How T-friendly is the Santa Rosa area?

[StephanieC]

I've been considering a move to Santa Rosa some day. Does anyone have first-hand knowledge of the area? In particular, is it friendly to "non-traditional" women?

Thanks for any info!

-stephani

[Michelle789]

I'm not familiar with Santa Rosa specifically, but I live in L.A. Like most of the LA or SF area, it's as good as it gets in the USA as for trans-friendliness. Even the most trans-friendly places still have lots of transphobia, and not everyone may accept you. Very expensive too, but if you can afford the cost of living I'd think Santa Rosa is a good place to live.

[AllieSF]

I have a friend that moved from southern Illinois a few years ago and lived in Santa Rosa up until last year when she moved to Healdsburg, just bit farther north. She has never mentioned any type of issues and she is a 24/7 transitioning TS and works at a local Walmart. I have visited her but never did anything directly in Santa Rosa. We did go out to the coast near Bodega Bay for lunch and were treated fine.

I think that the main thing to consider is that here in California, we have a lot of legal rights and proactive training and enforcement to protect those rights. On top of that in San Francisco and Los Angeles and the areas around these cities people are getting very used to seeing transgender people doing normal things like shopping, eating, drinking and whatever else one would do when out of the house. Is it perfectly safe? No. No place anywhere can always protect their citizens from someone going off the deep end and hurting someone else.

As a place to move to, great choice, though you will be at least an hour or more away from the populated Bay area. You will be close to all the wine country destinations and to the less populated part of the coast. It is also somewhat less expensive than living near the major cities, but I am not sure how much less. My friend did attend a local "T" support group. When you get closer to making a decision, PM me and I will get you in contact with her.