Gay friendly Pittsburgh or Raleigh/Durham? (Highland Park, Bloomfield: appointed, fit in, crimes)

[lde]

Durham is not a conservative town by any means. It's very liberal by NC standards = slightly left of moderate by national standards. It's a high minority population. Typical for large cities, but unusual for NC cities. If you like minor league baseball, they have a good AAA team that has a lot of local support. The Durham Bulls, of Bull Durham movie fame. Stadium is not far from downtown.

There is likely no nightlife in Durham. Parts of downtown are a bit run down, and it's a much smaller city than the larger Pittsburgh area. Close to Chapel Hill and Raleigh though.

[BrianTH]

Don't forget North Carolina actually voted for Obama in 2008--these states are slowly but surely being transformed by all the non-Southerners moving in.

[ddicorcia1]

I lived in both places. Pittsburgh and Raleigh. Though My husband and me are heterosexual, we are different(we are dwarfs). Tolerance is better in Raleigh than it was in Pittsburgh! Pittsburgh has old school mentality when it comes to difference. In the triangle you will see gay, interracial couples all over the place and no one bats an eye to it.

[Blackbeauty212]

how long ago did you live in the Burgh...because present day Pittsburgh is a much different story than even Pittsburgh in the 90's....I know this may seem over the top...but I whole heartly believe that the ***** As Folk era did something for the LGBT community in the Burgh...even tho the show was not filmed here, it being about LGBT in the Burgh brought the community to the foreground locally...

While you're not going to find whole neighborhoods of LGBT (which I think counter productive to be so sheltered anyway) Pittsburgh is very much a let bygons be bygons city....I much prefer LGBT's living within a diverse neighborhood the way Pittsburgh has it set up...and I know my friend much prefer the way Pittsburgh has it by not trying to hype the streotype.

[PreservationPioneer]

Pittsburgh is extremely gay-friendly. It's a very liberal and democratic region. You will have zero problems here. Durham/Raleigh may be a liberal oasis, but once you get out of the city, it's anything but. And the city isn't all that urban to begin with.

[sr1234]

Originally Posted by raubre

Oh please. All I said was that I have never been there before. I have no idea if it's RD is liberal or not. NC is in general a conswervative Bible belt state. If I'm wrong, so be it.

I'm sure before you got to Pittsburgh you thought that Pittsburgh was a nice place until we became an "uptight city." Talk about stereotyping.

There must be two different types of Democrats. The southern and northern. I have never heard the N word used so much in my life as I have since moving from NC to Pittsburgh. This city is the most judgmental, racist, and sexist place that I have ever lived. I don't know what gay person in their right mind would want to live here.

The stereotype I had of Pittsburgh before I moved here was of a dirty 70s rust belt city. I found out quickly that it isn't a stereotype. Its the truth.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

You'll be absolutely fine in the laid back liberal parts of town. However, anything outside that can be a problem. Blue collar men here tend to be extremely homophobic here and they comprise a good bit of the population. Years of stocking shelves and working in a factory in my youth have confirmed this.

Just a quick example: My friend had a gay friend who lived in Coraopolis. We also happened to go to school with their neighbors at the time who exclaimed, "if those f****** ever come around here I'm going to cave their head in with a baseball bat".

[AaronPGH]

Originally Posted by sr1234

There must be two different types of Democrats. The southern and northern. I have never heard the N word used so much in my life as I have since moving from NC to Pittsburgh. This city is the most judgmental, racist, and sexist place that I have ever lived. I don't know what gay person in their right mind would want to live here.

The stereotype I had of Pittsburgh before I moved here was of a dirty 70s rust belt city. I found out quickly that it isn't a stereotype. Its the truth.

I've had pretty much the opposite experience here. I find Pittsburgh to be extremely tolerant. With that said, I rarely leave the city. I'm sure the further out you go the worse it gets, but that's also the case with pretty much every city in the US.

I'm gay...I've never heard a single homophobic comment made at me in the 6 years I've been here. It also seems as though the gay community grows a significant amount every year.

[Blackbeauty212]

Come'on Aaron - You know you have to take everything sr1234 says with a grain of salt.....what ever she/he says then the polar opposite is probably the truth....

I can't figure out if he/she like others on here, are just typical born bread Pittsburgh pessimist or good ol'fashion TROLLS!

[youngabe]

Ok, let's be real here and sum all this is up from a Pittsburgh stand point. In GENERAL, the city itself is gay-friendly, suburbs are hit or miss. With that being said, I don't care if you go to the heart of San Francisco, there will ALWAYS be some uneducated, insecure person who will speak out AGAINST a minority, such as homosexuals. Let's not let one or two out-spoken ignorant folks win and say that Pittsburgh isn't gay friendly.