While attitudes are changing, not all US cities are as LGBTQ+ friendly as others. Thus, it can provide a really refreshing break when you visit a city that truly embraces queer culture in all its forms. If you are planning a getaway, we have listed the most LGBTQ+ cities for you to visit.
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is undergoing a renaissance. The online gambling industry has been booming, providing people with a way to play table and casino games in their homes. Combined with improved security, innovative game choices, and some of the fastest payouts like the ones found at Valuewalk. It has spurred on a wider interest in casinos. Thus, as these people have moved to experience physical casinos in places like Vegas, more diversity has begun to seep into the hallowed halls of Vegas poker rooms and slot machines filled halls.
(Source: https://www.valuewalk.com/gambling/fastest-payout-casinos)
The big casinos, such as the Luxor, are actively putting their money where their mouth is sponsoring pride events in the city. They have also begun to host gay pool parties every Sunday during the summer. Yet the wider city as a whole is also embracing its LGBTQ side. The Matinee Festival takes place there and is the only gay dance festival. Pride Month is celebrated in June, and this is followed up with the city’s own parade in October.
The icing on the cake is that even same-sex couples can now get married in Vegas. You will find wedding packages available all over the city tailored to any need and budget.
San Francisco
It will come as no surprise to many that San Francisco is one of the most LGTBQ+-friendly cities in the US. It has a history of openness and has always been linked to gay rights activism. Even during its past as a frontier town, it was known as a town of sexual permissiveness. It is estimated that 95% of its population during the gold rush were men of various nationalities and cultures.
This community grew even larger during the early part of the 20th century. As a port city, San Francisco was home to naval workers given the blue discharge by the US armed forces. This was neither honorable nor dishonorable and was a way for the armed forces to remove gay men from work and leave them in port cities. The list of things to do is endless. There are gay beaches, gaybourhood pride festivals, and more. As the nation’s self-styled gay capital, San Francisco can seem like a different world to those from more conservative backgrounds.
Portland, Oregon
Eight percent of Oregonians identify as LGBTQ+, which is the largest percentage in the country. Portland is the hub of this. In the 1970s, the state began to repeal its draconian laws. Their first pride festival was held in 1975 and since then the community in the city has grown and grown. Nightlife is aplenty, but many of the biggest and best bars are located in the Pearl District and downtown.
There are many more cities in America and plenty of information online. As with any trip, plan, and book in advance. You may just find your new favorite tourist destination.