The Gayborhood.
The Husband is visiting me this weekend for the first time since I moved back to NYC to live full time. When we were here nearly two months ago, he approved of the apartment I chose to rent. (Because it kicks ass.) And now that he is back for the first time since, I have made an effort to walk him around and show him my lovely new neighborhood.
We had brunch at a place around the corner.
We went shopping a the drugstore on 7th avenue.
We ate dinner at the Italian restaurant two blocks away.
We meandered down 8th Avenue to 14th street.
After all of this, The Husband had one question for me...
"Why do you always choose to live in gay-centric neighborhoods?"
Don't get me wrong... He doesn't have a problem with gay neighborhoods. In Boston, I chose to have us live in the South End. Which is a beautiful neighborhood with a strong and lovely gay community. Then, when we moved to Toronto, I campaigned to have us move to the Annex... But The Husband really wanted the Rosedale neighborhood. So we split the difference and ended up in the Yorkville neighborhood. And this time around in NYC, I am in Chelsea. An upscale neighborhood with a strong and lovely gay community.
Which brings me to this evening...
The Husband and I were eating sups at an inexpensive Italian restaurant a block away from my apartment. It is the second version of a restaurant we ate at 10 years ago that resides at 50th and 2nd Avenue, in the The Husband's old neighborhood. The difference with this new location, though, is that the waiters are hotter.
Much hotter.
And in muscle shirts.
And super sweet and kind-natured.
And the The Husband definitely noticed, and commented.
"Why is everyone in this neighborhood so good-looking?" he asked.
"Because they're mostly gay men, and it's the rules," I informed him.
That's when he asked me why I chose to live in a neighborhood where everyone is super-duper hot, as it can be intimidating.
"Because I want to be hot too," I explained. "And the best way to be hot and get in that mold is to surround yourself with people who are super-achievers in 'hot-ness.' It's inspirational."
He gets it now.
Gayborhoods are friendlier. Prettier. And more inspirational. For me.
Comments
Um, this may sound weird but... I am currently crazy about gay men *blush*
I think the sense that this post is talking mainly about gay men but you use the term "gays" and gayborhood - there are gay women too And we can be stylish and hot too!!!!
Like Chelsea, the South End gay community came to be because at the time, it was cheap and diverse. It's literally the intersection of the Villa Victoria and Chi-town. So the apartments were cheap. And like all oppressed groups, there is power in numbers. In the beginning gays moved into that neighborhood b/c there really weren't other places for them in the city. And with time the neighborhood changed. Dorchester (Dot) is now experiencing the same sort of emergence... I think of Chelsea and the South End as less gay these days and more affluent (less about sexuality and more about wealth/class). It's not a bad thing - often these affluent city communities are highly educated and much more progressive and liberal.