LGBTQ+ Rights

Finding Your New Home: A Guide for LGBTQ+ People Considering Relocation

Why Location Matters More Than Ever

Beyond finding a safe and welcoming community, there's another important factor to consider: the power of your voice and vote. When we live in areas where election outcomes are predetermined—whether heavily red or heavily blue—individual votes can feel meaningless on the issues that matter most to our daily lives and fundamental rights.

But when you choose to build your life somewhere more politically competitive, your voice becomes amplified. In purple districts and swing areas, every vote genuinely matters. Elected officials must listen to all constituents, not just their base. This creates opportunities for real dialogue, compromise, and progress on the issues affecting our community.

The Democracy Connection

Part of what enables extreme policies to flourish is the breakdown of competitive democracy in many areas. When politicians only need to appeal to their most vocal supporters to win, they have little incentive to find common ground or moderate their positions. By choosing to live where your vote has serious impact, you become part of the solution—helping to restore the healthy political competition that encourages pragmatic governance and protects everyone's rights.

What to look for in your new home:

  • Recent safety rankings show substantial variation across states in LGBTQ+ legal protections, so researching state and local laws is crucial. Look for areas with comprehensive anti-discrimination protections, inclusive healthcare access, and strong hate crime legislation.Description text goes here

  • Seek places with established LGBTQ+ communities, supportive local organizations, pride events, and inclusive businesses. Even smaller cities can offer vibrant queer communities outside traditional major metropolitan areas.Description text goes here

  • Consider cost of living, job markets in your field, and overall economic stability. Some LGBTQ-friendly cities offer significantly more affordable housing options than traditional coastal destinations.

  •  Determine whether the area has competitive elections at local, state, and federal levels. Look for places where margins of victory are typically close, where representatives from different parties have won in recent cycles, or where demographic changes are creating new political dynamics.

You're Not Alone in This Journey

If you're reading this, you might be facing a decision you never imagined you'd have to make. The place you've called home may no longer feel safe or welcoming, and you're wondering where you could build a new life where you can truly thrive. This feeling of displacement and uncertainty is shared by many in our community right now, and your concerns are completely valid.

We’ve done the research for you.

You don't have to navigate this complex decision alone. Our organization has compiled comprehensive research to identify places that meet all the key criteria: safety, community support, affordability, and meaningful political participation. See the resources we rely on here (insert link to resource page).

Image of a man and a woman each at voting booths.

Community

We look for communities that are considered LGBTQ+ friendly by the people who live there and that are recommended by expert resources for their policies and practices.

  • Movement Advancement Project: State and local policy landscapes

  • CenterLink: Community resources and support networks

  • Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index: City-level protections and policies

an array of hands holding rainbow LGBTQ flags

Quality of Life

We review information on the features that matter most to people choosing a new home, like climate, affordability, schools, outdoor recreation, restaurants, culture, diversity, and health care access.

  • Niche.com: Community quality of life information

  • Zillow.com and Homes.com: Housing availability and resources

Elementary school aged kids working together at a table

Political Impact

We identify Congressional toss-up districts where a small number of votes makes a huge difference, so that people who move there can have an outsized impact on election outcomes.

  • Cook Political Report: Non-partisan analysis of competitive districts and voting patterns

  • Additional non-partisan electoral analysis groups: To identify where individual votes have the greatest impact