I grew up in a medium-sized college town in North Central Florida. We had community there, but the kind of community that you get in an area with urban-sprawl, no real vibrant downtown core, and a small but growing emphasis on art, music, theater, and lack of diversity in the general population.
The gay community felt small. A few years after graduating college, I had the opportunity to move to Boston. What a stark contrast to Florida. I finally had the culture that I wanted. Rainbow flags adorned residential and retail shop windows. There were gayborhoods. And pride. After a while in Boston, it turns out that despite the deep feeling of acceptance and belonging, I really missed the friendlier, smaller community that I had when I lived in Florida.
Boston felt too big for me. But, something happened during that impromptu visit: I felt at home. And that feeling helped me navigate some of the worries that I had during my initial visit. The areas around where I grew up in Florida did not — on the whole — share the ideologies of our liberal college town.
At the end of the day, we all want to live in an area where we feel accepted — not just tolerated. For me, Asheville is that place. What is the gay community like?
How accepting is Asheville? How accepting are the surrounding areas? Where do gay people move in Asheville? Are there gayborhoods? What is there to do in Asheville? We are thriving, but like other cities, we have challenges and barriers to overcome.
