No offense, but is this move motivated by a true need to move ASAP? Because this doesn’t really read like it was written by someone in their thirties. Frankly, if it’s not a true need, it doesn’t seem from this post that you’re in a financial position to do this on anything close to a safe manner. And thus: if this is just a desire, no matter how strong the impulse is, it sounds like you need to wait.

I am not trying to be patronizing or condescending: I would just hate to see someone put themselves at the mercy of the world like it seems you may be about to.

A couple questions.

First, do you look identify as M or F, or other and do you project as such?

Second, other assets? Do you have a vehicle such as a van or truck?

Third, gotta be real, you don’t sound like you can afford an out of country move. However, you might be able to do an out of state thing.

Fourth, how are your camping skills? Ever lived out of a backpack?

Number one, if you are needing to move ASAP, like actually ASAP, remember that it’s cold in January. Moving any where north going to be an issue if you need to stay in your car or the woods for a night. I doubt any one here is going to advocate for it but I’ve done what you are describing more than once. I have to be real with you that the left coast is not the bastion of tolerance it once was. The red states having projected their culture into the rural areas has not been for the better.

That being said however, pockets exist. Check out the following cities: Eugene, Arcata, Bodega Bay, Weed, Olympia, Hood River, Flagstaff, Tucson, Willits, Sedona, Santa Fe, Taos, and Albuquerque. No where is perfect. Every where has issues. Generally speaking, I can vouch from personal experience that the above cities are “alternative lifestyle friendly”, but ymmv.

Your best bet if you need to move now and only have maybe 1-3k in savings would be Albuquerque. It’s cheap, and it’s a gateway to some magical areas. Santa Fe is more expensive and Taos more hippy dippy, but both are much colder. If you are camping or staying in your car, much more difficult.

I was homeless and hung out with the rubber tramps and wing nuts for a few years. Also live out of my car separately, both with and without employment. I’ve hitchhiked most of the western states and pulled an “ok I gotta go” with not much more than a bus ticket more than once. Avoid large cities and suburban areas. They are expensive and the people there are very mean. Don’t discount pockets of LGBT friendly places embedded in larger rural areas. Don’t do drugs (even weed) or drink. Sharing bottles or pipes is how you get the crud and you can’t afford to be sick. If you need to do drugs do your own drugs and don’t share or announce it. It’s mostly about not getting sick because if you get sick in the road, your fucked. Pneumonia under a bridge is not super great.

Going into winter, Southern Arizona or New Mexico would be my pick if I had to leave in January. If you can afford a Greyhound ticket and have some money for an apartment, you could probably afford ABQ. Might cost about a grand to get into a 1 bedroom pieces of shit.

SoCal resident here. Cost of living is much, much higher than many less-desirable places, so as others have said, it’s absolutely necessary to have a job to move to before moving here.

Also, the WC states are not homogenous. “Red state California/Oregon/Washington” are as red as Tennessee. There’s a big chunk of extreme northern CA that wants to secede. Same with eastern WA/OR.

Coastal communities are, on the whole, not occupied by narrow-minded DeSantis fans, but that’s not an absolute. The more rural a place, the redder it is.

Sites like Coos Bay are fairly cheap by coastal standards, but there aren’t really any jobs around there, and it isn’t exactly West Hollywood for community life and things to do.

As you freely admit you have no money and seem to have no specific qualifications.

Even with those boxes checked I would never ever consider moving across country without a signed employment contract at the target location. The risks seem insane and completely outsized to me. But if you’re a way, way more adventurous type than me, at the very least you’d need enough savings to keep you off the streets for a few months if you are planning to start job hunting only after moving. Anything less would just be stupid.

Save up. Save save save.

Moving is expensive, and any new job is risky to start. The places you’re looking at are expensive because most sane people want to live there.

If you can find a remote job, start there: once you’re a remote worker, you can establish yourself at the job before you move. Once you’re confident that you like the job and aren’t going to get laid off out of nowhere, you won’t have to stress about paying rent while looking for a job in a new place.

Visit a city before committing, make sure it has the vibe you want. Coastal cities all have their upsides and downsides.

I don’t think you should move to a different country, as citizenship may not be easy nor cheap. It sounds like you are from the US? Southern Oregon, Northern California, Eastern Oregon or Eastern Washington are all good options for cheaper coast of living. I’ve heard of some dorm type living in Seattle, SF too probably. You should not move without a place to move to though and look for jobs in the area you want to move that you can get quickly (grocery/fast food/warehouse) or if possibly have a job ready when you get there. You might look into getting roommates as it would be cheaper than living on your own. Some people will rent out just a room pretty cheap, and set restrictions for when you can use the kitchen. You can do a lot with a toaster oven, microwave, and mini fridge though, space depending. Aside from that, plan your route and pack. If you are driving have places to stay (camp grounds are sometimes free or cheap, national or state forests especially). Plan where you can get showers and do laundry (either hotels, gyms, sometimes camp grounds, sometimes truck stops have showers, laundromats). Have some sort of plan and map where you can stop. There might be apps for people who van or car camp that might be useful.

In my experience if you’re only finding one or two apartments in your price range out of a ton…

1. You can’t afford to live there. Everything costs more. Sales tax, gas, groceries, water, all entertainment, etc

2. Those places you can afford probably don’t exist or are cheap for a very good reason (bad area/property)

I suggest looking around closer to you or where you have a saftey net or support, then look in those areas. Research the city look for lgbtq events or clubs etc. I hope you find your little haven !

Apparently Bangor maine has a big outdoor backyard, is probably relatively cheaper than other places along the east coast and is supposedly pretty lbgtq friendly.

Although that is not south of Maryland. Nevemind.

If you’re willing to look at Toronto, maybe consider Minneapolis St Paul, it’s not that much further north than Toronto. I moved to Minnesota from Florida because I’m queer and I knew things were going to get worse in FL. Check out Queer Housing Exchange Minneapolis St Paul on Facebook to look for roommates, and make sure you have a few months of savings built up while you job search.

You like nature, and paddle boarding, and LGBT friendly spaces? Skip the West Coast, come live in the Twin Cities. It’s really nice here, it’s safe, has all the things you’re looking for, and it’s not unfathomably fucking expensive.

The only downside is that winters are cold. Bring a winter jacket.

As others commented, lining up a job is step 1 to any move. That will be be the hard part.

About the dorm style living, it’s very much a thing. It’s all over the place where I’m living and I have 4 friends living in different ones right now.

All very open minded and kind people.