Gay Santa Barbara: The Insi Sop on California's Off the Beaten Path We Country

Contents:

• SANTA BARBARA GAY NIGHTLIFE GUI - SANTA BARBARA GAY-FRIENDLY DG
• GAY NIGHTLIFE SANTA BARBARA
• THE CENTRAL COAST HAS A THRIVG LGBTQ MUNY, SO WHERE ARE ALL THE GAY BARS? 
• GAY-FRIENDLY RTRANTS SANTA BARBARA
• GAY SANTA BARBARA: THE INSI SOP ON CALIFORNIA’S OFF THE BEATEN PATH WE COUNTRY
• SANTA BARBARA GAY MEN'S GROUP
• SANTA BARBARA GAY DANCE CLUBS
• GAY SANTA BARBARA · HOTELS

SANTA BARBARA GAY NIGHTLIFE GUI - SANTA BARBARA GAY-FRIENDLY DG

Text 'GAYTRAVEL' to 1-800-GAY-TRAVEL (1-800-429-8728). — Travel Guis wh a Gay Perspective.

Featured Gay Friendly Hotel Santa Barbara. Featured Gay Friendly Vatn Rentals Santa Barbara. Gay Santa Barbara.

Red tiled roofs, Spanish Revival archecture, and a qutsential charm all ntribute to the character of the gay-iendly cy of Santa Barbara.

GAY NIGHTLIFE SANTA BARBARA

Cy ordanc that rtrict drive-ths, billboards, and outdoor advertisg, among others, effectively ntribute to an air of affluence and exclivy that might make some gay visors feel like outsirs. However there is a gay prence town, and you are able to walk down State Street holdg hands whout elicg gawks or disparagg language om the lols—you’re still southern California after all. Santa Barbara Gay Scene.

There is no fed gay neighborhood Santa Barbara, though there are tablishments that are gay-iendly. If you’re lookg to get to some hot gay nightlife, nsir takg the 90-mute drive south to Los Angel, where the gay scene really pops off. But even wh the limed optns for gay nightlife, the touristy nature of Santa Barbara mak a popular gay statn.

THE CENTRAL COAST HAS A THRIVG LGBTQ MUNY, SO WHERE ARE ALL THE GAY BARS? 

There’s even a gay club town (Wildt Lounge), and though ’s only gay on Sunday nights, Katy Perry has been known to pop when she’s tourg the area. The Pacific Pri Foundatn also hosts the annual Pacific Pri Ftival celebratn so there is a visible gay prence this classy, astal muny. There’s also an unofficial gay beach the area.

GAY-FRIENDLY RTRANTS SANTA BARBARA

Santa Barbara Gay-Friendly Dg. Santa Barbara Gay-Friendly Bars & Nightlife. While there aren't any exclively gay or lbian bars Santa Barbara, the town's most energetic nightlife tak place downtown and wh California's welg atmosphere, you'll sot gays and lbians at most loung, clubs, and bars regardls.

The area is very welg and clive and there is a sizeable gay muny here. The bars you go to may not be exclively gay, but the mixed crowd fely won’t md two guys dancg together. The Pacific Pri Foundatn hosts a Pri event every July at a park next to Leadbetter beach, and they have even hosted a gay night at the lol zoo.

GAY SANTA BARBARA: THE INSI SOP ON CALIFORNIA’S OFF THE BEATEN PATH WE COUNTRY

As a teen, Rory Uribe fantasized about gog to a gay bar or club and fally beg able to be unabashedly gay public. Click to enlarge Photo Courty Of Matthew Lalanne GAY CLUB ALCHEMISTS Daniel Gomez (left) and Frank Domguez (right) are known for turng typil bars to hugely succsful, LGBTQ-clive parti.

So Uribe always thought the gay bars Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo unti would provi that much-need and missg support system and work. "I've dreamed of gog to a gay bar sce I was like, 16, " Uribe told New Tim.

The lack of LGBTQ-specific nightlife on the Central Coast is an issue much of the lol gay and trans muny is forced to work around. Santa Barbara's once thrivg gay club scene dwdled, and eventually pletely disappeared, as varyg sexual orientatns and genr inti beme more wily accepted and datg apps beme more readily available.

SANTA BARBARA GAY MEN'S GROUP

But 's left the Central Coast whout a gay bar reach—the neart (acrdg to mor and Google) are Ventura, Frno, and San Jose—and many lols say the safety gay bars and clubs provi is still very much need, pecially the more nservative portns of the state. Uribe, who is now a stunt at Allan Hanck College, fally ma their gay bar dream e te this sprg while visg a iend San Francis.

Like so many other LGBTQ rints the area and across the natn, Uribe helped start an anizatn dited to givg gay, trans, and queer dividuals a safe space to meet up and build support systems. Uribe and other Hanck stunts revalized the school's long idle Queers and Alli Club last year, and the group regularly hosts meetgs, ffee meetups, and parti, which Uribe dubbed "gay bash. He wanted to spice thgs up by startg a group that would make easier for lol LGBTQ dividuals to meet, and was mullg over the ia one day when he walked to the now closed Metro Brewg Company San Luis Obispo and jt happened to spot two gay upl si.

SANTA BARBARA GAY DANCE CLUBS

"And I was like, 'Oh my god, is this a gay bar?

GAY SANTA BARBARA · HOTELS

One bar owner told SLOQueerdos that he didn't want his tablishment to be known as a gay bar, Domguez said. Still, Domguez and his partner— bs and life—Daniel Gomez, who also -owns SLOQueerdos, agree that openg a gay bar on the Central Coast would be challengg.

Rent is stly, liquor licens are hard to e by, and they qutned whether a gay bar SLO would have enough nsistent bs to stay open. While gay bars do provi LGBTQ muni wh sential social opportuni, Gomez said 's easier than ever to lk up through readily accsible onle datg apps like Tr and Grdr.

I thk [onle datg] has a huge impact on the gay club scene.