Bible Belt Gays: Why?

Dude. Not everyone believes how you do and not everyone wants to live how you do. Why is that a question?

They stay because they're not gutless cowards terrified of anyone who doesn't share their opinions and who think they're lesser people because they don't live in some gay ghetto in LA or NYC.

What r2 said^^^

I get shocked how so many gays seems to think every gay needs to live in a major city. Many don’t and don’t want to. I have met small town gays and they wouldn’t trade their lives for anyone else’s. They love it.

R1 I'm literally asking the appeal of these places

There's a big range of living between New York/LA and small town Arkansas. Why would anyone stay there?

because it's cheap, and most jobs pay peanuts.

some people have family they like to be around.

also, the countryside itself is very beautiful. when you aren't being torrentially rained upon, sweltered in steam, eaten by every insect known to man or bitten by 60 kinds of snake.

I used to believe gays were better off moving to NY or LA, but I've lived in both and, believe it or not, I think the people are kinder in the deep south. I tried to warm up to both places, but they just weren't for me. They're places to visit - not to live.

For me, small town life is more comfortable and less stressful. People's priorities are different than they are in most big cities. Sure, there are some crazy hillbilly conservative psychos, but most of them keep to themselves and there are ways of not crossing their paths and it's not like the big cities are free of these types. You find your own little friend circles and tribes. There are a lot of open minds and hearts that exist in the south. It's not quite as dire as many people would think.

You have the weird, backwoods church people who come into town to protest in front of a bar or abortion clinic every now and then, but everyone I know thinks they're a bunch of psychos who should mind their own business.

R6 nature is beautiful and a lot better than living on top of other people on top of other people like NYC have to. I rather be in Arkansas and live a quiet life where I LIVE vs NYC where I’m suffocated and now everyone is dying from a virus because everyone is on top of each other.

Arkansas won’t have that issue.

For them the good outweighs the bad. Which is the same way it is no matter where you live. Living in NYC or LA is not all wonderful magic days and exciting nights for the vast majority living there. In fact it has been my experience with both cities that you meet more people (gays included) who desperately want to get out than want to stay.

It does seem R7 that the backwoods crazies, even if they are the minority, have all the political power in those states.

[quote]I think the people are kinder in the deep south.

They’re kind to your face. As long as you don’t step outside of the social role assigned to you, and as long as you don’t go against their social and religious mores too overtly.

[quote]You find your own little friend circles and tribes.

If you’re lucky. And even when you do, when you step outside of that tribe or circle, you have to mind your Ps and Qs.

I have no patience for any of the above, so I left and never looked back.

R11 that is in NYC too. Many are kind TO YOUR FACE.

Many of the Southern cities have sizeable numbers of gays, like Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Charleston, and Richmond. You can definitely have a enjoyable social life in those places.

Gay people don't have to move to a major city to have a nice life anymore. Things have changed a lot. Not to mention the fact that a city like NY has become so expensive it's unaffordable to many, or they don't feel like spending 60% of their income on housing.

That's not the same thing at all and you know exactly what I'm talking about.

R15 was directed at R12.

[quote] They’re kind to your face.

Hep, the very same way people are in NYC and LA and every other city in America, especially with the gays. There's not a more evil, backstabbing bunch on the planet than a group of queens meeting a new person for the first time, especially the queens living in big cities.

Small town southern gays are infinitely more mature and ingenious than most big city homos. They know how to get along with people who would make most LA or NYC queens run screaming like little girls.

Mid-sized cities in the US are not the backwaters they used to be. Places like Savannah, Charleston, Raleigh and others have sizable numbers of young professionals who skew liberal. Years ago, if you were gay and wanted to live a life of freedom moving to a city like LA, SF or NY was your only option but that's not the case anymore. You can be gay in a mid-sized city in the US and have a professional career, get married, have an active social life etc.and basically do all the things anybody else does and nobody bothers you. Not to mention the fact that the US has become a much more culturally homogenous country - all the same retail shit in NYC can be found anywhere else these days. There isn't much you can't find elsewhere that you would be able to find in NY. And the cost of living is much lower. These days it's all about AFFORDABILITY. That's the main driving force for people to pick a place to live. They don't want to have to deal with outrageous housing costs and not having anything for retirement.

The world has changed dramatically in respect to gay people feeling more comfortable and able to earn a living outside the major coastal cities.

I stayed because it is nothing like L.A. or New York.

Stay wherever you are OP. You're clearly to tender and sensitive to live outside your queer bubble.

Why does anyone respond to a stupid cunt troll like OP?

Places like Nashville have a lot of gays now and gay bars etc. a gay scene.

While LA and NYC are erasing gay bars, places like Nashville and Atlanta are opening them.

And we are ignoring Chicago a lot. They had an amazing gay scene for decades.

Yeah, I'm so terrible for not wanting to live in a state run by a moron like this.

Why would you worry about that old bitch R24? It's not like she's going to ask you to fuck her. You don't need a politician to tell you it's smarter to keep your ass at home right now. It is all over the media, and they do have cable TV in Alabammy.

There's a wide range of life between LA/NY and small town Alabama. Why anyone would choose that end of the spectrum is the question when there are MANY other options, not just big cities

Because we were born and raised there,stupid. Ive lived all over the united states yet I ended up right back in my home town in N. Fl as I aged and decided I didnt want to be a nomad anymore . Its home , and most people eventually end up back home in the long run.

What r27 said. Exactly why I agree with some of what NativeNYer says.

OP, many gay and bisexual men aren’t like you. They like hunting, fishing, big trucks, football, Church, and NASCAR. Why are you so intolerant, dude?

There are some charming, tolerant pockets of the south just as there are shithole deplorable areas in blue states. I'm liberal and I don't even like a lot of liberal cities. Also, some people are happy to "bloom where they're planted."

If all the adult gays left the South, then who are the younger ones going to see around them to make them feel less alone? Who would help fight for their rights in those places?

Oh, and many gay and bisexual people love sweet tea

I’m gay, from the North, living in a major city but I LOVE the South and Midwest. Is it all good? No. But it’s a lot of good on top of the bad.

There is a lot more bad in major cities, and NY in general. The city is overall liberal but Long Island and Upstate are red.

You were obviously raised right R32. LOL

I lived in Columbia, Missouri for a number of years. It's a great college town, handsome Mizzou students, progressive and supportive community, a decent social scene downtown, very cultural for its size, and close enough to bike along the Missouri River. No one is stressed going about their day-to-day business. People talk to you in grocery lines.

I took a job with more opportunities elsewhere (that's the drawback), but I miss Columbia terribly.

NYC outside of certain parts of Mahattan and a sliver of Brooklyn looks like a run down dump.