Considering moving

[Valerie Sparks]

I agree with Amy Lynn and Ginger/GenieGirl. The Raleigh/Cary area is a good place to live and very educated. While I've flirted with being en femme in public, I've never gone out fully dressed. But I have followed Ginger's adventures vicariously (we apparently live about 2 miles from each other) and it sounds like she's had no problems being accepted. Unfortunately my family situation precludes me from testing the waters myself.

But as they have said, the weather here is very nice overall (four seasons, with only summer possibly being too extreme) and a booming job market, especially in STEM areas like software and biotech. There are no real tourist attractions here but there are still lots of events of interest.

Please move here and help increase the value of my property.

[JocelynJames]

J

Please move here and help increase the value of my property.

I like the honesty in the last line. My wife lived in Charlotte a few years and liked it. As far as the heat , I live for it. I have never liked the cold of NE winters.

[Eryn]

SoCal has been good to this girl and her friends. We don't really seek out LGBT-friendly venues as mainstream venues treat us fine.

Downside is taxes and high cost of living. Bring your Visa card!

[CherylFlint]

Florida, no doubt about it.
Year round fun.

[Melissa_Rose]

Louisiana. Winter lasts 2 weeks maybe. Nice in spring and fall.. summer needs a/c 24/7.
New Orleans is very accepting. I haven't had issues out elsewhere.
Taxes are low. Jobs are good. Food is way too good here..

I moved here from Atlanta 15 years ago. Atlanta was hotter in the summer in my opinion.

Melissa

[JocelynJames]

Thank you all. I check back to this thread periodically so don't be afraid to leave you're comment if you think it will go unread. You're all part of our decision making process in this!

[Joni T]

Stay away from So Cal. Been here 60 of 60 years and can't wait to get out. High taxes, unaffordable housing, no water, no power, no more room on the freeways, no jobs. Summers can be HOT, as in triple-digits. Then you have to put up with all the tourists going to the Tragic Kingdom and the beaches, and everywhere else in between. So Cal was a great place to live 40-50 years ago, but not so much any more. Methinks you will be sorely disappointed if you move here. Just my $. 02,but you've been warned.
Joni

[Meg East]

Washington State, actually the Puget Sound area, has a lot going for it. Unfortunately, the weather is less than ideal ten months out of the year and the cost of living is very high.

Do note, Eastern Washington is populated by a bunch of close-minded rednecks who really dislike the more liberal Western part of the state.

[Joni T]

Washington State, actually the Puget Sound area, has a lot going for it. Unfortunately, the weather is less than ideal ten months out of the year and the cost of living is very high.

Do note, Eastern Washington is populated by a bunch of close-minded rednecks who really dislike the more liberal Western part of the state.

How can rainy/overcast/ never see the sun be less than ideal? If I never saw the light of day I'd be a happy camper. Personally, I'm not a sun-worshipper and I can't stand hot weather. If it never got over 60*, I'd be as happy as a pig in s#£t.
Joni

[justmetoo]

I agree with you, Joni T, on all counts. So Cal might be fine for people who love sun and can afford the housing market. Right on the coast is better for weather, but worse for housing prices. I could do with less heat and sun (over 90 degrees today), and more precipitation (almost no rain this year). Not that I want tons of snow either, but those aren't the only choices.
The Bay Area seems cool, but again, the housing prices will kill you.

[Beverley Sims]

Southern California and best of all Florida Keys.

[JamieQ]

How about Kentucky? I haven't ever had a problem be it the larger cities like Louisville and Lexington to the little tiny rural towns. You can be in big city places and then very country just a few minutes away. KY is really not too cold nor as hot as some places south. Cost of living is low compared to most of the continental US. I have lived in Miami and Northern Michigan, I find KY just right...

[Sarah V]

I'm in San Antonio, Texas (TX) area, and as the lady from Alabama said,.....don't move here.

If you come to Texas, I would stick with the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Houston (HUS), and/or, especially the Austin (AUS)metropolitan areas. The key word here being "Metropolitan" and San Antonio (SAT) is far from that, IMHO. Austin is esp. a great place to live and work in for those in the LGBT community, as Austin is very welcoming and accepting. Austin is also an extremely hip and prosperous area of the country right now job growth wise. If you want to know why not to come to San Antonio feel free to PM me.

[Tracii G]

Like JamieQ said Lexington and Louisville Ky are TG accepting and have a fairness clause in the law.
I live in Lexington Ky and never have issues going out in girl mode in fact JamieQ and I have been out all over town a few times.
Weather is decent for the most part we get snow some winters and it can get hot in the summer like anywhere else.

[flatlander_48]

Every place has +'s and -'s. The problem is how to pick the ones where the trade-offs are acceptable to you. It is all a balancing act.

Although I have lived in Toledo, Joliet and now here in the Southern Tier of New York State, I have only gone out dressed here in NYS and in Palm Springs, CA. There isn't much in favor of Toledo or Joliet, except that Joliet is just a bit under an hour from Chicago. Ithaca, less than an hour away, is a very progressive community. The population centers of Rochester and Syracuse are about 90 minutes away, and they are probably fair to middlin'. While NYS has done a decent job with legal protections for sexual minorities, support for the transgender community lags.

Palm Springs, CA has a very strong LGBT community, but there isn't much industry there if that's where your career is. Actually, we are planning to retire to the area, so I probably won't be looking for another mechanical engineering position. I sort of laugh when I hear people talk about high taxes in California. Ohio, Illinois and New York State are ALL high tax areas, yet Californians say it like they are the only ones.

I worked in Wilmington, NC for close to a year back in 2012. After having spent some time in central NC years before, I was surprised at how cosmopolitan Wilmington actually is. There is an LGBT community there, but I don't know how strong it is. North Carolina-Wilmington is about 15,000 students and there is a 2-year college with about 6,000. Once again, real estate is high at the beach and is inversely proportional to distance. However, they do have HURRICANES. I am NOT down with that.

Weather is also my problem with Florida. I think the highest point in the state is about 27 feet above sea level. I need to be higher than that.

DeeAnn

[MsLana]

I'm in San Antonio, Texas (TX) area, and as the lady from Alabama said,.....don't move here. If you come to Texas, I would stick with the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Houston (HUS), and/or, especially the Austin (AUS)metropolitan areas. The key word here being "Metropolitan" and San Antonio (SAT) is far from that, IMHO. Austin is esp. a great place to live and work in for those in the LGBT community, as Austin is very welcoming and accepting. Austin is also an extremely hip and prosperous area of the country right now job growth wise. If you want to know why not to come to San Antonio feel free to PM me.

Being from Houston , and having lived and worked in Austin several years ago...Austin is hands down the city I'd pick for a new home in TX...Houston is too big and overgrown.. SA is a weekend visit..Austin is very liberal , college city and it's pretty much anything goes , come as you are..and it's in a very beautiful part of the state if you like outdoors etc....oh and the best music scene ....

[Dana3]

Alabama: do not move here.
'Nuff said, lol.

Alabama and I seriously concur with Amy's statement. Socially, culturally, religiously Regressive, religious zealots to a fault, judgmental, intolerant of any and all other Lifestyle choices. Nepotism reins in the job market, its all about which family your married into, born into, or who you know as opposed to what you know. Only two seasons, winter and summer, summers are almost unbearable.