Ft. Lauderdale Ranked Among Nation's Gayest Cities
FT. LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - Broward tourism officials have been working hard to attract gay tourists to their beaches by promoting a gay-friendly environment, and apparently, others have taken notice. Fort Lauderdale just landed the number 4 spot on a list of the gayest cities in America.
The list was just published by The Advocate, a gay-oriented magazine that set out to determine the gayness-quotient of US cities using some criteria the magazine admitted was offbeat, such as cities with nude yoga classes, WNBA teams, and softball teams that had competed in the Gay Softball World Series, among other items.
The list also specifically avoided many cities with well known connections to the gay community.
Ft. Lauderdale was 4th on the list of top 25 cities, according to the magazine, because of a, "mass exodus from Miami, where a real estate boom priced out many gay clubs (then the boom busted)..."
"The area is teeming with gay bars and restaurants, and a ton of guesthouses and spas that run the gamut from mild to spicy."
The article also said lesbians are starting to find the area attractive, though it pointed out the center of that scene is in nearby Wilton Manors.
By the criteria used in the article, the gayest city in America in 2011 is Salt Lake City, and the #2 spot is Orlando, based on Disney's Gay Days and the large number of gay softball teams.
Here's the complete list, and a link to the full article.
1. Salt Lake City
2. Orlando
3. Cambridge, Mass
4. Ft. Lauderdale
5. Seattle
6. Ann Arbor, Mich.
7. Minneapolis/St. Paul
8. Knoxville
9. Atlanta
10. Grand Rapids, Mich.
11. Little Rock, Ark.
12. Portland, Ore.
13. Austin
14. Long Beach, Ca.
15. Denver
16. Washington, D.C.
17. New Orleans
18. San Francisco
19. Pittsburgh
20. Salem, Ore.
21. Madison, Wis.
22. Eugene, Ore.
23. Oakland, Calif.
24. Boston
25. Kansas City, Mo.
