Where to Live: Gay Ghetto or Integrated Neighborhood
“A great city is not to be confounded with a populous one.” — Aristotle
In the March 27, 2007 issue, The Advocate named the Best Places for Gays and Lesbians to Live. Click over to read the article and get the skinny on these cities and some surprising small towns. The Top Ten Places are listed below in alphabetical order:
Columbus, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; Ferndale, Michigan; Ithaca, New York; Lexington, Kentucky; Missoula, Montana; Portland, Oregon; San Diego, California; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Tucson, Arizona.
In the online version, you’ll find a Poll raising this question, “Do you prefer to live in an integrated neighborhood or a distinct gay ghetto?” Twice as many people seem to prefer the integrated neighborhood… which may explain why the places listed above appeal to queers.
I agree with the majority casting votes and personally prefer environs that aren’t defined by my sexual orientation. I like the convenience of suburbia with neighborhoods that have curbs, sidewalks and a tidy street right-of-way. That said… Jeanine and I are the only gay people on our block in Newport Beach. But that just makes us more interesting in my opinion. We get invited to all the barbecues and Super Bowl parties… probably more than we care to attend.
Perhaps times are changing along with the face of gay real estate. Lisa Leff of the New York Post writes, “For more than 30 years, most big cities have had a district either explicitly or implicitly understood to be the place to go if you were gay – the West Village and Chelsea in New York City, Washington’s Dupont Circle, Boston’s South End.”
“But as gays and lesbians win legal rights and greater social acceptance, community activists worry these so-called ‘gayborhoods’ are losing their relevance. Don Reuter, a New York writer who is researching a book on the rise and fall of a dozen gay neighborhoods in the U.S., has observed the same trend in cities as far-flung as New Orleans, Philadelphia and Seattle.” Is there really any reason to segregate these days?
In San Francisco, Wyatt Buchanan of the San Francisco Chronicle writes, “To walk down San Francisco’s Castro Street — where men casually embrace on sidewalks in the shadow of an enormous rainbow flag — the neighborhood’s status as “gay Mecca’ seems obvious.”
“But up and down the enclave that has been a symbol of gay culture for more than three decades, heterosexuals are moving in. They have come to enjoy some of the same amenities that have attracted the neighborhood’s many gay and lesbian residents: charming houses, convenient public transportation, safe streets and nice weather.”
The integration of gay and straight is increasingly evident not only in the Castro District but across North America, from Chicago to New York City to Toronto, where urban revitalization is bringing new residents at the same time some gays are settling in other parts of cities or the suburbs — such as the East Bay.”
Just down the road from me in Laguna Beach the same has happened on a smaller scale. Laguna’s gay identity has all but disappeared. One by one the gay bars have closed. Steve Lowery of the OC Weekly explains, “Steadily, gays have been leaving Laguna. High rents and real estate prices have chased out a lot of the younger crowd, which has fled to places like Palm Springs and Long Beach. Laguna got rid of its gay pride parade years ago. People who paid millions to purchase homes in quirky Laguna all of a sudden feel like they’d like a little less quirk.”
Okay, so the gay bars are gone and perhaps the twenty-something queers can’t afford the rent, but trust me, gay people still live in Laguna Beach. Maybe the point being is that gay people just aren’t considered quirky any more. Do we need our own bars and bookstores and community centers? Or is it okay to just be a neighbor without the gay neighborhood?
You tell me… Would you only buy a home in West Hollywood or is Silver Lake a better place? Is Midtown in Atlanta a must or could you survive outside the Perimeter? Is a Chicago condo in Lake View (Boystown) the place to live or are the suburbs calling you, your partner and kids to the village of Inverness? Where are you buying homes and choosing to live these days?
I would not choose a gay mecca for my home- I want my children exposed to all types, including those who would oppose us in order to learn compromise rather than cut & run. I feel that making a separatist Mecca serves to isolate rather integrate us.
I live in the same neighborhood I grew up in- 13210 of Syracuse NY. The neighborhood is not a “gay mecca” but is more liberal as it has many of SU’s professors and other professional types. We have lived in every neighborhood the city offers over the years but made our way back “home” approximately 3 years ago. My folks are 4 blocks in one direction and my partner’s live maybe 6 blocks in the other. There are several families like ours within walking distance for our kids to have others to relate to. The public school my kids attend is nationally known for some of its green initiatives. A few of our church friends live in our neighborhood too. We just fit well where we are.
The other issue having a gay neighborhood is- what if you are “on the outs” with the power people? I know several folks who have expatriated from Ithaca, NY for exactly this reason. For whatever reasons, they found themselves somehow ostracized for a belief or choice different than the status quo of the community.
Wilton Manors is the best of both worlds to us. Small-town charm surrounded by the big-city amenities of Ft. Lauderdale. The ‘Main Street’, Wilton Drive, is lined with ice-cream shops, bars, restaurants, candy shops, clothing shops, antique stores, pharmacies, coffee shops, thrifts stores, etc., most if not all gay-owned. We can walk out our front door and have great sushi and Japanese, independent or Starbucks coffee, grocery shopping and one of the best women’s bars in the area within two minutes walking. It’s safe, clean and used to be reasonably priced. The only thing we hate is the current mad-dash rate of development with new luxe, high-rise condos popping up on every open space …
I’m surprised by how Seattle wasn’t on the list. When Zac and I visited in October, we were impressed by its gay-friendliness, and by how integrated the community was.
A mecca like San Francisco is pretty good if you’re trying to “find yourself” while becoming comfortable with your sexual orientation. That’s part of the reason I moved out here ages ago. Now I feel like I could live just about anywhere. If and when we move, the one thing I’ll miss about San Francisco is being able to hold Zac’s hand in public without it being a big deal. Sure, you can hold your partner’s hand just about anywhere in this country, but in San Francisco, it’s an unnotable part of the background, which is nice.
For what it’s worth, a friend of mine from Tucson was surprised that Tucson was on the Advocate list. He doesn’t think of Tucson as particularly great for gays and lesbians.
I have had many clients move from ITP (Inside the Perimeter) in Atlanta to OTP.
Acceptance grows each year. Nowadays it’s more than just location – it’s the size of the home… and you can get more home if you get a little further out of town.
I am surprised that Atlanta wasn’t on the list.
I grew up in the Castro neighborhood and still live there and I can tell you in ten years the Castro will not be a “gay” neighborhood. Just as Douglas Elementary School in the Castro was renamed Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, someday someone will change the name again. Things change. To be honest, the Castro, for a long time, has been rather boring. Commerical and residential rents are so expensive, no one can take any risks. The homeless and mentally ill practically own the sidewalks. And I don’t think stores selling gay porn videos and t-shirts with silly slogans should define a neighborhood away. Let the neighborhood evolve and let’s hope
I too am surprised Seattle is not on the list!!!
The entire city is extremely accepting of all people and all cultures. Capitol Hill is a neighborhood littered with gay bars and the city as a whole is very gay-friendly. For many residents here being gay is a non-issue and it is not uncommon to see gay couples holding hands and enjoying the freedoms that straight couples enjoy.
Birmingham, Alabama’s Gay Neighborhoods and ghetto. Thinking about moving to Birmingham, Alabama? Think East Birmingham. East Birmingham is becoming The Magic City’s inclusive neighborhood. We encourage “family” members to relocate to the East Side. Upper end neighborhoods of Forest Park (upper end 1920’s homes); Crestwood South (well kept Ranch); Crestwood South (1920’s Bungalows and Art and Craft homes); and East Lake our up-and-coming artisan district and gay ghetto. East Lake homes are from the late 1800’s Victorians and 1920 style Bungalow, English Tudors and Spanish Revivals that are going for 20K to the upper 80’s. This area is going to be “hot” starting this spring and summer 2009. Alternative families are encouraged to take over East Lake in an effort to revitalize this area and make it our own oasis here in Birmingham. Join the movement! There is a 1920 main street and business area ripe for alternative shops and small restaurants located on 1st Avenue North and Oporto-Madrid Blvd. Buy now for an investment or relocate to East Birmingham to support this endeavor.
I’m not sure that I support this list much. I lived 24 years in the Dallas area and worked at the biggest gay bar there. The bar scene was good there with bars for both gay and lesbians (though it caters to the boys more), but society’s view on gays was not. It wasn’t an everyday occurance to have some local stranger talk crap, or hear about a friend getting gay-bashed but it wasn’t rare either. Overall living there is ok, good cost of living, lots to do, education, weather is managable but LOTS of traffic.
After that I moved to Albuqerque, NM (1 hr from Santa Fe). The difference in the way people treat you here is incredible. They actually treat you like a normal person, and it’s standard jobs in my proffesion to offer domestic partner benefits (which they did not in Tx). It’s been very rare that anyone here has ever cared that I was a lesbian. ABQ is more geared for lesbians than gay boys, and has an ok bar, but nothing great. I’m not really sure that I believe Santa Fe is really geared for either. They do have one of the only retirement centers for gays in America which is what I think put them on the list. I went to their pride and it was very small. ABQ’s pride was bigger than Santa Fe, but nothing compared to the numbers that show up in Dallas. Overall living is pretty nice in both ABQ and Santa FE, great weather, little traffic (Santa Fe has more because no freeway through the city), cost of living is higher (espec. in Santa Fe), beautiful scenery- but it is a much smaller city and much harder to meet new people. Santa Fe would be great for someone already in a commited relationship, but tougher for singles. I guess I can see why Santa Fe made it because there are also some homo’s in the power positions of the political scene there… it’s just so small when it comes to meeting people. Dallas however gets a thumbs down after seeing that there are places where you are not looked at like a wierdo everytime you go out into straight society.
Good Neighborhoods that are Gay Friendly
Come down to San Diego’s Grant Hill/Sherman Heights neighborhood. With gorgeous craftsman style bungalows at very affordable prices, its a great place to raise a family. Here in SD we have Hillcrest as our Castro district; however it is very over priced with very small homes.