Greetings Tigger6,
Thank you for the opportunity to answer this interesting question!
Don't all humans enjoy living where they feel welcomed? :)
PORTLAND, OREGON
Residents of the state of Oregon, especially in its larger cities, are
extremely gay-friendly (Portland being one of the top spots). The
recent spate of "same sex marriage ban" amendments on some state
ballots lost only by a slim margin in Oregon: 57% -Yes (ban) 43% No
(allow) http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/OR/
Gay and lesbian friends of mine who either live in Portland or have
visited there (or who are relocating there since the 2004 election)
report that it's a great place to live and visit, where people are
welcomed as people, not labels.
PROVINCETOWN, MA
Another spot I've heard friends mention is Provincetown, MA, (Ptown)
and a website about the town reports "Provincetown, it is a place like
none other, where diversity is celebrated and individualism prized."
http://www.ptown.org
ARIZONA IN GENERAL
http://www.gayrealtynetwork.com/usa/arizona.html
See the many comments from different realtors in different Arizona cities.
Samples:
LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ - "I have lived and sold real estate in Lake
Havasu for the past 10 yrs. Gay/Lesbian welcome!"
PHOENIX, AZ - "One of the fastest growing areas in the country with an
ever growing gay & lesbian population." and "The Phoenix Area has
great weather and is very gay-friendly. 3 local politicians are openly
Gay."
TUSCON, AZ
"Kent Burbank calls Tucson "extremely gay-friendly." As the executive
director of Wingspan, Burbank should know. The LGBT resource and
community center he oversees houses a wealth of information about
social, political and cultural options around the Old Pueblo.
"Obviously there are more gay-friendly cities when you consider bigger
cities like Chicago, San Francisco and New York, but for the size it's
extremely progressive, even better than Phoenix, our bigger neighbor
to the north," Burbank says."
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?page=calendar&story_id=082604ca_ua_lgbt_copy
COLOMBUS, OHIO
At http://www.outlooknews.com/show_article.php?id=3854 is mentioned
Colombus, Ohio, as being reported in Out Magazine:
"Columbus, and the other major cities in Ohio, save Cincy, are
supposed to be tolerant environments for gay folks to live, work and
play. Columbus has even been written up in Out Magazine as one of the
10 best gay places to live in the Midwest."
COLOMBUS, OHIO - somewhat differing view:
"But if Columbus is one of the best places to be gay, why does it have
also have the country's fifth highest rate of hate crime violence
against the gay community? And what does the rapid repeal of the
city's domestic partners ordinance--an important issue to many in the
gay community--say about the acceptance of gays in Columbus? While
Columbus may be a great place for gays to live, especially compared to
other cities in the midwest, it's also clear that the gay and straight
communities here still have a lot of work to do before tolerance and
acceptance finally win out over hatred."
http://www.columbusalive.com/1999/19990218/feature.html
MINNEAPOLIS, MN
"Minneapolis is a leader in extending gay rights to its citizens.
Since passing its first protection policies 20 years ago, the city has
enjoyed some of the strongest GLBT rights in the country. Three
openly-gay men sit on the city council including Robert Lilligren, who
writes, ?[Minneapolis] is an incredibly open and accepting city with a
long history of GLBT activism and involvement."
http://www.glbtminneapolis.org/aboutminneapolis/
And this, pertaining directly to your profession:
"The private sector also supports the GLBT community. Nearly 100 local
companies including Xcel Energy, The St. Paul Companies and Health
Partners extend domestic partner benefits to their employees."
ATLANTA, GA
Here's an About.com page about gay Atlanta with many links
http://atlanta.about.com/od/gaylesbiancommunity/
Well known gay-friendly cities:
SAN FRANCISCO, CA BAY AREA
MANHATTAN, NY
Here's a forum thread with the title "Gay friendly cities"
http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t7200.html
Among those mentioned are Honolulu, St. Louis, New Orleans.
Still other considerations you may entertain are spiritual centers
such as Sedona, AZ. In communities where spiritualism is preferred
over religion, folks are usually well-centered within themselves and
they view other people as individuals sans labels.
In general, the Gay Realty Network may be a good starting place for
you and your girlfriend. Speaking to gay and gay-friendly agents from
many states would allow you to gather a great deal of info. The main
page is http://www.gayrealtynetwork.com and you may read about the
network at http://www.gayrealtynetwork.com/about.html
Should you require clarification on any part of my answer, please
request it and I will be happy to respond. Again, thanks for asking
this great question!
Best regards,
journalist-ga
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