To my knowledge, Denver is one of those cities that is exploding in popularity, so you might find that your rent increases year-over-year faster than you like. I have not lived there, so take my advice on it with a grain of salt.

For my part, I will say that Minneapolis is a great (and affordable) place to be queer!

I’m in Denver and loving it so far. We haven’t gotten connected to the LGBT community much here yet, partly because we already knew some people here and partly because it feels like we’re still pretty new. That said, it sometimes feels like the gays in our building outnumber everyone else, especially when you visit the pool on the weekend lol. In a time when gay bars are getting rarer even in major cities, I’m happy with the offerings in Denver. Though I haven’t been to NYC in a bit, but I’m sure it can’t measure up on that front.

Also generally the climate of the city is gay-friendly. It’s a small thing, but pride flags of all colors are all over the city this month (well, and not just this month either). People are generally chill and open-minded, so I’ve felt comfortable being myself here.

I would describe Denver as fiercely LGBT-friendly.

Colorado is becoming something of a sanctuary state for people trying to get out of the increasingly LGBT-hostile Midwest and portions of the South (Texas and Florida in particular). Colorado legislators are aware of this and have made laws protecting people who come to the state seeking reproductive or gender-affirming healthcare from external lawsuits or prosecution.

Local businesses and homes often fly pride flags all year round, and June's pride events are absolutely massive. While rainbow capitalism is a meme, it's also a litmus test for what capital owners think consumers and investors want to see. In other words, it would be noteworthy if they stopped.

Denver has a lot of LGBT culture, though I would describe it as newer and more militant than my limited experience of NYC. There are gay bars, an active drag scene (Alyssa Edwards and Pattie Gonia performed at Pride this year), and tons of outdoor LGBT groups (hiking, climbing, foraging, birdwatching). I recently started dressing as my chosen gender in public, and the responses from acquaintances and random strangers alike have been overwhelmingly positive. Colorado allies are second to none.

Colorado was not always this liberal. There are still conservative holdouts in places like Pueblo and Colorado Springs. Drag story hours around the state sometimes have hecklers (Proud Boys, judging from the colors), but humiliation ruins the illusion of fascist machismo, and so the efforts of groups like Parasol Patrol have proven very effective at stifling such protests.