Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

No_Definition7025 t1_ivpgsum wrote

Welcome, fellow queer. Greater Boston is, in general, super gay-friendly, but I'd recommend Malden, Arlington, Medford, and Somerville over any of the south shore suburbs. I lived in Quincy for a bit, and the vibe wasn't exactly hostile, but I almost never saw pride flags or visibly queer folks out and about and there was a fair bit of Q-aligned graffiti.

I'm trans and generally pass, but I was always a little nervous if I went out dressed at all GNC in Quincy. I never got harassed, but I never felt entirely comfortable in my own skin.

I'm up in Camberville (Cambridge + Somerville) now and it's a lot more comfortable to play around with gender expression. Quite a few queer-owned businesses in the area, too!

9

Icy-Egg-7755 OP t1_ivpx9uu wrote

Thank you! That’s so helpful!

2

No_Definition7025 t1_ivq187a wrote

Glad to help! Like I said, you'd probably be fine anywhere in Massachusetts -- homophobia obviously exists, but it's not enshrined in law and it's not a prevalent attitude.

Boston unfortunately doesn't really have a true gayborhood, but Jamaica Plain is a hotbed of married lesbians with kids. Somerville and Cambridge are super queer friendly (and actually legally recognize polyamorous marriage, to give you a sense of the level of general/structural support for 'alternative' family arrangements). Unfortunately, a lot of those places are fairly expensive (b/c they're on the big transit lines), but I also know a couple gay couples w/ kids in Hyde Park, which is still part of Boston but less connected to the rest of the city by transit.

5