Best city/town for a Deaf person to live in?

Interesting, I really never thought about best city/town for Deaf person to live in.

All what I consider mainly important is best town or city with good enivornment for the children upbringing including good school...

I have few deafies who live around the area where I live but my good friends live long way from my area... I really have no time to contact deafies since we have a family... I contact them via email and fax... we visit each other when we have time.
 
I am married to a man i can not stand, have no job, no money.I am trap here. It feels like a bike in a car lot. As far as people like us forget about it.

If you can't stand him then why don't you get a divorce? And isn't there a store or something nearby that you can work at? Save up and get out!
 
So far, Rochester (NY), NYC, Frederick (MD), DC, So-Cali, Austin (TX) have been made as suggestions for deaf-friendly places to live. The cost of living is definitely a consideration!

What about places like Arizona and New Mexico? North Dakota? Nevada?
 
I wish it was that easy.

If you can't stand him then why don't you get a divorce? And isn't there a store or something nearby that you can work at? Save up and get out!

There is not alot of jobs here and the "normal" people have them if you know what I mean.
 
Jan - thanks for the warning! I hope you get out, honey. It sounds like it is quite difficult for you.

Haa, thanks PowerOn - what about Houston?

just great deaf gay and big christian deaf group in Houston, usually.
 
So far, Rochester (NY), NYC, Frederick (MD), DC, So-Cali, Austin (TX) have been made as suggestions for deaf-friendly places to live. The cost of living is definitely a consideration!

What about places like Arizona and New Mexico? North Dakota? Nevada?

Phoenix has a fast growing deaf population - but I personally cannot stand Phoenix - it is becoming another Los Angeles but I do enjoy visiting outside Phoenix such as Sedona or Tucson. Tucson is another possibility for you but I dont know how important it is to be within a large deaf community or whether envirnonment/nature/local politics/livability is more important to you or whether you are seeking a balance there. For me, I am very happy where I am even though we do not have a deaf service center or large deaf community but I will never sacrifice the livability of my city and my small group of very devoted deaf friends. That is all I need to maintain quality of life for myself. Sometimes I do wonder if I am missing out a lot by not living in places like Rochester or other places, but I would be miserable as I wouldnt want to sacrifice nature - nature is important to me :)
 
Phoenix has a fast growing deaf population - but I personally cannot stand Phoenix - it is becoming another Los Angeles but I do enjoy visiting outside Phoenix such as Sedona or Tucson. Tucson is another possibility for you but I dont know how important it is to be within a large deaf community or whether envirnonment/nature/local politics/livability is more important to you or whether you are seeking a balance there. For me, I am very happy where I am even though we do not have a deaf service center or large deaf community but I will never sacrifice the livability of my city and my small group of very devoted deaf friends. That is all I need to maintain quality of life for myself. Sometimes I do wonder if I am missing out a lot by not living in places like Rochester or other places, but I would be miserable as I wouldnt want to sacrifice nature - nature is important to me :)

Grew up in Phx and my brother still lives there. He said the Deaf community there is growing but they are all spread out all over Phx. It is a huge city and the public transportation system is not that great. According to my brother, many deaf people who live there cant afford cars so it is hard for people to get together more often.
 
^^That's why they have light rail under construction and it should open in 2008. I'm sure it will spread around Phoenix metro area in coming years.
 
Seattle is very deaf-friendly place. Many deafies work for Amazon, REM, Microsoft, Starbucks corporation.

Los Angeles is very unfriendly towards deaf people. They cannot stand them. The unemployment rate among deaf people in LA is very high.
 
It is very interesting to hear which cities and towns are thought to be the best d/Deaf Culture towns. :)

Everyone has already stated the obvious but let me add..
Jan, You are only trapped if you allow yourself to be.
Get out of there and go where you can build a life and be happy again :)



Los Angeles is very unfriendly towards deaf people. They cannot stand them.
really, why?
I thought LA always presented itself as the melting pot of the west.

Liza didn't ask for just d/Deaf folks responses so I will add Ohio to the list.
I think Ohio, over all as a state, has a very vibrant d/Deaf Culture. Granted, the four corners of the state may have to drive a few hours to get to d/Deaf events but there are tons of events all year long around the state :)
 
Los Angeles is very unfriendly towards deaf people. They cannot stand them. The unemployment rate among deaf people in LA is very high.

Um...what?? There is a huge deaf population in L.A. with many deaf events, interpreted theatre performances, etc. taking place every week. There are many agencies, some entirely for and by the deaf, that assist deaf people in getting jobs. The colleges in the area are particularly well equipped to assist deaf people in getting an education, whether at the community college or university level.

I'm curious whether this was your own personal experience or something you heard from friends because I know a great many employed deaf people as well as many deaf people who came here because of the opportunities in the area.

(On the downside, L.A. sucks in general.)
 
Seattle is very deaf-friendly place. Many deafies work for Amazon, REM, Microsoft, Starbucks corporation.

Los Angeles is very unfriendly towards deaf people. They cannot stand them. The unemployment rate among deaf people in LA is very high.

Don't forget Boeing and a few other corporations, too. There used to be over 500 deaf working for Boeing in the '80's now it's under 100, I think.
 
Atlanta is decent deaf community with alot of interpreters, plus some events.
Los Angeles is good deaf community and aot of events in over LA metro, plus got part-time job before and not bad for me.
Chicago is okay with deaf community, plus some events.
 
if you see deaf happy hour where metro is available, obviously, it's indeed deaf friendly to be found.
 
Living in the UK

I've had more prejudice about being deaf from my family and people I know quite well rather than others in the town where I live.
 
I agree that ATL is a good place for the deaf to live. While I wouldn't call it DEAF FRIENDLY, there are a lot of organizations here. There are two specialty schools here that kinda represent the current deaf divide- ASL (Atlanta Area School for the Deaf) vs CI and no ASL (Atlanta Speech School).

As far as jobs, I don't really know because my child isn't that old and we are about to move to Texas.

Thre are a lot of jobs in setting up the VRS here currently.
 
I agree that ATL is a good place for the deaf to live. While I wouldn't call it DEAF FRIENDLY, there are a lot of organizations here. There are two specialty schools here that kinda represent the current deaf divide- ASL (Atlanta Area School for the Deaf) vs CI and no ASL (Atlanta Speech School).

As far as jobs, I don't really know because my child isn't that old and we are about to move to Texas.

Thre are a lot of jobs in setting up the VRS here currently.

What do u think of the deaf divide? Do those kids interact with each other?
 
The kids probably interact if they attend deaf events in GA. Otherwise, I have witnessed no real interaction.

Its like night and day!

My son attended both schools (he has a CI).

At the Speech School everyone was dignified and rich! You could not use sign language there, however there was heavy use of the ILY symbol. You could tell the kids who were there via financial aid! Attendance is mostly parent driven and it seems like all the kids with Cochlear Implants in GA go to school there. The goal there is to get deaf people to talk and CI kids to listen and talk. No bus transportation. Its a private school so the state doesn't HAVE to provide it. Very hifalutin'!

At the Deaf School its like people are people. You MUST use sign language. Having a CI, you are the weird kid per say. Transportation is provided. The goal there is to educate deaf children and prepare them for adulthood. The students are as old as 21. They learn life skills (cooking, cleaning, parenting, etc.) how to handle their own business (banking, paying bills). They even have a WAMU bank inside the school where the (high school) kids can keep their money (like if they have jobs they can deposit their checks) I really like how this school makes these kids feel- independent, successful, loved.

As far as how I feel about the divide, I think its foolish. I cannot believe that a society who screams about being discriminated against, would turn around and discriminate against one of their own for ANY reason. Its like a family casting out a member because they married outside the race or religion. I have more respect for the people who stand in their fight against big business trying to make the world "un-deaf". Being a Black woman (a double whammy at times), I take discrimination personally, even if its not against me. We should focus on coming together at all times and making a better world for everyone.
 
NEW ENGLAND ??

I am very curious about your perspectives on New England because no one here talk about New England ?
 
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