looking for a place to tryout

[wannabie]

Hi Laides. I need some advice. I've been cleaning and I've noticed that 4/5th of my closet are fem clothing. I hardly have anything for myself and most of what I've got I've problaly worn once or not at all. to me it's a waist so I was thinking. I had this idea swimming in my head. maybe I could take a year off from myself and start over in another town to live as Joanna for a year. the only question is where? the thing that have me going is moving for a while. where should I go?

I'm thinking about it and not sure if I will try it but any suggestions for a place?

[Courtneygurl]

There's so much to plan for! Like, what would you do for a job if you were to just pick up and move someplace else? How much money do you have saved? That would determine where you should/shouldn't consider. Are you going to legally change your name when you move? If your piggy bank is full, I'd recommend the SF Bay Area. I'm from there, and I love it! Spending a year as Joanna in the Bay Area would make for a very nice experience.

[tekla west]

What do you do? What can you do? What do you need? How little can you get by on?

SF Bay / NYC areas (Seattle, Chicago and a few others too) are very cool. SF and NYC in particular. But life is rough in big cities. You need skills. You need a job, and for half of what some people are spending on a morguage in here you will get a small room.

Of course you can go everywhere dressed. No one cares about how much or what you get in the mail. Freedom is never free as they say. Tell me more and I can advise you better.

[Carroll]

Ithaca, NY small town in the finger lake region of NY

http://www.visitithaca.com/
http://cafeutne.org/towns/ithaca.html

there is a local group called Southern Tier Gender Alliance -Ithaca also there is Southern Tier Gender Alliance out of Binghamton and there is a new group called Gender Education & Expression of Central New York with meetings near Elmira.

The three groups have web sites on MSM.com but a good starting point is our public web site at:
http://southerntiergenderalliance.org/

[Calliope]

But life is rough in big cities.


If you want to 'travel econo' and lean towards liberal values plus have strong people skills, there is Twin Oaks, a 'gated' intentional community in rural central Virginia. Founded by Kat Kinkade in 1967 as a homage to Walden Two, this is the longest-running, most successful commune in America. Shared income (you stash your prior $ in an outside bank account), egalitarian, all members work 40 hours a week weaving hammocks, producing tofu and various internal tasks. A very high standard of living. The safest, most open and diverse neighborhood in the world!

http://www.twinoaks.org/

[Karren H]

I'd say San Fran but you better have a large purse!! :D

Love Karren

[tekla west]

or low needs, but with sun, skirts, sourdough, and sex, what else did you want Karren?

[Courtneygurl]

Mmmm. Sun, skirts, sourdough, and sex! What in the world is wrong with that?

[wannabie]

I've considered all of those. finding a job will be the hard part. I don't plan to change my name and I was thinking maybe I can work as joanna off the books as a lot of people do. I do plan to get back to new york after the year is up so I'm looking for something temporary. maybe a bar or something. My piggy bank isn't full or I would be planning or have done it by now and I was thinking SF but where?


There's so much to plan for! Like, what would you do for a job if you were to just pick up and move someplace else? How much money do you have saved? That would determine where you should/shouldn't consider. Are you going to legally change your name when you move? If your piggy bank is full, I'd recommend the SF Bay Area. I'm from there, and I love it! Spending a year as Joanna in the Bay Area would make for a very nice experience.

[tekla west]

San Francisco - as we are fond of telling others, and as others are fond of telling us - is "49 square miles surrounded by reality." At that, over 25% of the land is park land, coastal beaches, and open space. Most of the T-Grrrls I know here live in either the Mission, the Castro or the Downtown areas. I live in North Beach, and I'm not alone there either. The Richmond and Sunset districts are nice, but cold and foggy. Haight-Ashbury is what it is, pretty open with the park on your doorstep, not as cold as the Sunset, not as hot as the Mission.

Its estimated that there are over 8,000 TGs living openly in San Francisco.

The surrounding areas are pretty nice too, a lot depends on what kind of climate you like. I can be in The City working and its 68 degrees, I call my GF in Santa Rosa an hour north and its over 105. Rent is cheeper outside the city too, or you at least get more for it.

This is guess is the caveat here. The San Francisco Bay Area is the most highly educated population in the US. Its also one of the world's major industrial areas, and the center for the Pacific Rim banking. Competition is fierce for work, especially if it pays well and its a very expensive place to live, $5 fine, fine, super-fine carne burritos not withstanding.

But culturally, politically, and socially, SF is a world class cosmopolitan place, with all the good and bad that all entails.