Olney — LGBT friendly or no?

[Anonymous]

2 mom family — kids are 4 and 2 —- could we be comfortable buying a house and living in Olney? I dont want my kids growing up as the neighborhood spectacle, or worse...

[Anonymous]

I know of 1 L couple there with kids. Things are mostly Ok, but given that Olney has both a lot of old folks and folks that move from almost everywhere, not everyone is going to be on the vanguard of acceptance.

[Anonymous]

Depends where. I have a dozen friends with kids who live there and would be very welcoming.

[Anonymous]

I would say no.
Silver Spring ( closer to beltway) and Takoma Park much more open-minded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would say no.
Silver Spring ( closer to beltway) and Takoma Park much more open-minded.

Is this based on experience? I would prefer to live in these areas too but money doesnt go as far for size of house.

[Anonymous]

I live in Olneyand you would be welcome but I don't think there is a large LGBT population here. In fact, now that I think of it I don't know of any in my child's school,( at least in two grades). I'm not saying there aren't. That said, I think it's a very open-minded community and you would not be a spectacle .

[Anonymous]

OP, when buying, I would knock on the two or three nearest neighbor's doors with a small gift, introduce yourselves (ideally all together), and ask if you could talk to them about the neighborhood. See how that interaction goes - it will tell you a lot. If the conversation goes well, you can even ask explicitly how the rest of the area fares. i know this is not the most comfortable plan, but it's probably the most efficient in terms of giving you accurate information.

Another idea would be to find neighborhood listservs and sign up, and then ask a few questions about LGBT issues (e.g. we are a family moving to the area, wondering if there are others in a similar situation, etc.).

[Anonymous]

I'd characterize Olney as more of a conservative mood town for MoCo. A lot of whites, a lot of church going families...etc. You may not feel totally comfortable there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd characterize Olney as more of a conservative mood town for MoCo. A lot of whites, a lot of church going families...etc. You may not feel totally comfortable there.

Kind of agree, I'd also point to 108 as something of a dividing line between the more progressive and more traditional sides of the area. And I'd highlight MOM's presence as a sign of progressive critical mass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd characterize Olney as more of a conservative mood town for MoCo. A lot of whites, a lot of church going families...etc. You may not feel totally comfortable there.

OMG, a lot of white people. Run away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would say no.
Silver Spring ( closer to beltway) and Takoma Park much more open-minded.

+1

OP, your peeps are in close-in SS and TP.

[Anonymous]

I don't think anyone would be openly hostile, but probably not friendly either...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd characterize Olney as more of a conservative mood town for MoCo. A lot of whites, a lot of church going families...etc. You may not feel totally comfortable there.

Kind of agree, I'd also point to 108 as something of a dividing line between the more progressive and more traditional sides of the area. And I'd highlight MOM's presence as a sign of progressive critical mass.

It's a small town so it's not like 108 is dividing anything. And I'm assuming everybody's talking about roots and not moms?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd characterize Olney as more of a conservative mood town for MoCo. A lot of whites, a lot of church going families...etc. You may not feel totally comfortable there.

Funny, most of my gay friends are white and members of a church. Maybe it's because I'm gay, white, and part of a church.

Olney isn't going to be any different culturally from Silver Spring and its environs. You'll be fine.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't OP. Why settle there knowing people don't want you?