East Coaster Moves to West Coast - *calling for help* (San Diego: apartment, low crime)

[ByeByeBoston]

My girlfriend are I (lesbian couple) are moving from Boston to the west coast (95% certain on California ). We are both 27 years old, social creatures, without kids.

We need a little help though...

Criteria:
- Lesbian friendly/an abundant lesbian nightlife
- Good, sunny weather
- Reasonably priced houses/apmts
- Low crime rates

In the lineup are:
- San Fran Bay Area (thinking Oakland). But is San Fran just guy gay???
- San Diego. Is the pace too slow??? We are used to the fast paced Boston living/working. Is Hillcrest just guy gay??

[lmk1707]

I think SF would work best, followed by Oakland or Berkeley. I'm told that the lesbian scene in the suburbs is really dismal, so I would definitely stay away if that's important to you. SF will have much more of the variety you're looking for, and it's not just men and in the Castro, either.

[mayorhaggar]

Bernal Heights in SF has a lesbian bar, I don't remember the name though...it's not really an exclusive place though, it feels like an ordinary bar. The Lexington Club in the Mission is a lesbian bar. I dunno if you are into the bar scene but at least they're magnets for lesbians in the area. Depends on if you consider SF affordable though, I have no idea what your budget is or how big an apartment you want, prices should be somewhat like in Boston...a 1br in a decent part of SF goes for $1400 and up for example. The suburbs are less expensive but you have to factor in the cost of driving or commuting on BART etc.

Overall there's not really a lot of focused lesbian culture here like there is gay culture, though as a straight male I might not be the best authority, but I think the Bay Area is known for the lesbian scene being kind of spread out while the gay male scene in the Castro is concentrated...but small, the Castro is really only a few blocks long. But I think it might be that gays in the Bay Area feel comfortable enough to hang out anywhere while in other parts of the US they'd feel more persecuted like they have to stick together in their own enclaves. The Castro doesn't feel exclusive at all though, you might have fun there--lots of people of all orientations there really, lots of good and pretty cheap restaurants and cafes there. The Temescal has a reputation as a lesbian area but I live right next to it and haven't really seen any lesbian stuff though I haven't exactly been looking for it.

And nobody here calls it San Fran btw.

[BayDude]

Try using the search button. Those questions have been asked and answered over and over and over and over again.

[lmk1707]

Oh yes, mayorhaggar's post reminds me that there is a large gay population in Adam's Point neighborhood of Oakland, though there are no lesbian bars in the neighborhood I'm aware of.