Louisville - Indianapolis or Cincinnati?

Cincinnati it ghetto. Indianapolis is boring. Louisville is surprisingly fun. They have little neighborhoods with different feelings. It's affordable and within driving distance to other fun cities. It's also liberal enough and gay friendly. Housing is affordable and it has better weather than Indy.

The gay scene may not impress given their handful of bars. But the city is definitely not like KY. The joke in KY is that Louisville isn't even a part of the state.

Only Indy makes this list.

R1 That’s what I’ve heard! I don’t know a whole lot about Kentucky except for stereotypes to be honest. I have a friend that moved up there from Nashville and she loves it.

Indianapolis has some beautiful old homes.

Are you going to take the advice of someone who uses the term "ghetto" in 2020?

I live in Louisville. My partner and I moved here 2 years ago from Oakland. The things the other posters said before are accurate, it's really gay friendly and affordable. The Highlands and Old Louisville neighborhoods have great old Victorian and Craftsman type houses, it has kind of an Oakland/Berkeley vibe like where we came from.

r3 this is r1, I lived there for 7 years. It wasn't by choice and I looked down on KY. But, Lousiville surprised me. It's simply a great place to live. But, if you are single, it may not be the best spot given the limited supply of available gay men. Indy will has a larger supply. If you're in a committed relationship and ready to settle down, then I'd say Lousiville, is one the best, mid-sized cities in America. Very under-rated. Along with Cincinnati, Lousiville's food and music scenes are really good.

Warning, if you stay in Louisville, you will be tempted to visit Nashville. When I visited Nashville, I started to wonder what the hell I was doing in Louisville lol. But Louisville is more affordable so there is that.

Let me know if you have any other questions about Louisville.

r6 I used to spend one Sunday a month driving through the neighborhoods gawking at the beautiful homes. I had friends out in Prospect, Goshen, and La Grange. Lots of new builds and coupled with grand old homes. Loved the rolling hills in KY. Beautiful state, outside of the East with Appalachia.

I've spent time in all 3. I would say this: Cincinnati is a no. It's famous for having the ugliest men in America. And, it's dull. Louisville however has good looking men, a great gay scene but... you're in Kentucky, and the moment you leave Louisville, you're basically in Alabama. Or worse. Indianapolis also has a surprising number of great looking guys and is also very gay friendly. And, although the rest of the state is pretty conservative, it's not as bad as Kentucky.

All in all, though, I'd say, you'd be better off in Chicago.

R6 R7 Interesting I’m moving from Sacramento. I know Oakland very well. I’m 32 and yes I’m ready to settle down. I’ve dated enough and hooked up etc. and I’d like to share my life with someone. It sounds like Indianapolis has more gays but Louisville is prettier with better weather? Are there a lot of gay sports teams in Louisville? I agree about Nashville. It’s a fantastic city.

R9 Yeah Chicago is a little bit far for me to drive. All three cities are within an hour and a half of each other. That’s pretty much as far as I want to commute.

Of the 3 cities, Cincinnati is the most beautiful by far. Great architecture and surprisingly hilly. However, Cincy is dark red politically and is therefore a big no. Indy is flat and boring in the middle of a flat and boring state. So, another big no. Louisville is on the Ohio River and, as others have stated, it's gay friendly. However, politically, you have the two biggest idiot Senators imaginable in McConnell and Rand Paul. Also, everything outside of Louisville is bright red and racist. So, as long as you stay in Louisville, you'll be good. Is Dayton too far away to consider? It's very blue, cheap cost of living, and very gay friendly.

I have lived in Louisville my entire life. There is good and bad. There’s a lot of crime, probably just as much of not more than Cincinnati. The gay scene is small. I’m trying to move.

Louisville for sure.

Pick the place where the tax burden is least.

Op, I'd suggest Indy if your single because there is a larger stock of men. After you catch a dick, maybe you guys can consider moving to Louisville to settle down. Send your kids to one of their awesome private schools and laugh all the way to the bank as your cheap home nets you an upgraded lifestyle.

Yes, people in Lousiville will ask which high school you went to before they ask about college. The high schools are a status symbol, especially private schools.

Being in KY isn't a big deal. There is little reason for you to be hanging out in the backwoods. My job took me all over the state. I'm a gay, black, man. I didn't have any issues. Of course, I just handled my business and went on my way to the next town. Again, the scenery in KY is simply beautiful in the summer.

Louisville used to have a world class regional theatre. It’s still there, but it’s not a patch on what it was in the good old days.

Honestly, the best thing about Louisville is that you can buy whiskey ANYWHERE. Seriously. Drugstores. Donut shops. Toy stores. Laundromats.

Indy has a good gay scene. Lots of gay bars and clubs downtown. All three of these cities are islands of blue in very red states. Cincy is probably the most expensive to live in, Louisville the least.

R17 Actors Theatre was the bomb about 20 years ago. Known actors from all over the world performed there. But I agree it’s majorly gone downhill.

Cincinnati is not an island of blue. Columbus and Cleveland maybe, but Cincinnati has a seriously conservative bent.

Cleveland and northern Ohio are solid blue - always has been. Cultural opportunities are by far the best between NY and Chicago. Columbus city is blue, but all of the suburbs and out are red, red, red. Also, there is no discernible culture in Columbus, so if you are not into the bar scene, there isn't much to do for entertainment. Cincy is getting bluer, but still retains the stench of Ken Blackwell, Bill Cunningham ( whose show originated from there), and Jean Schmidt. Indy is easy to get around and like Louisville functions on a more modern philosophy. The cities are nice, the people friendly. If I were you, OP, I'd spend a few days in each city ( all of them are about 90 minutes from each other) to see which vibe suits you. You can tell quickly.

Congratulations!!

Don't move to Indianapolis. You might get Julie as your neighbor.

Go with Cincinnati with that Travis guy in the tight jeans, but watch out so you don't get bombed by turkeys

Find yourself a nice Kentucky top in Louisville. Everybody in the other two places is a fat, needy bottom.

What other sports qualify as "gay" OP?

I grew up in Indy and moved back there after college. It's awful. I moved 15 years ago and never looked back. If you must move to Indy, live downtown near Mass Ave and ignore most of the rest of the city.

Op, during your visits, go to at least two malls. IDK about everyone else, but I find that to be another good way to feel out the vibe of a community. For instance, Circle Center in Indy was the pits in my view. Hated that place during our trips to Indy, hope. The Fashion Mall at the keystone was nice and all but boring, just like the rest of Indy.

So I suggest malls, but with COVID idk how you can feel out a any city right now.

OP if you stay in KY you might be able to run into Clayton Bush. He and his ass should be the spokesperson for KY.

Yes, you will find some good tops in Louisville.

[quote]What other sports qualify as "gay" OP?

Watersports, of course.

Indy has 2 bathhouses

R29 You guys crack me up. I play on gay sports teams such as gay softball kickball etc.

I would say there's much more to do in Louisville than in Cincinnati or Indianapolis.

Cincinnati was once a great city, and has some beautiful old buildings near it, but it's pretty run-down now. Indianapolis is literally the worst place in the world to live if you have any kind of allergies to pollen, mold, or dust.

There are beautiful buildings in Louisville, too. Inhabited by racist assholes, mind you, but lovely as architecture.

The most distinctive building in Indianapolis, on the other hand, is the White Castle.

Actually I would recommend Columbus, Indiana. It is centrally located between Indy, Louisville and Cincinnati. Under an hour drive to Indy, just a little over an hour drive to Louisville and about an hour and half to Cincinnati.

Interesting idea. Columbus, Indiana has a lot of cool MCM architecture. There was even a movie about it.

As a Chicagoan, I would live in Louisville. It will be somewhat warmer than the other cities you mentioned and even though its in Kentucky, at least it's not in Indiana.

The Cincinnati comments are funny. The city has 3 art museums and a first rate symphony orchestra. It's always had excellent restaurants. There are some beautiful inner area neighborhoods---it's a relatively conservative place but just about anyone I know who has lived there has liked it. The more or less gayborhood is rather "bohemian" and diverse. Indy is franky just backward and endlessly boosterish. Louisville is smaller than Cincy or Indy and has less to do. I know people who have lived there and are very happy--usually living in one of the older East Side neighborhoods. The nicest thing I'll say about Indy is that it's closer to Chicago than the other two cities, but really you are in a cultural wasteland anywhere in Indiana.

Did you honestly suggest a gay man move to the middle of nowhere Indiana r34? Into deep Trump country? So they have the privilege of being an hour away from civilization?!

Just on a cultural level, Cincinnati is far superior to the other two cities. But....Indy has two bathhouses.

They all sound ghastly! Just ghastly!

Cincinnati is a nice place to live, the weather is not as bad as northern Ohio, the city is fairly progressive and You do have major sports teams there. You can go right over the river to Covington which has a really cute downtown/smalltown feel. I always go to Bouquet when I am in Cincinnati. It is pretty Trump fan heavy in the area though..

If I were just making a choice by the seat of my pants, I'd choose Louisville, but if I were being more serious, I'd have to choose Cincinnati, which is where I live. And that is because of the Art scene: I'm a member of the Art Museum and a season ticket holder for the Ballet, and always manage to squeeze in a few evenings with the Opera or the Symphony. The 'ghetto' designation doesn't bother me. I mentioned on some other thread that my friends sometimes ask why I live in the ghetto, and I just remind them they can always leave. I'm surprised Columbus, Ohio wasn't on your list. It's quite gay-friendly. My employer's headquarters are in Indy, and I don't dislike it. I just can't find anything about it to embrace.

R42 I’ve heard amazing things about Columbus but the commute is too far. A friend was telling me about Bloomington Indiana.

r43 no, no, no to Bloomington. If you're willing to live in Bloomington, then any of your three choices will be more than fine for your taste. It's a cute college town, but only a college town. Visit, enjoy for a fall weekend, get some good Midwest college boy dick, then go back home. Avoid Indiana, unless you are going to stay in Indy. Trust us.

Now, if you get a job located in Bloomington, then fine, make it work. Don't set up shop there unless absolutely necessary.

R44 lol OK good to know! Does look like a really cute college town. I’ll be spending a lot of time in all three cities because of work. I think I will spend a few days in each city and feel out the vibe:

It looks like Louisville has a gay kickball team!

[quote]... you're in Kentucky, and the moment you leave Louisville, you're basically in Alabama.

Look at Louisville -- with its nose in the air.

I don't know where you're originally from, OP -- but I moved from Sacramento to the east coast without ever having visited and it was a real culture and weather shock for me. (This was a long time ago.) Anyway, if you've never lived in the midwest or east, adjusting to humid summers and snowy winters is not easy.

Bloomington is very insular and since you won't really be town or gown (or an old person in one of the retirement villages), you won't belong at all.

Columbus and "amazing" not really. It does have a surprisingly large gay population, but it really doesn't have much to do. Terrible, tiny art museum, lots of heroin and things kind of go down hill from there. It's a place for dull suburban gays---Atlanta without as much drug use.

OP R43, don't think of Columbus, if they change the name you'll never be able to find it again.

Not many gay people or average folks even go to art museums enough to justify moving somewhere because of one, lol. Apparently the after gays age out of the bars, they move to the arts for their social interactions according to this thread.

Cincinnati makes me think of cinnamon, so that's the one I'd pick.

Cincinnati has a very fine art museum, Cincinnati Art Museum. I'd cruise there.

[quote]Not many gay people or average folks even go to art museums enough to justify moving somewhere because of one, lol.

R51 types philistine and troglodyte.

Dayton is an hour north of Cincy and is cheap, gay friendly and has lots to do. About 90 min to Indy, and 2.5 hours to Louisville.

Dayton is huge opioid country.

The bars in Louisville stay open til 4 am.

I grew up there but left in the mid90s.(strangely enough to Oakland lol).

Louisville has long been a bit of a “Sin City” in the region. Playing the ponies at Churchill Downs, titty bars, and bourbon production all made it more diverse (i e everybody accepted “different” people there easier than other cities).

Also was traditionally heavily Catholic, especially in the old city limits ( now Louisville and Jefferson County are all one big metro). So more liberal by virtue of that. I remember every weekend a different parish had a big fish fry and nearly everyone was shitfaced. I’m talking parents, grandparents, everyone. I say this, to compare to more Southern cities which have teetotaling Baptists everywhere (they’re located in the suburbs here).

UPS has it’s worldwide air hub there, which brings in loads of fresh food from all over the world daily. The restaurants here are really good and the residents really hold them in high esteem. It’s no coincidence that Top Chef was filmed in KY.

Old Louisville and the Highlands are the two gayish ‘hoods. University of Louisville always scores at the top for LGBTQ-friendly campuses (in the south anyway).

But others are correct in saying that all that liberal stuff stops at the city limits. The rest of Kentucky always outvotes Louisville in Frankfort. And racial tensions are being inflamed with the Breona Taylor killing.

Why do you say Cincy men are ugly? Aren't they mostly Germanic? German men are hot, at least in Europe.

Dayton? How did Dayton enter the conversation? I’d sooner live in a tent under the train tracks. There’d be more culture there.

And for those citing Cincy's museums and artistic institutions, you can always go there and visit them. I’m fairly confident you can soak up all of Cincinnati’s cultural landmarks in a weekend. It’s not NYC or Chicago.

r56 = Honey, all of the cities mentioned are opioid country. It's what we do in the Midwest for fun.

Cost of living is quite similar in each city; Louisville housing is maybe 10% higher.

Louisville would win for me. It's very liberal, has some nice neighborhoods: Old Louisville is a large Victorian historic district with some amazing houses, priced lower than its competition because it is a bit of an island, an urban neighborhood but everything requires getting in a car. Highlands, which has some beautiful late 19th and early 20th Century architecture, and some of the downtown areas like East Market are more expensive but closer to restaurants and grocery stores and things to do. Gay bar life is confined to a few establishments and is grim, but there are lots of gay people, certainly, and gay and straight people mix easily at the many bars. There's a small arts scene and a good museum with interesting programming. (Though Cincinnati has a better museum, and Indianapolis has an reasonably good one.)

All three cities suffer from disjointedness and sprawl and/or decay. They are not tidy and compact and especially walkable or bikeable. Louisville has a fairly good system of bath paths and bridges and bike lanes within the city. Cincinnati is more cohesive visually at its core but is a seriously under-realized city with lots of sketchy patches. Each has nice bits separated abruptly from other parts but much less nice areas. Indianapolis seems always to have strange and especially violent crime. Crime is a consideration in any of the three.

Each city has a regional airport, and while it's possible to get anywhere from any of them, you likely won't do it directly and it will likely cost more than you think it should. A return flight to Chicago will be about $250 unless you book some Southwest 5.30AM on a weekend morning deal ages in advance. I find Indianapolis an especially hard city to like. There's some nice housing, but not a great deal and it costs substantially more as a result; it's one advantage is that it is physically closer to Chicago (3 hour drive, versus 4.5 hours drive from either of the other two cities to Chicago.) It's a grueling, boring drive, prone to long stretches of dense traffic congestion for who knows what reason. Nashville is an easy and not unpleasant drive from Louisville so long as you avoid high traffic times/days in the former, and Nashville has some merits.

I would live in Louisville. Ideally, I would buy a modest place in Louisville and an apartment in Chicago (surprisingly affordable) —and visit Chicago often.

Starting your post with “So.. “ is really off putting. It makes you sound like a spoiled teenage girl. Please don’t do it again.

Cincinnati- there is a reason most people don’t leave it. Downtown and adjacent Northern Ky areas are booming. Suburbs are mostly white and Republican. The men are not ugly. Indianapolis is dullsville - Louisville is second choice.

I travel for work and have Ohio as a territory - every time I am in Cincy I hook up with a hot married guy. Must be because I have a hotel room and they can never host.

For all those dogging the “flyover/Midwest” how’s that Corona virus working out for ya int he big city? Enjoying that with your closed cultural landmarks?

Another vote for Louisville. Even though I hate the thought of living someplace with Moscow Mitch as the senator.

"Even though I hate the thought of living someplace with Moscow Mitch as the senator." Tell me about it. Talk about bad senators.

[quote] Cincinnati is a no. It's famous for having the ugliest men in America.

[quote] Cincy men are ugly? Aren't they mostly Germanic? German men are hot, at least in Europe.

Ja, to all of the above.

This⬇️is really the best you’re going to be able to find Cincinnati.

Won't your pink Cadillac stand-out like a sore thumb, OP?

Either Cincy or Indy.

This thread is funny. 😊 I’m from NY and have only driven through Indianapolis once and know nothing, but just wanted to say, you seem excited and I am happy for you. Congratulations!

R69 I had to Google Mary Kay because I wasn’t sure who the hell you were talking about. 😂😂. A lot of really great information here.

For cities in close proximity they have different vibes. Cincinnati and Indianapolis feel very midwestern and Louisville feels southern.

If you like live music, Cincy has Bogarts (though when it will be open again is anyone's guess.) I had a relative live there for a year and I drove down like once a week to see bands old and new up close for a pittance. OTR is becoming less sketchy, but super expensive. Seems like a fun place to live, though. You may not be into sports, but it's always fun to take relatives/visitors to a Reds game or even a Bengals game (though I've never been.) It's red politically, but if you find your people you can just look at those assholes and shake your heads together, and one day we will overcome!

r68 he has big dick energy. Give him a shower, haircut, and new clothes and most of us would be fine.

Indy is dull and so are the natives. The gay scene is tiny and it's just flat prairie land. No character.

I would choose Louisville.

But why not take a road trip and visit all 3?

"I’m from NY and have only driven through Indianapolis once and know nothing, but just wanted to say, you seem excited and I am happy for you. Congratulations!"

Ladies and gentlemen, our very first NY poster who admits he knows nothing. Refreshing.

Louisville is a great town, and not all of beautiful Kentucky is a hellhole. Lexington is only an hour and a half away, which is a liberal Southern college town. The Bourbon Trail is very entertaining. Louisville has the Speed Museum, Actors Theater, great restaurants, extensive public park system designed by the same man who designed Central Park. Indy used to have an amazing stripper club called the Unicorn, but the Conservatives shut it down years ago.

OP most all midwestern cities are the same. They all offer great this or they all offer great that. The majority are made up of college students who will be leaving upon graduation anyway. So if you're still young and single and halfway good looking, go to where the most and best college dick is. Somebody said earlier Columbus which is an interesting choice BUT I would go over just a bit and hit up Bloomington, home of IU. 45 to 60 min from Indy, which does have two bath houses, and also features the IUPUI campus and IU med school so there's a more than decent amount of college dick. Louisville is okay but it's a lot of settled down bears. Cincy would be my next choice but I had a friend that lived in Bloomington and he fucking loved it.

Correct r78! Lexington even had a n out gay mayor a few years ago that was re-elected. So KY isn’t an Alabama, but it won’t be Massachusetts. Still better in many ways to Indiana.

Louisville’s zoo has a literal cave under its zoo. You can go year round because the temperature remains consistent. Great zip lining. They do Christmas lights display down there every year that you can drive your car through. KY and Louisville have a lot of cool little areas. Now that’s trashy fourth street is closed down a few years ago, the other bars around the city picked up the pace for entertainment. Not that they weren’t fun before.

even when I lived there we called it "Indiana no place"......been to Louisville and its got a great downtown!

We've always called Cincinnati "Censor-Nasty" because they banned the Mapplethorpe exhibit in 1990.

R79 is right. I lived in Lexington in my 20’s and had a great time. Once you age out of dating college guys there aren’t many options as everyone moves to Chicago or Atlanta or is already partnered.

Cincinnati - home of Charles Keating, founder of Citizens For decent Literature and chief figure in the Savings and Loan scandal.

Citizens for Decent Literature (CDL) was one of the earliest anti-pornography groups in the United States.

Charles H. Keating Jr., an attorney and later financier, founded the group in 1956 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Charles H. Keating, in full Charles Humphrey Keating, (born December 4, 1923—died March 31, 2014), American businessman best known for his role in the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and ’90s, which resulted in the closure of about half of all savings and loan associations in the United States and the bankruptcy of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC).

Hey, look who else was a son of Cincinnati:

Charles Manson was born on November 12, 1934, to 16-year-old Kathleen Manson-Bower-Cavender,[8] née Maddox (1918–1973),[9] in the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was first named "no name Maddox".[10][11][12] Within weeks, he was called Charles Milles Maddox.[10][13]

Not to mention Jean Schmidt:

Controversy seemed to follow Schmidt throughout her time in congress.

There was the "cowards cut and run, Marines never do" comment on the House floor, which she quickly retracted.

And the ethics investigation that culminated in Schmidt being ordered to repay at least $500,000 in legal services provided by Turkish Coalition of America attorneys.

The U.S. House Ethics Committee found Schmidt wrongly accepted at least $500,000 in legal help from the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund. She was ordered to disclose and repay the fees. She lost her re-election bid in 2012 to Republican Brad Wenstrup.

The Federal Election Commission fined Schmidt $2,500 in 2016; Schmidt did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the agreement. Schmidt reported she had repaid the Turkish Coalition of America $42,812 in legal fees and expenses, but the commission said the the coalition provided free legal services to Schmidt worth $651,244 in several cases from 2008 to 2011.

1) Louisville

2) Cincy

3) NEVER - Indy

Columbus, Ohio. It may not be in the territory, but all the territory is close to it.

Indianapolis is Republican Central; Louisville is the south and economically depressed; Cincinnati is scenic but racial tensions and homophobia are rife there. It is the biggest city of the group, but not growing, and that makes a huge difference. Alternatively you might try Dayton or Oxford (home to Miami University) because it is cheaper but in a weird way less provincial, but also not completely redneck like Evansville. Nobody in Dayton thinks it is the greatest city in the world, and you will find plenty of people in Indy, Louisville, Lexington, Cincy, Columbus etc who think these things.

Dayton=overdose.

Montgomery County, Ohio, was recently given a title that no community wants to receive: the overdose capital of the United States.

According to a June 19 article on the website of Columbus news station WCMH-TV, Montgomery County experienced 365 overdose deaths in the first five months of 2017. In all of 2016, the county had 371 overdose deaths. In the WCMH-TV article, Montgomery County Coroner Kent Harshbarger described the ongoing overdose epidemic as a “mass-casualty event.”

The vast majority of the county’s overdose deaths involve the illicit use of opioids.

Police officers and other first responders in Montgomery County are equipped with nasal spray versions of naloxone, a medication that can reverse the effects of opioid overdose if administered in time. However, the dramatic increase in opioid abuse means that Montgomery County deputies are responding to multiple opioid overdoses every day, and naloxone is not a foolproof solution.

Montgomery County is located in southwestern Ohio, about 80 miles from the state capital, Columbus.

My experience living in Indy is that they are a special breed. It’s like a cross between Amish, Baptist and dull.

R90 Hilarious!

r90 as a former Indiana resident, that is the best description of Indianapolis I've ever read. Perfect!

But between that dullness is extreme racism. Indiana probably attracted more racist southerners during the great migration than any other state. And since all the good manufacturing jobs have dissapeared, you just know they hate all the black people there since they have nothing better to do.

Hate groups can be hard to measure, because typically, there’s no record of where they exist. But there is data on where there were distinct Klaverns of the Ku Klux Klan in each state. We wanted to get the facts straight and dug into the data in order to identify the most racist cities in Indiana. The result is the following list of the most racist cities in the Hoosier State: San Pierre

Modoc

West Point

Monroe

Roanoke

Fountain City

Bainbridge

Hartford City (Photos)

Odon

Cambridge City

Yup, the Klan was reborn in Indiana bigger and "better" than ever. Screw that state. Indiana is like Illinois without Chicago. It is the disgrace of the midwest. I would live in Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota or Wisconsin any day over that state.

R95..Wow the more I read your replies..I’m convinced I need to move to Louisville. Indiana sounds like an awful place.

R96, I mean, Kentucky is shit too thanks to Madam Mitch, but it's probably far more interesting to drive through. And I hear great things about Louisville and Lexington. I have NEVER heard anyone say anything great about Indiana except for the people who live there. That says something. I lived in Northwest Indiana and it sucked. Truly a shithole. My friends and I are South Asian and we noticed the racism in Indiana in the area outside the northwest. It's like people there have never seen one of us and there was an attitude of "you're not welcome here".

I would do Louisville too, I imagine the topography is pretty too. Indianapolis just feels so mid-western and basic.

80% of Louisville gays would prefer to live in Indy, I'm thinking.

The Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Columbus and Sacramento metro areas are all around the same size (low 2 millions). Louisville's is about half that size (1.2 million.)

80% of Louisville gays would prefer to live in Indy, I pulled out of my ass.

There, I fixed it for you.

I love the DL people, when presented with Louisville, Indianapolis, or Cincinnati, come back with Dayton and Bloomington.

R99 Indianapolis isn't Manhattan, it's not like anyone aspires to live there but needs to save up and get things in order first. The cities are 2 hours apart and have roughly the same cost of living.

r97, unlike Indiana, KY has have NEVER re-elected a Republican Governor to a second term. Their statehouse was Democratic for 98 years until 2016. It's much more politically interesting and physically beautiful than dull, IN. Plus, it's affordable.

Some people were thinking Yellow Springs, OH

[quote]80% of Louisville gays would prefer to live in Indy, I'm thinking.

Oh no, R99. That would be like trying to convince a Manhattanite to go to a party of a friend of a friend of a friend in Washington Heights...only in 1984. Louisvillians are not easily lured to Indiana, and gay ones less.

A good thing about Louisville is that you will meet interesting people who have been and lived everywhere. A bad thing about Louisville is that this group is outnumbered by decidedly unworldly types by a very wide margin. Provincialism takes its toll in this swath of the country and in any of these three cities, Louisville somewhat the least I would say.

Yup, 80% of Louisville's gays, as a former resident, would probably prefer to live in Nashville or Chicago, but many are content with Louisville.

Op, as a smaller city, still need to stress the smaller amount of available gay men. Most will be college students and your in your 30s. Just a consideration. I'd still go with Lousiville.

Yellow Springs is easily the strangest gay ghetto in the country.

What r103 said. What exactly do you think is stopping a Louisville gay from moving down the road to Indianapolis if they really wanted to r99?

They both have a similar cost of living, Indianapolis is actually slightly cheaper than Louisville.

R107 I’m OK with smaller cities. I’ve lived in Sacramento for 10 years. I’ve never really felt a pull or need to move to San Francisco. It’s nice to visit.

R108 I’ve never heard of Yellow Springs?

Yellow Springs.

Midwest cities to visit.

Dave Chappelle addressing the Yellow Springs council

If you move to Louisville check out the Highlands neighborhood, there are charming old houses within walking distance of restaurants and bars

Louisville has one gay bathhouse if that matters. I've never been, but it exists downtown. I know of one rich gay couple in Prospect that likes to hire young college guys to do yardwork on their sprawling estate. Once or twice a year they host a clothing-optional pool party and invite some hot guys that don't mind getting dropped and more for some money. Closeted doctors, lawyers, and businessmen interested in hot young things. Southern tea can be hot.

If you want a nice muscle trick, hit up the Louisville Athletic Club. I miss that city sometimes.

DL is probably filled with St. James Court type gays.

I attended a pool party like that on Westmoreland Place in St. Louis, R115. Naked guys tracking chlorine on the Baluchistan rugs beneath crystal chandeliers in the dark except for a couple lit tiki torches. It's not remotely a southern thing.

R116 Close! I'm on Belgravia Court which is adjacent.

R116 118 ..Where are those houses?

R119 A historic district in Louisville Ky

Sorry, wikipedia link wouldn't work

Columbus Indiana is just outside Indianapolis- that place looks interesting..

columbus is about 45 mins from Indy with no traffic

[quote]nce or twice a year they host a clothing-optional pool party and invite some hot guys that don't mind getting dropped and more for some money.

What does this mean?

I visited Columbus (IN, not OH) when I was in Indianapolis because I'd read about the interesting architecture. It definitely had that, but otherwise it seemed rather boring.

Yeah people visiting that area would do better to check out Nashville, IN and Brown County generally, or go the whole hog and head on down to French Lick's resorts where Al Capone used to play.

Besides I think Columbus' meth is probably controlled by the Pence family.

Wasn't there a DL meetup at the Ruth's Chris in Kaden Tower back in the day and several DLers went but nobody was willing to admit to others they were DLers so it all fizzled?

r126 I spent the night there once. Was beautiful, but Op you don't want to go there alone. It's in the middle of the sticks.

I always wanted to visit that Ruth Chris, especially on a snot day, they said it's beautiful. How many years ago was this r128?

voila

Do NOT do Louisville! EVERY person I have met that is from Kentucky is fucking stupid as shit.

I BEG your pardon!

Kentucky = Mitch Mcconnell = automatic NO.

Don't forget the Kentucky Derby and Indianapolis 500. I've been to both - lived in Pittsburgh. All of these places are in proximity to one another. You can do a weekend in the Burgh if you like major league sports and symphony or theater.

r132 Kentucky doesn't mean Louisville or Lexington. The average KY resident doesn't even acknowledge Lousiville as a real KY (southern) city. They accept Lexington, but even that's more progressive than the rest of the state. We are talking about KY, IN, and OH, not really know for the most enlightened people in America anyway.

I'd say that says more about you than it does about Kentucky, r132.

All three states were won by Trump so they are all shitholes.

R138 Thanks for sharing! Im still taking the job.

[quote]especially on a snot day

Ew.

Cincinnati is a hub for Delta. Who ever talked about small airports doesn't fly much. Louisville is much smaller than Indy or Cincy--you're life will be more insular there.Lexington is a college town with sprawl---I can't imagine why someone would suggest it. College towns often are no fun for people outside the town/gown parameters (and too insular for those who are).

R141: I mentioned the airports and you're quite right, Cincinnati has a substantially bigger airport (but 303K population versus Louisville at 602K) and 9.1M passengers a year compared to 4.3M passengers at Louisville. My experience in trying to fly internationally from any of those locations was to just fly to Chicago, or to Charlotte, or Dulles, and then get a direct flight. Flights to any of those cities were never for my needs anything but on the expensive side; and flights from any of those cities to Chicago RT seemed to be a standard $250+/-. A lot of money it seemed to me for two people to go away for a weekend, nevermind setting foot outside an airport. I don't doubt with the higher traffic that Cincinnati has more choices in flights and maybe a modest financial edge, but I was never able to realize it in holiday and getaway planning, Delta hub or not.

I only meant to caution OP that proximity to an airport didn't necessarily mean ease and economy in flying. The best thing about Louisville airport and a lot of small airports was that you could be there in ten minutes, park in the expensive closest garage if you liked without worrying about the expense of X days, and whisk in and out in minutes.

Let's see

Cincinatti 2,221,208

Indianapolis 2,074,537

Louisville 1,265,108

It's true, Louisville is significantly smaller than the other two options.

r143, see r100.

[quote] I mentioned the airports and you're quite right, Cincinnati has a substantially bigger airport (but 303K population versus Louisville at 602K) and 9.1M passengers a year compared to 4.3M passengers at Louisville.

Airports don't serve cities, they serve metropolitan areas. Who cares what the population of the city is?

When it comes to flying some people drive the hour and a half to Cincinnati from Louisville or Lexington to get a flight if it is cheaper. Not sure about Indianapolis.

Indianapolis has a nice airport that was supposed to be an Int'l hub. While it was being built, the main airline flying out of there and based in Indy went bankrupt. Still, a nice airport.

Fun fact, the Cincy airport is in Kentucky.

I'm a little late to the game, but here is my rundown:

-I do not know much about Indianapolis, but I know they have the Colts. - Louisville is a cool city. Churchill Downs, the firework show on July 4th, nice neighborhoods, great bourbon distilleries, Waverly Hills, and lots of trees. Ashland Park is across from the Ohio River, where you can jog and see the skyline of the city so close. It is breathtaking if you like that sort of thing. -Cincinnati is one of my favorite cities. The German heritage, the piquant beers, the symphony, the Opera House, ghost tours, and the fact it has a gorgeous downtown feel makes for an excellent choice to live for a few years.

Also look at the state in which each city is located: - Indiana is a boring state with A LOT of farming. Its "Sister State" is Illinois, which is nothing but farm land and factories and then Chicago (but Chicago is really neat). -Kentucky is gorgeous with the Smoky Mountains. McConnell and Paul are not perfect, but I feel Paul legitimately cares about KY. KY has a history of Democratic governors. -Ohio is cared about during election years.

My advice is live on the Kentucky side of Cincinnati.

When I typed my comment, it was nice and neat looking. The formatting changed when I posted it, sorry.

[Quote] My advice is live on the Kentucky side of Cincinnati.

That's where Mayor Jerry Springer got busted paying a hooker with a personal check. So it sounds good

[quote] Cincinnati is one of my favorite cities. The German heritage, the piquant beers, the symphony, the Opera House, ghost tours

Indianapolis also has German heritage, piquant beers, the symphony and ghost tours and other cultural things to do.

Louisville has East Louisville. There's that.

But does Louisville have piquant beers?!?!

Cincinnati airport is a hub for Delta.

Not any more.

"That's where Mayor Jerry Springer got busted paying a hooker with a personal check. So it sounds good"

I was living in Cincinnati at the time. Many people are wondering how stupid Springer must have been to pay the hooker by check. However, they story at that time in the area was that Springer partly owned the motel that was essentially run for hookers and their Johns, and that the story that he paid by check would be less politically damaging to him than to have the word get out that he promoted prostitution.

[quote]But does Louisville have piquant beers?!?!

Or piquant queers?

Indianapolis and Cincinnati both have charming neighborhoods and gay friendly neighborhoods. If you want to live *in the city* you'll find welcoming, fun areas. Both are terrible, however, once you leave city limits.

Louisville.......just no, never, hell no.

If you pick Indy you can go to Chicago a few times a month. It's a 3 hour trip.

[quote]Yes, people in Louisville will ask which high school you went to before they ask about college. The high schools are a status symbol, especially private schools.

How very St. Louis.

Which city has the sizemeat?

R162 Chicago. They also have a bigger FF scene than NYC.

Re the airport discussion above

Louisville is indeed small but they have a number of big corporations there, so there may be more flights (connecting perhaps, not direct) than one would normally expect from a city of its size.

OP- what did you decide?

I hope it’s not Cincinnati. It’s a racist shit hole. I know, I live here. City center is okay, but suburbs are fascist.

I have a friend who lives outside Louisville and she's been trying to get me to move there. I don't know much about it, but my main hangup is Mitch McConnell. She hates McConnell and Paul, but I'm still hesitant. See, I'm coming from Tennessee where my current senator is Marsha Blackburn, so that's like trading one problem for another.

Indianapolis used to be downright dangerous for gay men.

Hey guys! I just reread this whole thread and realized I forgot to respond. I moved to Louisville! - Highlands area. I’ve visited all three cities and spent at least three days in each. I absolutely love it here it’s a perfect fit. I’m still getting to know the neighborhoods and take out from some of the restaurants. I love Lexington as well I took a drive out there a couple weekends ago

All three are poor choices. It doesn’t really matter which one you pick. Are you sure you don’t want to just throw yourself off a cliff! Reconsider these choices

R170 Thanks for your input. I moved here for work. I happen to like it.

The East side of Cincinnati is very old money. Catholic to the hilt. A bar and a church on most street corners. Mt. Adams has a mild San Fran vibe. Hyde Park is glorious, old homes and a cool square district. Over the Rhine used to be populated by poor blacks, and most have been displaced to the outlying suburbs. The recent civil unrest (and COVID) have made living downtown dicey.

Thom Brennaman calls it home also.

I would say Louisville because it sounds classier. I know it’s the south, but I mean just Louisville, not the whole state. Lexington might be ok too....but that’s probably it.

R173 I moved to Louisville;)

How do you like Louisville so far, OP? Is it worth a visit for a tourist?

If you go to Lexington, OP, definitely try Ouita Michel's restaurants. Elevated Southern cooking.

R176 I’ll definitely give them a try. On a sidenote I can’t believe Louisville is.

R177 sorry .. Louisville is very gay. I see gays everywhere.

Yes, Lexington is as well. There's 3 or 4 gay bars in walking distance from each other between campus and downtown.

I think the gay scene in Kentucky (precovid at least) is really welcoming with a lot of nice people. Not nearly as cliquish as bigger cities.

Wouldn’t Cincinnati be the best location? Servicing Louisville and Indianapolis?

If you like Italian food, check out ROC Louisville. I knew Rocco in NYC, he is a great person and talented chef and restauranteur.

That’s so cool you moved to Louisville. I visited pre-Covid as my family still lives there and I was pleasantly surprised what downtown and Bardstown Rd have become.

Beautiful areas of the city remain, and I think it’s a perfect place for people wanting a cheaper place to live, but still be around an established LGBT community.

I’m not sure i could ever move back again after being in the Bay Area for the past 25 years though. I think I’ve become addicted to the urban vibe here.