Other than Montrose or Houston Heights, where is a good place to live a gay person? (Dallas: apartment)

[Leflaneur]

I’m almost 30, gay, I’m a musician and I love live music especially jazz but I love so sorts of interesting and avant-garde stuff, I love theatre (and not just touring broadway musicals), I was deeply involved in far left politics and activism in the city that I was living in and want to be politically active, and I’m on a flexible but modest budget.

I actually lived in Houston for a large part of my childhood and went to Clear Lake High but I’ve been living away from the area, first in Austin and then in Chicago for nearly 11 years. I want to be closer to my parents who live in Galveston but I don’t think that I could live in Galveston. As I said I really like live music and theatre and being part of a community and I think that living in the city is essential. I know about Montrose and Houston Heights but I would like other options, both because those areas are pricey but also because it’s important to me that I don’t have to be confined to a gay district and so I want to know if there’s elsewhere in the city where an unashamedly qu33r (why is that word censored?) person can just live their life without getting dirty looks, nasty comments or serious risk of violence; I know that to an extent there’s no escaping that and that there’s deep seated homophobia even in the most so called progressive places like Chicago or San Francisco, but of course there are levels of risk and the sad reality is that to simply exist as a gay person one has to accept some level of oppression and risk in their daily lives.

Anyhow, I would like to get a 1 bedroom apartment that is cat friendly (is this hard to find in Houston?) and preferably around $1200, I can go higher if I must and certainly would like to go lower if possible. Where should I look?

[atadytic19]

The big cities in Texas is not like crazy image portrayed in politics.

A gay person in Houston or Dallas can liveas openly as they want to just like any other big city.

Montrose is not the gay center it was 20 years ago. Houston's gay population is no longer centralized.

I am not sure if $1200 will get you there but I would look at East Downtown. It is an up an coming area and it is getting more popular with the arts.

[LocalPlanner]

East Downtown was mentioned (also known as EaDo - don't hate me, I didn't choose the name), and I agree. Also check Museum Park (just north of Hermann Park), Rice Village, Timbergrove / Lazybrook, Garden Oaks / Oak Forest ("GOOF"), the Holcombe Blvd. corridor, and areas near Uptown (which you probably grew up knowing as the "Galleria Area", which many still use).

I'm gay, and can say that the gay population is really spread around anymore, partly because Montrose became too expensive and had too much competition from the general population after it became trendy. GOOF and Westbury became major destinations for gay homebuyers - however, you won't find nice rentals in the latter one.

[RonnieinDallas]

$1200 is a low budget for any of the trendy amenity rich inner loop neighborhoods. $1500-1700 is probably more realistic. I like Montrose but Houston’s gay bars are kinda fading. I guess that’s true of most cities nationwide. It’s still a great neighborhood and it’s nice there are multiple different bars within walking distance. I had fun visiting there last summer, but every year the bars seem to get less busy. The NPR station down there was really good, remember that standing out to me.

[modster]

Originally Posted by Leflaneur

I’m almost 30, gay, I’m a musician and I love live music especially jazz but I love so sorts of interesting and avant-garde stuff, I love theatre (and not just touring broadway musicals), I was deeply involved in far left politics and activism in the city that I was living in and want to be politically active, and I’m on a flexible but modest budget.

I actually lived in Houston for a large part of my childhood and went to Clear Lake High but I’ve been living away from the area, first in Austin and then in Chicago for nearly 11 years. I want to be closer to my parents who live in Galveston but I don’t think that I could live in Galveston. As I said I really like live music and theatre and being part of a community and I think that living in the city is essential. I know about Montrose and Houston Heights but I would like other options, both because those areas are pricey but also because it’s important to me that I don’t have to be confined to a gay district and so I want to know if there’s elsewhere in the city where an unashamedly qu33r (why is that word censored?) person can just live their life without getting dirty looks, nasty comments or serious risk of violence; I know that to an extent there’s no escaping that and that there’s deep seated homophobia even in the most so called progressive places like Chicago or San Francisco, but of course there are levels of risk and the sad reality is that to simply exist as a gay person one has to accept some level of oppression and risk in their daily lives.

Anyhow, I would like to get a 1 bedroom apartment that is cat friendly (is this hard to find in Houston?) and preferably around $1200, I can go higher if I must and certainly would like to go lower if possible. Where should I look?

I would run HAR.com for 77023. There are a lot of older, quaint duplexes and such in the greater Eastwood/Broadmoor/Lawndale area. Keeps you very close-in, eclectic, glbt friendly. I would recommend checking out Bohemio's coffee shop over there. http://bohemeos.com It would also give you better access to the Gulf Freeway to get to Galveston.

[Houston Area Man]

It does not matter. Anywhere is good. It is not illegal to be Gay in USA.

$1.2k apt is pretty much on a little high end. You should get it for $1k.