What do you think is best for a poor just coming out gay guy in his 30s trying to escape the things that come with street life. I am also more interested in older people than people my own age. Afaik there is no place for me.
I fully assume I’ll end up homeless but I have to leave.
I’m open to other areas too. Definitely away from north east/new England. Preferably away from East Coast… Preferably near the ocean or a good lake… I don’t want to be stuck in crime or around homophobes.
ABQ is not quite Wild West, but you do need to watch yourself there. Good farmers’ market and plenty of Native influence.
Columbus downtown seemed like a nice Midwestern spot, touch of Rust Belt, heavy on Buckeye mania of course. Seemed really quiet when I visited many summers ago.
Have you considered Chicago? Boystown is a great neighborhood. Kinda wished I’d lived there even though I’m not LGBTQ. I think it’s still relatively low crime. But I’m sure you’ll want to do (or have done) your own homework on that.
I kinda of thought about Chicago. I’m trying to stay away from the bigger cities for now. Even Cleveland OH.
Columbus is a bigger population than Cleveland. It’s kind of the bigger city these days.
I was going to say that if you want a lake then you want Cleveland, not Columbus. Also there is an inner suburb of Cleveland called Lakewood you should check out. It has a great LGBTQ+ scene (for a smaller city) and is super welcoming in that friendly midwestern way.
FWIW I don’t think you’re going to find a more progressive region to live outside of New England
Either way way I know I’m definitely not wanted in New England/northeast. I wouldn’t be looking to move if that weren’t the case.
Albuquerque is… Albuquerque. The food is diverse, the lgbtq+ scene is surprisingly robust, and there’s a lot to do if you’re into outdoorsy things. Nightlife is a bit limited and there’s pockets of crime all over, but you learn which areas to avoid pretty quickly. The zoo is world-class, and the museums are great. There’s history in Albuquerque and all over the state.
I can’t speak on the merits or lack thereof for Columbus, but I have known people to willingly move there.
It really seems like you might have bigger issues than deciding between Albuquerque and Columbus. I can tell you about ABQ, but maybe you can give some more details about what’s pushing you to move, and why you’d look at those two cities in particular.
I’d feel like you could get better advice if you give more details, and maybe ask about LGBT friendly cities in some of the LGBT communities.
ABQ isn’t bad, but it’s not homeless friendly, and it gets cold in the winter. You could live outside of Albuquerque in the east mountains for relatively cheap but would need a vehicle to get into town.
But seriously, there’s more going on there that I think you might be able to use advice on.
