Some cities are known for welcoming LGBT people—San Francisco, Portland, and New York City are all very open places to live. Gay and lesbian real estate agents have no problems finding their clients great homes there. But then there are some cities that aren’t so welcoming. It can be difficult to even find a LGBT-friendly realtor in those areas! Some cities, however, might surprise you. People would expect them to not be the most gay-friendly places to live, but they actually are.
One of these cities is Dallas, Texas. Texas is the home of the Bush family and former Republican Governor Rick Perry, people who aren’t exactly supportive of gay rights. However, Dallas is a pocket of liberalness in a very red state. The city has some anti-discrimination laws on the books, plus a number of gay bars, clubs, and other businesses. It’s also home to the Cathedral of Hope, the largest LGBT church in the world. San Antonio and Houston are also fairly open-minded cities in the Lone Star State.
Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, are also unexpectedly LGBT-friendly. The gay community in these two cities is very public about who they are, and most people accept that. They’re one of the most open cities in the South. The Lexington Pride Festival is a major event, and June 29, 2013, was even proclaimed Pride Day by Mayor Jim Gray, the first openly gay man to be elected to the office.
Another Southern city on this list is Atlanta, Georgia. The city has a long history with LGBT culture and is actually the third-largest gay population in the country with 12.8 percent of its residents identifying as LGBT. The city has an amazing annual pride parade, plus a good number of LGBT business owners call Atlanta home. The downtown area is gay-friendly, as are a number of nearby suburbs.
North Carolina has passed a number of discriminatory pieces of legislation recently, and there is a debate going on regarding constitutional amendments that would ban same-sex marriage forever. Many gays and lesbians would do just about anything to avoid moving there, but if you have to, the western part of the state is much more welcoming. Asheville, Boone, and other parts of the state around the mountains are both very beautiful and surprisingly liberal. Asheville is especially diverse because it’s a very artistic area full of many different types of people.
