America’s ‘Gayborhoods’ Are a Lot More Expensive, a Lot Less Gay
 

http://time.com/money/3080090/gaybor...ousing-prices/

I kind of think these articles are overly sensational. Just because straight people are moving in, doesn't necessarily mean that gay people are moving out. And regardless, it's not as though gay people are suddenly ~disappearing~, as if cities will suddenly become less gay. We will still want to go to gay bars, use gay services, and have a place of community, it'll probably just be a lot more integrated and less ghettoized than in the past. And to me, I don't see anything wrong with that.

I live near the Castro and it's still very LGBT...leather, bears, twinks and dykes still roam freely and happily. I don't really see it changing that drastically from here on out.

Houston's Montrose district which was historically a gay mecca of all incomes has been diluted with rich yuppies and priced anyone out not making high six-figures. The area has lost most of it's charm and is full of cookie cutter townhouses and nouveau riche that has infested most of the most of the better parts of the city driving up property values.

same in chicago

There goes the gayborhood.

I've lived in East Lakeview and 'Boystown' essentially, for the past six and a half years. Frankly, it's never been gayer, in addition to bringing a lot of non-gay singles, couples, families into the mix as well. It's incredibly diverse, witnessed especially during Pride-month festivities, where you see a pretty remarkable cross-section of gay and straight alike (1 million or so Pride parade attendees can't be ignored). But even on a regular Thurs afternoon, it's a solid mix of anything and everything, so I don't think the 'gayborhood' is going anywhere soon. This study seems slightly dubious....hmmmm.

That's how gentrification with do ya!

But aside from that, many traditional neighborhoods with a predominant group based on race, nationality, or sexual orientation in this case, is going to become more mixed. However, I hope these neighborhoods never lose their identity completely.

It seems to me that in South Florida the ghetto/gay/gentrified cycle is accelerating. These neighborhoods are barely getting their chance to be "hip" before development and money rushes in.

The Philadelphia gayborhood is still gay but it's not what is used to be...but is that really a bad thing? Many gays in Philly have moved into South Philly...because it's more affordable and still gives quick access to Center City.

Gayborhoods formed to give us a safe place....that's no longer really necessary in many liberal cities.

^^^

This.

I think what the article is trying to say is that gayborhoods are dying now that homosexuality is more accepted and there is no longer a need for gayborhoods to exist. They're not dead yet, including Houston's but there is a fundamental shift occurring in American society, that changes every gayborhood.

Push: Gayborhoods were established and grew up in an age when walkable and transit-oriented urban areas were less desirable than houses in the suburbs. Thus, they were affordable to a wide segment of the gay population. As cities have become more desirable, many/most gayborhoods are situated in some of the most desirable areas. Thus, they have become more expensive as demand rises--and this pushes less affluent gays out to other more affordable areas.

Pull: Meanwhile, gay ghettoes were established and grew up in an age when harrassment, violence and discrimination against gays was ubiquitous and rampant--there was safety in numbers. Gayborhoods also made it easier to meet other gay people. As society has become more inclusive and fair, 'safe spaces' are less critical and gays are integrating into the fabric of society at large. And the Internet has made finding other people rather, ahem, easy. Gayborhoods just don't have the pull they once did.

Boystown is plenty 'gay' after midnight!! The best nightlife in the city, bar none!

I wonder if there will be gay suburbs (or perhaps they already exist?). We see certain suburbs dominated by a racial/culture group, maybe that will take place amongst LGBT members.

Bold text true, HOWEVER, I might argue that the the rise of location-based 'dating' software reinforces traditional settlement patterns of the sexually active urban gay male; you won't be going on very many 'dates' if every outing requires a cross-town schlep. (Woe to gay singles out in the sticks...)

New York's sterotypically gay neighborhoods are definitely less gay than 10-15 years ago, but are still identifiably gay. The West Village, Chelsea, and Hell's Kitchen (guys) and Park Slope/Prospect Heights (ladies) would be the stereotypical neighborhoods.

As others have stated, gentrification and less of a need for a "safer space" makes gayborhoods somewhat less critical in importance.

Just taking SF for instance, my understanding is that the gayborhoods here have already evolved, twice. The first was the Tenderloin, then it drifted to the Polk Gulch. The fact that there is a concentration of old rundown, sad tranny bars and a couple of neighborhood spots in this area still in existence reminds visitors of this. THEN it went to the Castro. Also, straights are moving into the Castro, but I don't think many gays are moving out. The tech industry itself is very very gay, and that's the industry that pays and is sweeping the city. So as Castro becomes more expensive, lots of gays can still afford it. The # of bars/clubs has only increased and gotten better just since I've been here (Hi Tops for instance, Midnight Sun redo, etc), so that's not really a sign that the gays are leaving.

Besides, every other "group" that has formed identity neighborhoods in the past has seen these hoods "gentrified" (or turned into slums) at some point in the past. Gays often choose pretty awesome neighborhoods to be in, so it's no surprise that for the gayborhoods that been established for decades now that finally the ball is rolling and they, too, are becoming "gentrified".

The author also fails to point out that gays themselves were often the first "round" of gentrification. Many gayborhoods are former slums or rundown areas, until the gays came in the first place and made them "desirable".

The other thing is the fact that the author tracked same-sex couples. In our day of acceptance, many long term couples are adopting or having surrogate or basically just doing normal couple things, like "settling down". While some straight couples may see desirability in moving to a gayborhood with tons of bars and clubs, gay couples probably know better! ;) Once you want to settle down or have kids, then yea, a quiet family neighborhood (like Noe Valley here where so many gay COUPLES live) makes sense!! The Castro and other gayborhoods like it are better for gay SINGLES. Are they being measured or tracked?

'After'?? Ha, try the 24 hours before AND after midnight :haha:

I have been hearing about this for 15 years. The fact that they are still talking about it likely means it is not a significant issue.

There will likely always be a higher proportion of lgbt people in cities because of our inclinations toward being cosmopolitan, multicultural and our love of active communities. But as sexual diversity has become more accepted across all parts of the population, we're seeing gay people showing up in all different kinds of communities. The reason for the increase of non-urban gays is twofold.

First off, increased acceptance of sexual diversity has allowed more lgbt people who have already been living in suburban and rural communities to finally feel permitted to be open and honest about who they are with other members of their family and community. So these lgbt people already existed in these communities, but now they're being picked up by the numbers because they're not lying about themselves anymore. So they were always in those places but now they're being picked up in the statistics because of better openness.

Secondly, the decreased sense of lgbt people as an oppressed group has lessened the sense among our community that we have to remain to tightly connected and unified against what we perceive to be a hostile world. This persuaded many lgbt people who might not have been city people to nevertheless relocate to urban gay centers because what they were giving up in preferred rural living they were trading for the ability to be out and honest about their sexuality in a community that would embrace them. The Castro was once FULL of gay people from small towns and conservative rural areas. They moved there not because they loved San Francisco or being in a city was so appealing, but because being in a less desirable living situation was still superior to being in a community that demonized you for how nature made you. As sexual diversity has become more mainstream, the need for this kind of lifestyle has diminished and once again, people can move to places that they perceive to be a better fit for their personal lifestyle.

About 25 years ago I lived in Williamson County north of Austin, in a cookie-cutter housing suburb. Even then, there were many LGBT people who I knew through networking, but hardly anyone was out. It was uncomfortable enough in the burbs that I moved back into the inner city pretty quickly. But that was then. I'm sure things have changed a lot.