The BEST State

[lisarenee]

I've heard Florida is one of, if not the worst, state to be in for trans people. I can't personally attest to this, but I trust the source.

I think that depends on the area. I don't have any issues, but I have heard from others who had problems. Several counties and cities have local LGBT protections -- Orange (Orlando), Osceola (Disney World), Volusia (Daytona), Hillsborough* (Tampa), Broward (Ft. Lauderdale), Dade (Miami), Monroe (Key West), Palm Beach, Alachua (Gainesville), and Leon (Tallahassee) have county protections.

I used to live in the "Redneck Riviera" and I ran into bigotry, but that was over a decade ago. The Orlando area is a lot better.

*Hillsborough is not listed on Wikipedia as having protections, but I am almost certain I saw something about them passing an ordinance.

Name Changes -- Not too difficult (at least around here) and take about 2 weeks to 1 month, but are costly. Also, they don't require you to take an AD out in the paper like a lot of other states.

Gender Marker -- For State ID/Driver's License, we follow the same rules as the SSA and Passport people. A Doctor's letter saying they are treating you and you are transitioning. SRS is no longer required since 2011. Unfortunately, Birth Certificates are another matter. You can get them amended, but only after SRS. Sadly, that is still better than some states.

Medical-- I don't know about the rest of the state, but we have several doctors around here that provide HRT for trans* persons. There are at least 4 options for trans* HRT just in Orange and Seminole. Some are better than others, though.

[diane 2606]

Ohio doesn't suck. Not the best though. I heard California is really good. I've been thinking about moving out there since I was young. Cost of living is rediculous.

Honestly Ohio is pretty LGBT friendly, it had a huge pride and it even hosted the gay Olympics (lgbt Olympics) a year or two ago - next one  is in Paris, France if that means anything... still not as good as some other states though.

You must live near Columbus. Southwest Ohio is a wingnut's dream.

[Kova V]

You must live near Columbus. Southwest Ohio is a wingnut's dream.

Yeah, I should have said Columbus is okay. I've heard Cleveland is okay too. Cincinnati is in Southwest Ohio, which I assume that's where you are : )

Once you get out into the rural areas (of any where to be honest) it's a random grab bag.

[DAWN MID GIRL]

I use to live in MD it was alright now I'm I FL Osceola county neck to Orlando the transgender community here is not very open it's more like a secret group that you have to hunt down, Lisarenee I would love to chit chat with you seem to know about the community around here every one I have found so far lives down south of me they have invited me to come visit them but I need someone up here that can help me out with things if you don't mind.

BY FOR NOW

[DAWN MID GIRL]

Crazycool86 I'm a biker I have a 1975 Honda 750 and a 1976 Yamaha 650 four cycle, I love to gust go ride and forget about the world nothing relaxes me more than that, I'm glad the weather is turning now I can get back out there.

BY FOR NOW

[Lebedinaja]

Oregon. Simply, Oregon.

[DAWN MID GIRL]

I did some looking in to FL laws as of last year 54% of FL countess had transgender discrimination laws for work,housing and medical treatment.

BY FOR NOW

[Daphne Alice]

I live in NH, but work in Mass, near Boston. I just switched my PCP to a full transgender hospital in Boston! First appointment is Wednesday. I'm so excited and nervouse. I think I'm optimistic that Mass is a great TG place. I grew up here. Woot for progress!

[rachel89]

Not Indiana.

[Tommi]

I use to live in MD it was alright now I'm I FL Osceola county neck to Orlando the transgender community here is not very open it's more like a secret group that you have to hunt down, Lisarenee I would love to chit chat with you seem to know about the community around here every one I have found so far lives down south of me they have invited me to come visit them but I need someone up here that can help me out with things if you don't mind.

BY FOR NOW

Dawn and Lisarenee, I'm in Brevard, and would love to chat with a couple of local girls.  I definitely haven't found any local groups to me.

[lisarenee]

Dawn and Lisarenee, I'm in Brevard, and would love to chat with a couple of local girls.  I definitely haven't found any local groups to me.

Right now, it is in flux. We have/had a support group at the Center on Mills, but when the Center moved people stopped coming. There are folks trying to organize new groups in the area and my understanding is that they are close to starting another group in the Orange/Seminole area. There are a few other groups, but they aren't very good about advertising, so it is basically word of mouth.

[karenpayneoregon]

Here in Oregon there are anti-discrimination laws towards the transgender community. When I was going through my real life year I went to human resources and disclosed my plans. They were extremely supportive. Next I disclosed to my immediate manager, same as human resources, very supportive. I announced my plans in a weekly meeting to 20 plus co-workers, all but one was supportive.

During my RLT (Real Life Test) I was fortunate to pass both visually and spoken word but always had to deal with things like gender marker on my driver's license and credit cards with my male name yet never had an issue. Once a sales lady said, your mother had a sense of humor giving you that first name.

If one was to live in say Portland or Salem Oregon then you are no more than one or two hours away from the ocean or the mountains so there is lots to do. I live in Salem Oregon and love it but many times head off to Portland for big city life on the weekends.

So I can't say enough about Oregon if you are looking for a great place to live either pre-op or post-op.