In researching the LGBTQ friendliness of communities all over the country, I have learned that most cities (even smaller ones) have pride festivals, LGBTQ film festivals and other hallmarks of an LGBTQ community.įor LGBTQ retirees, larger cities usually have the most to offer and provide more options for medical care and senior support services than smaller or medium-sized ones. Today, there is a much broader range of choices to live.
Most places everyone else flocked to for retirement were definitely not places where LGBTQ people could live openly and comfortably. In the not-too-distant past, there weren’t many other places that could be considered LGBTQ-friendly. In addition to considerations such as low cost of living and low taxes, LGBTQ people tend to value cities with strong LGBTQ communities, higher levels of acceptance and the presence of non-discrimination laws.Ĭities famous for their prominent LGBTQ communities, such as New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Those include how tolerant an area is, the presence of a gay community, and health care providers that are welcoming towards LGBTQ people. However, LGBTQ people have a few additional factors to consider. When it comes to choosing a place to live during retirement, LGBTQ people want the same things that everyone else wants - safety, reasonable prices, agreeable climate, cultural and recreational amenities and good health care. The following is an excerpt from his book’s chapter on Best Cities for LGBTQ Retirees.) He lives with his husband in a Phoenix suburb. Hughes, a 2017 Next Avenue Influencer in Aging who retired at 56, writes the blog and is an authority on retirement lifestyle planning. Cities for LGBTQ Retirees, which includes some places that may surprise you. In a special section for LGBTQ people, Hughes has compiled The Best U.S. Dave Hughes’ new book, The Quest for Retirement Utopia, will help you clarify which criteria are most important to you in deciding where to retire and provide resources to help find the spot that’s right for you. ( It seems like every few weeks or so, someone publishes a new list of The Best Places to Retire. This article originally appeared on Next Avenue.