing YouTube video here: Out in the South -- First Gay Pride March in Birmingham, Alabama (1989). Also the only gay choir in the state (Steel City Mens Chorus). Strong ally in Mayor Randall Woodfin. Home of the Magic City Acceptance Academy, an LGBTQ-affirming charter school that just opened last year. Only openly-gay member of the state house (District 54) lives here in the city. Several neighborhoods with sizeable gay populations (Crestwood, Forest Park, Avondale, 5 Points / Southside). No specific gay nightlife district, although the 4 gay bars / clubs are relatively close to each other in and around Lakeview.
2. Mobile (just guessing here)
3 & 4. Auburn and Tuscaloosa? Mainly for their setting as large college towns.
5. Huntsville? (distant). Only putting it here since it's now the state's largest city. Quick Google search indicates that Rocket City Pride is celebrating its 10th year.
Disclaimer: Fellow Alabamans (or visitors), help me out here. Obviously I'm completely biased and my writeup focuses on the city I live in. I don't really experience LGBT culture in other areas of the state, so I'd love to find out I'm wrong about some of these.
Last edited by TimCity2000; 07-28-2022 at 09:46 PM..
For most states, it’s going to be the following, in this order:
1. The big city(ies)
2. The college town(s)
3. The resort area(s), if any
4. The wealthier left-leaning or libertarian suburbs
5. *Some* midsize cities and/or other suburbs
St Petersburg over Fort Lauderdale doesn’t check out…
Trust me, it does. I’ve been hit on many times by gay guys in St. Petersburg. haha
I’m actually serious. There’s a strong gay scenes around the downtown area, not so much outside of it. I understand Ft Lauderdale has a strong lgbtq scene too so it’s probably pretty close.
Trust me, it does. I’ve been hit on many times by gay guys in St. Petersburg. haha
I’m actually serious. There’s a strong gay scenes around the downtown area, not so much outside of it. I understand Ft Lauderdale has a strong lgbtq scene too so it’s probably pretty close.
Ft Lauderdale is known nationally in the gay community as a bit of a mecca. It’s up there with Palm Springs. As a gay man, I’ve never heard of St Petersburg in such a way.
I've heard about Fort Lauderdale and I think I've heard about St. Pete. This article says that St. Pete is gunning to surpass Fort Lauderdale as Florida's premier LGBT destination...https://www.tampabay.com/news/busine...ida_172774478/
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