r/mesaaz • u/TheOgLemonHaze • 12h ago

Thinking of moving to the area

I'm a 24 year old queer man currently residing in the new England area, looking for a fresh start and AZ is calling my name. (Especially with the thrill of no snow)

Here's my question to the locals, what do you like, what do you hate? Why would you recommend az or should I look elsewhere?

Thank you for your time and input

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u/Ok_Character5519 12h ago

To be honest, there is a lot of homophobia and transphobia here right now. I think that is a serious consideration when looking at moving to Arizona. That said, there are also incredible allies here too. What I like about Mesa, AZ is that we are only two hours away from cooler climates (the pine forests in Payson and Show Low) and plenty of artificial and natural lakes for recreation.

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u/TheOgLemonHaze 12h ago

Thank you! That's a big part of why I'm doing research before moving, I know that nowhere is gonna be quite as progressive like the north down south but it's better than texas I hear, would you agree?

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u/Either-Strain-1506 12h ago

I think so! There is a fairly large queer community in central Phoenix. Pride, meet ups at the parks, first fridays, and the queer clubs are mostly downtown. If you live in Mesa, it will be much cheaper than down town. It's generally perceived that the further east you are, the more country and redneck it can get. 

Edit queen to queer 

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u/TheOgLemonHaze 12h ago

Thank you for your input!

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u/Nervous-Bench8090 12h ago

I've lived in Mesa 34 years. We are way more progressive than we used to be, literally just this past weekend in Downtown Mesa was a Pride event! It's not as big as Phoenix Pride (always a huge event) bit it was still a great turnout and very fun!

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u/unclefire 11h ago

Oh I missed that. That probably would have been fun to attend.