Gay in Austin, TX
May 6, 2004, 10:03 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: San Francisco, CA
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Gay in Austin, TX
Hello,
So I am headed to Austin to visit UT May 19-22, with the possibility of moving there in August/September. Any thoughts or suggestions on what to check out during the short visit and on gay life (and life in general) in Austin? This would be quite a big change for me; the thought of potentially moving to Texas (from Boston, and, previously, San Francisco) is somewhat unsettling...
Thanks!
Alex
So I am headed to Austin to visit UT May 19-22, with the possibility of moving there in August/September. Any thoughts or suggestions on what to check out during the short visit and on gay life (and life in general) in Austin? This would be quite a big change for me; the thought of potentially moving to Texas (from Boston, and, previously, San Francisco) is somewhat unsettling...
Thanks!
Alex
May 6, 2004, 11:04 pm
#2
Join Date: May 2003
Location: RDU
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Austin is a really cool city -- go over to 6th (?) street where Boyz Cellar (and a lot of other clubs) is one weekend evening. It's a very cool pedestrian friendly area with a lot of intermixed gay and straight clubs with restaurants and shops.
If you have some extra time on the weekend, you can go out to Lake Travis / Hippie Hollow, and head over to the gay section (the farther section from the parking lot). It's an 18 & over clothing optional area. When I was last there, the gay section is less nudist and just a bunch of people getting sun and having a few drinks (alcohol allowed, but glass containers aren't).
If you have some extra time on the weekend, you can go out to Lake Travis / Hippie Hollow, and head over to the gay section (the farther section from the parking lot). It's an 18 & over clothing optional area. When I was last there, the gay section is less nudist and just a bunch of people getting sun and having a few drinks (alcohol allowed, but glass containers aren't).
May 7, 2004, 12:18 am
#3
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Actually the gay bars in Austin are on most only 4th St. Oil Can Harry's and Boyz Cellar are right next to each other, with Rainbow Cattle Company a block away on 5th and The Forum nearby on Congress. There are also several other gay bars and clubs scattered around. Over on 6th St. between the interstate and Congress Ave. are several blocks of mostly straight bars of all types. Austin is not a huge city so there isn't a large selection of gay bars and businesses, and no real "gay ghetto" like larger cities have. But it's still probably the most liberal of Texas cities and offers a lot. Granted Texas is a big change from Boston or San Francisco but it's really not a bad place... just different in a lot of ways from what you're probably used to. But give it a chance and you'll find that the people are some of the nicest you'll find anywhere, there's tons to do (although I think Houston offers more), and the cost of living is cheaper than many other parts of the country.
I may be visiting Austin quite a bit in the near future (see my post in the long-distance relationships thread). If you want to know more about Austin or life in this part of the world, feel free to e-mail me. I'm a native Texan and have visited Austin many times.
I may be visiting Austin quite a bit in the near future (see my post in the long-distance relationships thread). If you want to know more about Austin or life in this part of the world, feel free to e-mail me. I'm a native Texan and have visited Austin many times.
Last edited by ssullivan; May 7, 2004 at 12:21 am
May 10, 2004, 6:40 pm
#4
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StSebastian and ssullivan, thanks very much for your suggestions! I look forward to discovering Austin for myself.
ssullivan: Thanks very much for your offer of advice; I'll e-mail you with any further questions. Good luck with your LDR.
Alex
ssullivan: Thanks very much for your offer of advice; I'll e-mail you with any further questions. Good luck with your LDR.
Alex
May 10, 2004, 9:13 pm
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Originally Posted by epi231
StSebastian and ssullivan, thanks very much for your suggestions! I look forward to discovering Austin for myself.
ssullivan: Thanks very much for your offer of advice; I'll e-mail you with any further questions. Good luck with your LDR.
Alex
ssullivan: Thanks very much for your offer of advice; I'll e-mail you with any further questions. Good luck with your LDR.
Alex
Steven
May 11, 2004, 9:41 pm
#6
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Austin TX, AA Platinum for life (who will live longer, me or AAdvantage?)
Posts: 426
As a now, 15 year resident in Austin, I moved here to go to UT, graduated, stayed, and it's still home. There are so many "gay friendly" places in Austin from the tons of restaurants to even the local CD and bookstores. As mentioned earlier, 4th street is the clubbing scene. Email me if you need some info on certain things/areas. Especially this time of year with driving around town. There are so many streets closed off and re-routed that it's hard to get to where you want without backstreets.
[email protected]
[email protected]
Jul 28, 2004, 8:06 am
#7
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LGRL URGES VIGILANCE FOLLOWING BRUTAL HATE CRIME IN AUSTIN
AUSTIN, TX - The Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas is issuing a warning to Austin’s LGBT Community in the wake of a brutal hate crime against a local gay man. The victim was approached at a popular local LGBT establishment by one of the suspects posing as a gay man. The victim invited the suspect to his home, and the suspect asked if his three friends could accompany them. Once the four suspects arrived at the victim’s residence, they assaulted the victim during a two-hour ordeal in the early morning hours of Saturday, July 17th.
AUSTIN, TX - The Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas is issuing a warning to Austin’s LGBT Community in the wake of a brutal hate crime against a local gay man. The victim was approached at a popular local LGBT establishment by one of the suspects posing as a gay man. The victim invited the suspect to his home, and the suspect asked if his three friends could accompany them. Once the four suspects arrived at the victim’s residence, they assaulted the victim during a two-hour ordeal in the early morning hours of Saturday, July 17th.
Apr 11, 2011, 6:34 pm
#8
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 1
Gay in Austin
Actually the gay bars in Austin are on most only 4th St. Oil Can Harry's and Boyz Cellar are right next to each other, with Rainbow Cattle Company a block away on 5th and The Forum nearby on Congress. There are also several other gay bars and clubs scattered around. Over on 6th St. between the interstate and Congress Ave. are several blocks of mostly straight bars of all types. Austin is not a huge city so there isn't a large selection of gay bars and businesses, and no real "gay ghetto" like larger cities have. But it's still probably the most liberal of Texas cities and offers a lot. Granted Texas is a big change from Boston or San Francisco but it's really not a bad place... just different in a lot of ways from what you're probably used to. But give it a chance and you'll find that the people are some of the nicest you'll find anywhere, there's tons to do (although I think Houston offers more), and the cost of living is cheaper than many other parts of the country.
I may be visiting Austin quite a bit in the near future (see my post in the long-distance relationships thread). If you want to know more about Austin or life in this part of the world, feel free to e-mail me. I'm a native Texan and have visited Austin many times.
I may be visiting Austin quite a bit in the near future (see my post in the long-distance relationships thread). If you want to know more about Austin or life in this part of the world, feel free to e-mail me. I'm a native Texan and have visited Austin many times.
Also, Boys on the Inside are playing on Darwins quite a bit. Worth checking out on their fan page on FB. They are cool ladies worth talking to off stage as well, they pretty much always have a nice word for you, and like to point out fun stuff for you to do in Austin.
They play really good music too...
Really, Austin is a lot about being gay and liking music in my opinion.
Sep 8, 2014, 1:42 am
#10
Company Representative - Starwood
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Singapore
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Ahh... my apologies for digging out this thread from its grave but I will be in Austin end of the month and someone somewhere once wrote that this is quite a ghost town in terms of LGBT activities.
True?
True?
Sep 8, 2014, 8:41 pm
#11
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 4,285
Too bad you will just miss the upcoming Pride week starting this week (I will too.. leaving Austin end of this week).
Heard that the Hilton downtown is the place to be if you are looking for more intimate sessions..
Enjoy!
ps: Hopefully the temperature will be slightly cooler than the blazing heat right now.
Sep 9, 2014, 4:11 pm
#12
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Dallas, TX
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I normally stay at the Embassy Suites with the MVP promo code. Love that hotel by Town lake.
Castro's club on 4th is fun and they have a new club called V. Austin is much more exciting nightlife than San Fran or many cities I have been to...
OCH has the worst music on the weekends .. horrible DJ's.. although love the music at Castro's and Rain.
Castro's club on 4th is fun and they have a new club called V. Austin is much more exciting nightlife than San Fran or many cities I have been to...
OCH has the worst music on the weekends .. horrible DJ's.. although love the music at Castro's and Rain.