How queer friendly is it in Carrboro/Chapel Hill/Durham Triangle?

[Cartesia]

Hi -

We live in NYC and want to leave. Our LO is 20 months. We are seriously considering Carrboro/Chapel Hill/Durham and we are curious about how queer friendly it is.

Its funny because in NYC our circle of friends is mostly radical, poly, childless queers and we actually are spending more time with straight couples who have kids and similar parenting values.

But as Theo gets a bit older we really want to be in a community where he sees other queer families and preferably goes to school in classes where he is not the only kids with two moms or dads - or if that's not possible, at the very least a school where teachers use inclusive language about different families - or AT LEAST are open to being educated on the subject.

Any thoughts on the area?

Thanks!

[Pearl1]

there is a very large and very visible lesbian community in that area. because the cities are built around the universities (unc, duke, nc state), the entire area is very progressive and liberal. it's not NYC, but i dont think you'll have any problem finding a large queer community, open schools, etc in the triangle.

i lived in chapel hill for five years (96-01) and still visit frequently to see friends (we are about 2.5 hours away now). id be happy to talk more or answer any questions if you want to send me a private message.

good luck with your decision!!

~ sarah

[AugustLia23]

My only personal experience is the IF's who I will be a surrogate foe who live in Raleigh. They are a gay couple and live across the street from a lesbian couple. They would agree with the above poster that it is a very queer-friendly area.

[Wendyesm]

I live in this area, and I find it to be mostly very queer-friendly. If you venture very far outside the immediate Triangle area, however, it's a different story -- a one- to two-hour road trip, in other words, can put you in decidely un-queer-friendly territory. But sticking in Durham and Chapel Hill/Carrboro, you will meet lots of other queer families and most people will not blink twice at your family. There's a Yahoo group here called Triangle Families, worth joining if you're thinking of moving here -- it's very active! We love it here. I'm originally from Boston, and I find it to be at least as open as there, believe it or not! Good luck!

[aljm41910]

From what I've seen the area around Raleigh is very gay friendly.  I live in Wilmington which is about 2hrs away and haven't had any problems here either.