Preamble
novaTopFlex has, for many years, been taught that the friendships and other social connections of today have been understood as impossible per societal expectation. While the teachings were appropriate for the early years for sure, the ultimate reality is very different with the social life of novaTopFlex, with not one, nor two, but Three Identities.
Introduction
In the lesbian, gay, queer, trans, bi, queer/questioning, and aroace community, as well as otherwise non-normative communities (and not just for gender or sexuality), individuals and groups have often relied on public appearance in order to minimize potential sources of confusion. Long-distance relationships are often integral to LGBTQIA+ life, especially as political differences can result in social ostracism in many home cities and towns, especially in the Southern United States.
Ekistics
Within the LGBTQIA+ community, political backgrounds are essential in addition to specific population densities and types of settlements. Though density can indeed increase visibility and, paradoxically, anonymity, the population size is often what matters more than the population density. Ultimately, however, the primary factor in LGBTQIA+ lifestyles is the political background of each community, thus the prominence of communities of modest size—between 25,000 and 99,999 residents. Urban cores are often preferred, along with urban clusters, while suburbia 🏘️, especially in its modern form, is often hostile to non-normative lifestyles and enforces gender and sexuality stereotypes by design.
Unfortunately, the economic system of the modern United States of America results in the privatization of the lives of the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as their further marginalization by the federal, state, and local governments across the nation. Ironically, for every attack on trans rights in conservative areas and societies, predominantly in the South, the Northern states are often either unscathed or oriented toward celebration and the continued occurrence of Pride events. Though Pride events can often feel performative in much of the nation, such events in truly walkable cities and towns, especially downtown (where such communities are typically the most walkable), genuine performances can occur without questioning at an extensive level.
Political Influence
Regarding the situation with politics, the LGBTQIA+ community is dependent on progressives and progressive policies, often for the purpose of survival, as right-leaning communities are often dangerous for the political leanings of the subcultural population of the community. Pride flags may be taken down, and occasionally otherwise forbidden, in such communities; however, in more liberal and progressive-leaning communities, many of the same actions can often be celebrated instead.
In general, the political leanings most conducive to nonconforming gender and sexuality identities are physically located in only a handful of regions within the United States of America, occasionally related to elite colleges and universities, but often in larger areas and in specific regions of the nation. Usually, the areas most likely to be considered include the Northeast Megalopolis, especially New England, as well as the areas further west into upper New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, and even throughout Minnesota. Of the aforementioned regions, communities in Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, and Minnesota can often stand out, albeit for different historical reasons.
Most Likely to Support LGBTQIA+ People 🏳️🌈
The following regions are the most likely contenders (areas especially unlikely to result in fear of judgment in bold; and this is not an exhaustive list):
- Maine
- Bar Harbor
- Vinalhaven
- Monhegan
- North Haven
- Rockland
- Portland
- Bangor
- Orono (home of the University of Maine)
- Ellsworth
- Brunswick (home of Bowdoin College)
- Skowhegan
- Farmington (home of the University of Maine-Farmington)
- New Hampshire
- Durham (home of the University of New Hampshire)
- Keene (home of Keene State College)
- Plymouth (home of Plymouth State University)
- Nashua
- Manchester
- Concord
- Laconia
- Vermont
- Burlington (home of the University of Vermont)
- Castleton
- Lyndon
- Johnson
- Randolph
- Brattleboro
- Bellows Falls (Rockingham)
- Hartford
- Springfield
- Saint Johnsbury
- Saint Albans
- Rutland
- Bennington (home of Bennington College)
- Middlebury (home of Middlebury College)
- Massachusetts
- Boston — all neighborhoods
- Cambridge (home of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
- Somerville (home of part of Tufts University)
- Medford (home of the other part of Tufts University)
- Waltham (home of Bentley University)
- Chelmsford
- Billerica
- Lexington
- Concord
- Salem (home of Salem State University)
- Framingham (home of Framingham State University)
- Fitchburg (home of Fitchburg State University)
- Worcester (home of Worcester State University)
- Bridgewater (home of Bridgewater State University)
- Westfield (home of Westfield State University)
- North Adams (home to the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art)
- Williamstown (home to Williams College and the Clark Art Institute)
- Pittsfield
- Great Barrington
- Springfield (home to American International College and Western New England University)
- Longmeadow (home to traditionally-female Bay Path University)
- Holyoke
- Chicopee (home to College of Our Lady of the Elms)
- Amherst (home to Amherst College, Hampshire College, and University of Massachusetts Amherst)
- Greenfield
- Deerfield
- Sturbridge
- Provincetown
- Northampton (home of all-female Smith College)
- South Hadley (home of Mount Holyoke College)
- Hadley
- Ware
- Peabody
- Newbury
- Newburyport
- Gloucester
- Ipswich
- Lowell (home of University of Massachusetts Lowell)
- Dartmouth (home of University of Massachusetts Dartmouth)
- Nantucket
- Edgartown
- Shrewsbury
- Shutesbury
- Northfield
- New Bedford
- Fall River
- Attleboro
- Seekonk
- Swansea
- Rhode Island
- Providence (home to Rhode Island College and Brown University)
- Newport
- Warwick
- New Shoreham (Block Island)
- Connecticut
- New Haven (home of Yale University and Southern Connecticut State University)
- Danbury (home of Western Connecticut State University)
- New Britain (home of Central Connecticut State University)
- Willimantic (home of Eastern Connecticut State University)
- New London
- Storrs/Mansfield (home to the University of Connecticut)
- Torrington
- Waterbury
- Fairfield (home of Fairfield College)
- Bridgeport
- Stamford
- Stratford
- Milford
- Guilford
- Branford
- Madison
- Greenwich
- Darien
- New Canaan
- Norwalk
- New York
- New York City (select neighborhoods in all boroughs)
- Yonkers
- White Plains
- Rye
- Riverhead
- Southampton
- Fire Island Pines
- Montauk
- Orient
- Poughkeepsie
- Albany
- Schenectady
- Troy
- Rensselaer
- Saranac Lake
- Tupper Lake
- Lake Placid
- Kingston
- Coxsackie
- Buffalo
- Rochester
- Syracuse
- Ithaca (home of Cornell University)
- Binghamton
- Elmira
- New Jersey
- Newark
- Jersey City
- Paterson
- Elizabeth
- Hackensack
- New Brunswick (home of Rutgers University)
- Princeton (home of Princeton University)
- Trenton
- Camden
- Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia
- West Chester
- Media
- Doylestown
- Norristown
- Allentown
- Easton
- Wilkes-Barre
- Scranton
- Pittsburgh
- State College (home of Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus)
- Delaware
- Wilmington
- Dover
- Maryland
- Elkton
- Havre de Grace
- Bel Air
- Baltimore
- Annapolis
- Michigan
- South Haven
- Saugatuck
- Douglas
- Holland
- Grand Haven
- Grand Rapids
- Lansing
- Ann Arbor
- Ypsilanti
- Ohio
- Oberlin
- Columbus
- Cleveland
- Akron
- Canton
- Indiana
- Indianapolis
- Illinois
- Chicago
- Aurora
- Naperville
- Joliet
- Woodstock
- Waukegan
- Wheaton
- Rockford
- Peoria
- Bloomington
- Champaign
- Urbana
- Wisconsin
- Milwaukee
- Kenosha
- Racine
- Waukesha
- Madison
- Wausau
- Rhinelander
- Green Bay
- La Crosse
- Eau Claire
- Oshkosh
- Appleton
- Hudson
- Fond du Lac
- Sturgeon Bay
- Manitowoc
- Ashland
- Bayfield
- Minnesota
- Minneapolis
- Saint Paul
- Northfield (home of Carleton College and Saint Olaf College)
- Washington
- Seattle
- Tacoma
- Renton
- Everett
- Mount Vernon
- Bremerton
- Olympia
- Vancouver (WA)
- Oregon
- Portland
- Astoria
- Salem
- Eugene
- Roseburg
- California
- Crescent City
- Sacramento
- San José
- San Francisco
- Redding
- Claremont (surrounded by the Los Angeles area to the west and the Inland Empire to the east—both hostile; home to Pomona College and the Claremont Colleges at large)
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