1. Washington
  2. Colorado
  3. District of Columbia
  4. California
  5. Minnesota

I’d love to hear why other trans and queer refugee folks picked their state! Perhaps I should move to Washington?

  • I left Texas for Washington over 10 years ago now partly because even then it was known as a trans haven in the community - it has plenty of its own problems (especially cost of living and the continued effects of redlining) but I’ve only rarely felt unsafe here and the parts of my physical and legal transition that I’ve done here have been relatively straightforward and uncomplicated even navigating insurance. I’ve also not had many outright discrimination issues with employers, if anything I deal with more tokenism issues. I don’t dislike Texas entirely and even miss some of my family and some things about it, but getting to live my life fully is worth the trade off; that’s a determination everyone needs to make for themselves though!

    • It’s good to hear that you’ve found a safer place and things are uncomplicated there! Missing some aspects of the culture you grew up around, the landscapes, friends and some family is definitely something I can relate to but it seems a small sacrifice for a better future. Thank you for sharing your perspective!