What is the best gay city to live in Virginia?
Find out which city in Virginia is the most affordable vs the most LGBTQ-friendliness here and then start reaching financial sustainability and independence by getting rid of any credit card debt with the free 7-Step Credit Card Debt Slasher.
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What is the best gay city to live in Virginia?
Affordability versus LGBTQ-friendliness, the next city in our series is the best gay city to live in Virginia. Find out which gets the top spot.
Virginia’s runner-up for most affordable, most LGBTQ+ friendly city is Virginia Beach.
Why?
It’s earned a 100 Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index. Its rent is below the national average and just a bit more expensive than Richmond at about $1,626 a month. Home prices are just slightly below the national average at $314,000. Finally, its cost of living is slightly above the national average at 103.3%, 3.3% higher than the national average.
So, which city in Virginia is the winner? Richmond, Virginia, is the most affordable, most LGBTQ+ friendly city in the state of Virginia.
Why?
Well, both Virginia and Richmond earned a 100 on HRC MEI, and neither is the best or the worst in any other category.
However, rent in Richmond is below the national average and just a bit more expensive than in Richmond at about $1,549 per month. However, home prices are just slightly above the national average of $332,000. The cost of living is= slightly below the national average at 96.1%, 3.9% below the national average – which really helps the affordability. Also, both median and average incomes are higher than in Virginia Beach, which seals the deal.
More great things about Richmond include that it’s Virginia state capital. It’s kindof a blue city in a red state. Virginia went to Biden in 2020 and went to Youngkin, a Republican, in 2022. It’s notable for its craft beer, food, fashion, and arts and has a handful of gay bars. So, it offers inclusion without the chaos of a big city.
Richmond is also the home of Virginia Commonwealth University which has some LGBTQ+ support for its students. There are lots of events listed on outrva.com. Finally, Pride is toward the end of September and shouldn’t conflict with many Prides around the country.
Thank you for listening to another episode. On next Thursday’s Queer Money bonus episode, we’re covering the most affordable and most gay friendly city in the state of Vermont.
If you’d like to see the results of all the cities in each state we’re analyzing, go to queermoneypodcast.com/cities or click the link in your podcast player for a growing analysis.
Previous Bonus Podcast Episodes
- The Best Gay City to Live in Washington
- The Best Gay City to Live in West Virginia
- The Best Gay City to Live in Wisconsin
Click below to listen to this bonus episode