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A Word from Eric Miller for August, 2002Where I Need To Be: The Importance of a Large Population And Diversity Living in San Francisco's Castro district, I used to think that its demise
would be slow, but eventual none-the-less. As gay people are slowly more
accepted by the population as a whole, there is less reason for young gay
men to leave Peoria or Portland and come to San Francisco in order to be who
they are without a lot of hassle.
Today it is much easier for a gay person to stay where they are than it was even five years ago. While the sword of discrimination or even violence no longer lingers with as much threat, I now think I may have predicted the Castro's demise so far in advance that it doesn't matter. Six months ago I had been planning to return to Pittsburgh from San Francisco. In many ways, I like it there better. It's affordable, without sacrificing too much of what I love in a city. A recent experience has made me set a new course for the future. My long-time friend and life partner recently became ill, and so I returned to San Francisco. Initially it was because he was already living in San Francisco and his health plan was there. I had been in Pittsburgh preparing a house for the future move. My partner was visiting Pittsburgh when he first got ill. He spent a week or so in Allegheny General Hospital. I have no doubt the care in Pittsburgh is on par with that in San Francisco--and may be even better in Pittsburgh. What's different is the extent of support groups that exist in San Francisco and other larger cities, and the extent of understanding that comes from having large numbers of people around you who are familiar with and sympathetic to an out-of-the-ordinary situation. An earlier experience in life had convinced me that it was far better to live in a larger city like Pittsburgh than in the town I was born in. I had an infection that wasn't so ordinary and the situation became critical. If I had been in a small town with doctors who had not worked in a place with a population large enough to have experience with a condition like mine, I may not have survived. It's kind of like turning on the radio in a small Nebraska town. There's likely to be a lot of what's really popular, but not a lot you haven't heard before. It might have little to do with the people or the place, just the variety of experiences. There may be no one else like me in the world, but there's more likely to be someone close to being like me in New York with a population of ten million than in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, with a population of 30,000.
Having a population accepting of gays and aware of gay issues may be important not just for gay people, but to the economy and in determining where companies will start and locate. Carnegie-Mellon University's Richard Florida calls it the "gay index." Seeing ideas emerge at his school and bear fruit at companies in other cities, Florida began to wonder if the key to economic development was not where companies decide to locate, but where people choose to live. He compared a list of powerhouse high tech cities with the gay index to find that the list of high tech cities and the list of cities with large gay populations looked strikingly similar. At the top of both lists were San Francisco, Boston, and Washington, and at the bottom Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Rochester. Florida also found that metro areas with high concentrations of people in the arts, as well as foreign-born residents, ranked high as technology centers. If companies move to where people want to live, then the question becomes, "Why do they want to live where they do, and can that be changed?" I don't know the answers to these questions. I can only tell you why I now think it is better to be in San Francisco than in Pittsburgh. It has nothing to do with the city itself. It has to do with the numbers of different people with different experiences around me--people who are more likely to share the experiences I've had, and have, in life. It has to do with the variety of social services and support groups Available--from established organizations like the Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center to the numerous friends who live within a couple blocks--all of whom understand the situation with clarity, and who offer their help and support. My partner's long-term well being is the reason I have decided to return to San Francisco and once again give up the idea of living in Pittsburgh. Even if that were not the case in the future, having gone through this experience I know I may be in similar situations any time, and that I will fare much better in a more open, diverse, and supportive environment. Eric Miller is editor of The New Colonist. Go to A Word from Richard Risemberg
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