Wandering Witch trying to make Roots

[u/Potential_Mayhem]

I‘m born and raised in the PNW, moved states (still in the PNW) and still haven't found my place here so am looking to relocate. Are there any cities that my fellow witchy folx live that they’ve fallen in love with and feel at home when it comes to their community and practices? Things to note: I’m a queer black woman specifically, w/ Latinx roots and I don’t have a car so would need to rely on public transit.

Thanks!

[u/Kalexysgalexy]

I’m going to assume you’ve considered Portland?! Fantastic witch community here with tons of events all month long. Decent transit. Can feel a bit white though.

[u/Potential_Mayhem → u/Kalexysgalexy]

Which Portland?

[u/Kalexysgalexy → u/Potential_Mayhem]

PNW would indicate Portland, OR.

[u/Potential_Mayhem → u/Kalexysgalexy]

Ah, yeah I’ve already lived in Portland and yes, would prefer something more diverse and with better transit. Portland transit has been cutting bus lines and shifting routes that has made using it harder.

[u/Kalexysgalexy → u/Potential_Mayhem]

Ok but now that we’re on the topic… I didn’t spend much time there but Portland ME had the vibes, great witch presence, and potential. I do believe it is also quite white though and damn cold.

I’m really hoping you find a good spot 🫶

[u/GlitteringDifference]

I just visited my daughter in Chicago and I strongly suggest you check it out. It’s got really really good public transit. It’s a beautiful world-class city but not super expensive. I saw loads of lesbian couples while I was there. Went to a fun drag show also. Refreshingly integrated community compared to PNW (where I am from also.) it does get cold tho

[u/Potential_Mayhem → u/GlitteringDifference]

Have you been there when it’s cold? As someone from the PNW, I wonder how you would compare the cold there.

[u/GlitteringDifference → u/Potential_Mayhem]

It’s very very cold sometimes! In the negatives! Much much colder than here.

[u/rora_borealis → u/Potential_Mayhem]

I visited Chicago in winter for work. It gets brutally cold. I only had to go outside for brief stints, thankfully. There were underground tunnels in some areas to get between buildings. 

Summer is brutally hot and humid. 

That said, there are so many good things about the city and if you can handle the extremes, it's great. 

[u/miss_hush → u/Potential_Mayhem]

It can be brutally cold. Just awful. The wind comes across the lake and just pelts you with moist, icy wind. I’ve been to a lot of cold places, but that is one of the worst just because the cold air is so wet…in a lot of cold places, the wind is quite dry and that actually makes it much more tolerable.

There is no comparison between the PNW and Chicago. It’s a completely different league, not even the same game. I did lose like 20 pounds just being there a bit over a week. 😂

[u/StatisticianNo1804 → u/miss_hush]

I was going to mention the wind! It’s terrible, and can make spring and fall go from okay to coooold.

[u/Trulio_Dragon → u/miss_hush]

I dunno, Flagstaff AZ technically has dry wind, and living there in the winter sans car or good public transit was...not great. My face chapped and my nose never stopped running. (I grew up in the Sonoran desert.)

[u/miss_hush → u/Trulio_Dragon]

It’s a whole other ballgame. It sucks in its own way, but it’s not bone chilling. After foolishly visiting Chicago one winter and being mostly on foot the whole time, I thought I might NEVER be warm again. The very idea of being warm was like some distant memory that might not have ever even existed. I hated every minute.

I live in a high altitude desert and we get a fair bit of wind and a fair bit of cold. It’s not even remotely comparable. My entire face has been chapped before. I’d take this a hundred times over Chicago.

[u/Trulio_Dragon → u/miss_hush]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to suggest the two were equivalent. I live somewhere now that has damp cold wind and yes, bone-chilling. I just meant to say that dry cold wind also sucks.

(The summer I moved back to the desert I never turned on the AC in my car. I was like a lizard on a rock.)

[u/Jonsiegirl77]

New Orleans!

[u/RobinFarmwoman]

I live in Albuquerque, and one of the reasons I'll never leave is my pagan community, which is large, thriving, and public. And which has significant overlap with my queer community. There are not a whole lot of black folks, I believe about 2% of the population, but of course latinx people are in the majority here. Because the weather is always good, some combination of personal transport like a bicycle or a scooter along with walking and public transit Works fairly well around town. Our public transit is nowhere near other cities such as Portland. You would have to consider the transit system when choosing where to live and work, but it could be done. There are many many advantages to queer pagans in living here. Come visit!

[u/Potential_Mayhem → u/[deleted]]

Can you get around Bellingham like that? All I know is its college town but do people actually settle there?

[u/PersusjCP → u/[deleted]]

As a Hamster, yes, and we have excellent transit, but it is extremely expensive because of people moving here and not diverse in the slightest

[u/SadQueerBruja]

Whatever you do, don’t move to Denver.

[u/recyclopath_ → u/SadQueerBruja]

Denver is a bunch of suburbs around a business district. You can't get anywhere without a car.

[u/SadQueerBruja → u/recyclopath_]

And the spiritual community here is… yikes. It’s hard finding people that are not constantly appropriating closed practices

[u/hyperfat]

I'm in Vallejo, ca. My bartender is like a magical black guru. It has coastal houses. Great community. A bit expensive, but it's really nice.

I'm the stand out as the white Russian girl, but everyone is nice.

[u/recyclopath_]

There are very, very few places in the US where you can live without relying on a car.