Hsey Gay Bell | Blue Ridge, GA

Contents:

• WHY THIS GEIA MOUNTA TOWN HAS BEE A GAY-IENDLY HOT SPOT
• EXPLORE GAY ROOMS & RENTALS BLUE RIDGE
• A GAY OLD TIME IN BLUE RIDGE
• HSEY GAY BELL
• THE JOLT: GEIA’S MOST GAY IENDLY CY ISN’T ATLANTA. OR SAVANNAH.
• IN A LANDMARK WEEK, ACCEPTANCE OF GAY PEOPLE IS A FACT GEIA BIBLE BELT

WHY THIS GEIA MOUNTA TOWN HAS BEE A GAY-IENDLY HOT SPOT

The cherry on top for some travelers: s welg gay muny. Explore»RELATED: A weekend Blue RidgeThe cy, home to about 1, 444 rints, has had an flux of LGBT-owned bs open the past few years, and, acrdg to a Williams Instute study, the mounta muny is home to one of the largt populatns of gay upl the surroundg Fann County has the fourth hight ncentratn of same-sex upl, while neighborg Gilmer County has the state's fifth hight, acrdg to the California-based thk tank.

It was recently regnized by Thrillist as the most gay-iendly cy Geia. "The list of reasons that gay upl have flocked to this unspectg town North Geia uld get que history, geo mountas and endls list of thgs to do and more might be the start of are few thgs you might not have known about the emergg gay-iendly muny:It's left the loggg the past. And wh such a large LGBT populatn, 's easy to fd gay-owned bs, like the popular downtown hair salon Indulgence Hair Stud, terg to the area's sizable tourist 's perfect for the outdoor Ridge is loted the Chattahoochee Natnal Fort, a stone's throw away om Tennsee and North Carola.

EXPLORE GAY ROOMS & RENTALS BLUE RIDGE

Blue Ridge, Geia, which is Fann County, is nsired to be one of the untry’s most gay-iendly ci. It is home to one of the largt populatns of gay upl Geia, and therefore a popular travel spot for Atlanta’s LGBTQ muny. From private rooms and apartments to LGBTQ-iendly hotels, you have the optn to stay the heart of gay districts as well as other neighborhoods the plac you vis.

A loft Soho, a shared room Barcelona or the Castro, a gay-iendly hotel Le Marais or Chelsea, experience misterb&b all gay travel statns! It's also home to a ncentratn of gay upl.

A GAY OLD TIME IN BLUE RIDGE

Hsey Gay Bell provis civil engeerg, land planng, and surveyg servic throughout Geia.

From Thrillist:A recent flux of gay rints and bs owners has helped to revive this once-prsed Appalachian loggg town by brgg a spate of gourmet rtrants, boutiqu, and, most importantly, a climate that's welg to one of the hight ncentratns of same-sex hoeholds the state, ty Blue Ridge has s own PFLAG chapter, an Inpennce Day para plete wh a marchg band drag, and a handful of church that buck Bible Belt orthodoxy by embracg fahful of all orientatns and genr inti. Explore»RELATED: Why this Geia mounta town has bee a gay-iendly hot spotThe surprise is the outsi regnn rather than the fact self.

We noted this wrkle Geia's mographic map several years ago:[A]s a percentage of populatn, Fann and Gilmer unti North Geia have the fourth and fifth hight number of gay upl livg together --- behd only Fulton, DeKalb and Chatham Ridge, should also be noted, is also the hometown of Hoe Speaker David Ralston. Blue Ridge, Geia, a loggg town the state’s Appalachian foothills, ed to give gays two choic: hi or leave. A gay and lbian flux has transformed this rner of the Bible belt.

HSEY GAY BELL

“Gays have really changed and revived this muny. “It’s a rt, ” he gay and lbian entreprenrs have helped turn Blue Ridge’s ma street to a hub of gourmet rtrants and boutique stor popular wh visors, creatg an island of prospery a regn h by the cle of loggg and the closure of a Levi’s nim, microsm, was a big reason why gay rights mpaigners sred a big victory across Ameri this week: money. The power of the gay dollar, as well as cultural shifts, prompted lol and ternatnal pani such as Delta, Home Depot, Apple and Co-Cola to face down nservative threats of boytts and ncellatns across a range of dtri Jan Brewer, the ernor of Arizona, vetoed a bill sponsored by fellow Republins that tractors said would have facilated discrimatn agast gays the name of fendg relig eedom.

THE JOLT: GEIA’S MOST GAY IENDLY CY ISN’T ATLANTA. OR SAVANNAH.

Meanwhile, judg Texas and Kentucky ma lgs favour of gay jt this one week, the dilemma that the Republin Party fac on the issue was ma brilliantly clear. If their party supports those laws, Republin lears worry, will only harn the image the public has of as old and mean – and will draw Democratic voters out for the mid-term electns this banner week for gay-rights advot also saw one openly gay athlete takg to an NBA urt, and another participatg preparatns for the NFL draft, a first for those sports. Acrdg to lol bsman Jack Morton: ‘Gays have really changed and revived this muny.

Here some of the old ways endure, bolsterg nservativ who are expected to regroup for renewed efforts to brake same-sex marriage across the s Geia’s gay, lbian and transgenr people cltered midtown Atlanta, an oasis of tolerance a state which banned sodomy – a felony punishable by 20 years jail – until the baby boomers among them aged, many started movg to Blue Ridge and surroundg Fann unty.

IN A LANDMARK WEEK, ACCEPTANCE OF GAY PEOPLE IS A FACT GEIA BIBLE BELT

“I was really surprised to disver there’s a very active gay and lbian muny.

“People have realised some of their own relativ are gay and that they n’t be bigots anymore. Phillip Thomason, 63, a retired Methodist mister who champned gay rights Atlanta, said he has been wary sce movg wh his hband to a hamlet outsi Blue Ridge. “Nobody bothers but gays here are very, very reful about where they go and who they’re wh.

“I personally don’t believe someone will go to hell for beg a homosexual but a lot of olr folk here have been brought up that way and stggle to adapt to new reali, ” he said.