Gay Seattle? (Kent, Vashon: rent, house prices, job market)

[edfactor12]

Ok, that is a cheap way to start. I am a gay East coaster here, Pgh and NYC. Love them both dearly but want to be somewhere where my day doesnt start at 8 and end at 8. Not a party boy, just a gay American. Tired of the MOVE GO FASTER QUICK QUICK QUICK mentality. love the west coast. I like biggish cities that act small. I am an interior designer with my M.S. - have done big fashion stores and homeless shelters alike. design for the masses! anyhoo, I need to learn more. Please, my fellow citizens, diga me! tell me all about the job market, the neighborhoods, the vibe. I appreciate, and send good energy.

[RodFarlee]

Seattle has its share of urban energy, that's for sure. But it's also an place to be comfortably laid-back, if you prefer.
Portland has more the "biggish city that acts small" atmosphere. It's more walkable, bikable, its neighborhoods have more character. Economy is relatively good now, but Seattle's is, and has long been, stronger.
I'd think you'd like both, and have zero problems in either.

[neptune]

Originally Posted by RodFarlee

Portland has more the "biggish city that acts small" atmosphere. It's more walkable, bikable, its neighborhoods have more character. Economy is relatively good now, but Seattle's is, and has long been, stronger.
I'd think you'd like both, and have zero problems in either.

Have to disagree Portland's neighborhoods have more character for every neighborhood with character Portland has, Seattle has 2 or 3, and not sure how anyone can knowingly compare neighborhoods like Seattle's Capitol Hill with Portland's NW and declare Portland the winner. And for gay people, Portland gets a little too conservative in the east and se sections of town to feel comfortable. However Portland's east side and downtown are flat, and despite how many cyclists there are in Seattle I personally don't like to bike on hills. But that doesn't stop me from walking the neighborhoods, which compared to Portland again there's just more to walk to in Seattle. Not that I want to discourage anyone from choosing Seattle over Portland, to each his own there are endless personal choices in determining which city one likes best. I would suggest edfactor12 visit both places to get his own feel or do what I did, live in both sooner or later. Neither city's gay scene revolves around the bars compared to other cities, and that trend is so much so in both places that their traditional gay ghettos are drying up as more gay people live throughout the city and whose social lives are more mixed gay and straight. Traffic is worse in Seattle but that with the topography seems to make people do more of their socializing and retail closer to home making even the least glamorous neighborhoods more like urban villages. So edfactor12 you can certainly find what you describe here, or in Portland, although the job market in Seattle is better and pay is higher, home prices and rent are cheaper in Portland among other things so in the end it balances out, just choose the one that feels best to you.

[Ira500]

Seattle has a large and active gay population.
Until about ten years ago or so, most of the gay population lived on Capitol hill, an older neighborhood near downtown. As house prices have skyrocketed, the gay population has spread out to all Seattle neighborhoods and some suburbs.
Even hick suburb Kent has a gay bar.

[Woof]

I don't think there are even medium sized cities anywhere in the US that don't have an active gay nightlife .... Capitol Hill is still probably the most concentrated and a great place for anyone to live - I'm hoping to be able to find a place somewhere around there if I end up in Seattle, even though I'm not gay.

From what I've read in The Stranger magazine (which I think is available online) there seem to be a lot of young adults who can't really afford to live there, and who want a sugar daddy ..... if that sounds appealing.

[neptune]

Originally Posted by Woof

I don't think there are even medium sized cities anywhere in the US that don't have an active gay nightlife .... Capitol Hill is still probably the most concentrated and a great place for anyone to live - I'm hoping to be able to find a place somewhere around there if I end up in Seattle, even though I'm not gay.

The gay scene on Capitol Hill is just one of many on the hill, the most obvious and overriding theme is just diversity, and of course grunge never died there. The highest per capita gay area of WA is actually Vashon Island, not CH. It's not without its issues but it's alive and is one of those places that turns and burns with new people all the time making you feel young no matter how old you get, I'm not even from here and live in a different neighborhood now but Capitol Hill will always be home to me. If you do end up there you're gonna love it.