How to Find the Gay Community in Any City

When you sail into a new city - whether for a visit or to stay - you'll be anxious to connect with others like you. Here's how to find the gay community in any city.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Phone Book
• Alternative Lifestyle Magazines
• Internet Access
• Computers

1. Pick up a copy of a local gay and lesbian newspaper or magazine. You might find them in the lobby of some mainstream bookstores or on college campuses.

2. Search to see if there is a gay guide Web site for the city. You can find a pretty good list of guides at GayGuide.Net.

3. See if the folks at Out & About can help you. On the organization's Web site (outandabout.com) it sells "master files" that tell you everything you would want to know about a large number of selected cities around the world.

4. Find out if the city has a Metropolitan Community Church by searching on the denomination's Web site (mccchurch.org). These churches are predominantly gay, and the people there can help you find the rest of the community.

5. Call the city's gay and lesbian switchboard or gay and lesbian chamber of commerce. If there is one, it should be listed in the white pages, and it should also show up in Web searches.

6. Look under "gay" in the white pages and see what you can find, if all else fails. Then call up one of your finds - perhaps a gay community organization - and ask for help.

Tips & Warnings

• Some cities have only one small gay bar, while other cities of the same size have a thriving gay and lesbian section of town. If you don't find much of a community, there may not be one - or at least not a very organized one.

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on 11/22/2005 In some communities there are gay-affirming churches in the mainstream denominations...try those too!!