Gay Neighborhoods in USA

In United States, it has been a long struggle for the gay community to acquire a greater degree of acceptance and fair-mindedness from the mainstream society. However even now not all cities are liberal enough to accord them the same rights and privileges as are given to heterosexual communities and even within a city, differences in attitude towards the LGBT community exist. So here are some gay friendly neighborhoods in the United States where people can peacefully exercise their sexual choices.

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1. West Village, New York City
   
   There are number of reasons why West Village in NYC is one of the most gay-friendly neighborhoods in the US. The area is home to many old pubs and bars in the neighborhood which formed the crux of gay rights movements and bohemian culture in the past decades. Apart from this every year through the entire fourth week of June, West Village hosts the New York Gay Festival with the five major events being The Rally, PrideFest, The March, the Dance on the Pier, and Rapture on the River. Among these the most significant is the March which commemorates the Stonewall Riots which marked a turning point in the history of struggle for gay lesbian rights on the morning of June 28, 1969. Finally West Village is close to other gay neighborhoods in NYC like Chelsea and the East Village and thus attracts a high percentage of gays looking to hang out at its pubs or soak in the history of the place.
   
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2. Downtown, Minneapolis
   
   Downtown Minneapolis is choc-a-bloc with gay-friendly bars and businesses. Of these the most popular is perhaps The Saloon especially with the younger crowd and with the club hosting the hugely popular Bob’s Bear Bash every Wednesday night. Among other hip destinations of the gay community in downtown Minneapolis are the Gay-90s which is a mega mall of dance clubs, Bolt Underground and Brass Rail, a swanky newly-renovated male strip club. Though the most fashionable part of the gay community frequent neighborhoods like Downtown and Uptown, the rest of the city is friendly to the LGBT community as well.  In fact, in 2011 January, The Advocate came up with a list of ‘The 15 Gayest Cities in America’ and topping the list was Minneapolis. The largest city in the state of Minnesota was ranked number one among the gay-friendly cities not only because of its sizable gay population which is the fourth-largest among all cities in America but also because of various gay-friendly policies and cultural events since Minneapolis was one of the first in the nation to introduce civil partnerships allowing same-sex couples some of the benefits of traditional married couples.
    
3. Montrose, Houston
   
   Contrary to the popular image of a conservative Texas city, Houston has in fact one of the largest and most visible populations of gays and lesbians in the country. The main gay neighborhood in the city is Montrose with nearly two dozen gay bars and clubs sprinkled in between lovely craftsman style homes and apartment buildings. The area has something for everyone here from popular gay dance clubs to leather bars and neighbourhood haunts popular with locals.  One of these is South Beach where shirtless guys dance into the wee hours of night. Apart from this Montrose also hosts the hugely popular The Houston Pride Festival and Parade which takes place in late June where along with the usual pop and other music performances on other stages and a food court, there is a Community Zone of some 200 local retail vendors and GLBT organizations as well as a safe and secure Kids' Zone with fun activities. The unique thing about Houston Pride Festival is that the Parade takes place at night beginning at around eight in the evening and continuing till at least eleven at night.
    
4. Paradise Fruit Loop, Las Vegas
   
   While most people think of Las Vegas as the entertainment capital of the world on account of its grand hotels, dazzling casinos, stylish shopping malls and recreational opportunities galore, few know that it is also highly popular vacation destination which attracts its share of gay men from across the country and the world. In fact according to a survey by Community Marketing Inc., Sin City was revealed as the second most popular – after New York City - destination for gay men and gay seniors in America. The "fruit loop" on Paradise is quite well-frequent by the gay community on account of its collection of three strip malls around gay bars, the Gipsy nightclub and a bookstore. Of these the Piranha Boutique nightclub has a funky feel while the Buffalo is a low-key Levi and leather bear bar. Further along on The Strip, is Krave a 17000 square feet gay club which bills itself the number One gay nightclub in the country.
    
5. Castro, San Francisco
   
   San Francisco has been at the heart of liberal activism in America for a very long time now which is why perhaps it is opened its arms to the LGBT community earlier than most cities in the country. Gay San Francisco is integrated into every aspect of the city's life, from nightlife to politics to fashion to construction. Here gay people can be found everywhere – gay-friendly bars and restaurants to business and cultural destinations are sprinkled through many of the city's neighborhoods. However if only one neighborhood has to be highlighted, it could well be Castro which apart from having a large leather & "bear" community, also hosts a number of places for the younger club/party boys & girls to dance. Above all Castro is distinguished by a plethora of dance and video bars where crowds mix liberally – in fact it is one of those rare neighborhoods where a queer Silicon Valley billionaire and a recent gay immigrant with little more than a job might socialize in the same bar and think nothing of the difference. Other than this the gay neighborhood of Castro is truly multi-racial. Whereas once it was dominated by middle-class white men, today gays from Latin, Asian and even African-American background mingle freely. Finally, the transgender community has a special place here, and difference is honored as perhaps nowhere else.