Lesbian Couple Thinking about Superior, MT (Billings, Missoula: employment, college, living in)

[annathenomad]

Hello! My partner and I are thinking about moving to Superior this summer for my job. It's hard to find a lot of information about the area--we just want a place to settle down (we've moved a lot) in a town full of good people who will let us live our lives and be part of the community. Would this be possible in Superior?

Our thinking is that with Missoula so close, it might not end up being an issue, but knowing that (with the exception of Bozeman and Billings) Montana does not include sexual orientation or gender identity in its non-discrimination policy, this is obviously a great concern for us.

Any thoughts and feedback would be greatly welcome as we may need to make a decision sooner rather than later, just depending on how things pan out.

[Whistlepig]

Hi, Anna!
I'll open by saying that I'm not gay so take my opinion as someone who is outside looking in.
I have been described as "painfully liberal" by my friends though and I profess a live-and-let-live philosophy.
With that said, I will say that you and your partner should have little to no issue living in Missoula itself. I used to live in Stevensville which is about 20-25 miles south of Missoula. It's generally a very nice town and I liked it there but a gay couple I had as friends had a horrible time there. No physical violence or threats but once their orientation became common knowledge they had a hard time finding employment due to being black-balled by folks in the "core" community.
Western Montana is typically more liberal than the rest of the state and Missoula is the epicenter of that mindset. However, you don't have to get very far from Missoula for attitudes to change. The presence of a large LGBT segment in Missoula has helped somewhat with regards to tolerance in surrounding areas and the tourism dollar keeps a lot of folks from being too prickly but I wouldn't say it's always an open-arms situation. In most places if you're visiting or passing through...no problem. If you want to actually live in a particular town I can only recommend to visit first and get a feel for it. I've visited Superior on several occasions and it's predominantly rural and the attitudes tend to lean more conservative. It is a gorgeous area and if you do visit you won't be let down by the scenery I can promise that much.
A friend I know who works in Superior said that you probably wouldn't have problems there but that Missoula would be much much easier. I really hope someone else on this forum who lives in or around Superior will chime in with better insight than I can offer because I don't want to paint a picture that isn't truly representative.
If you choose to relocate here I sincerely hope that you and your partner find the same magic I did when I first moved here and that you're treated with the same dignity and respect I've received.
Feel free to DM me if you have any specific questions and I'll try to answer as best I can.

[Otto1958]

Originally Posted by annathenomad

Any thoughts and feedback would be greatly welcome as we may need to make a decision sooner rather than later, just depending on how things pan out.

Anywhere outside of the college towns and you'll be as welcome as a Herpes outbreak. As someone new to MT I can testify that it's a difficult culture to get adopted by.

[gfunkerror]

Originally Posted by annathenomad

Hello! My partner and I are thinking about moving to Superior this summer for my job. It's hard to find a lot of information about the area--we just want a place to settle down (we've moved a lot) in a town full of good people who will let us live our lives and be part of the community. Would this be possible in Superior?

Our thinking is that with Missoula so close, it might not end up being an issue, but knowing that (with the exception of Bozeman and Billings) Montana does not include sexual orientation or gender identity in its non-discrimination policy, this is obviously a great concern for us.

Any thoughts and feedback would be greatly welcome as we may need to make a decision sooner rather than later, just depending on how things pan out.

To be honest, coming from Philly, that has a large Gay Community, I don't see anything to tell you ether way. Seeing the date of the post, I am curious on what the out come was.

I read one joke about Lesbians like Subaru cars, referring to Missoula. Since I'm not on that level, I didn't get it. And I am OK with that.

So tell us, what did you do? So we can be helpful for future questions like yours.

Thanks!