Better cities for Aspies

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I dunno but is there any information and disscussion into where people with Asperger's are more likely to live a better life, make better friends, etc.

So far based on my experience these cities are the worst cities for Aspies:
1. Houston (live there)
2. Dallas
3. San Antonio
4. New Orleans
5. Atlanta
6. Nashville
7. Memphis
8. Little Rock
9. Charlotte
10. Oklahoma City

And based from my experience these are the best cities for Aspies:
1. Toronto
2. Ottawa
3. Montreal
4. Vancouver
5. San Francisco
6. Seattle
7. Quebec City
8. Boston
9. Portland
10. Minneapolis

This is just my theory, it really probably is far from the truth, but if you disagree with me or agree with me you can say what you want or what you think about it.

I think the Silicon Valley would be best based on what I've read but I don't know because I never lived there.

Atlanta? I wonder if that's true. I almost ended up living there this year. Of course, 'almost' doesn't usually mean much for me.

It seems like any big, diverse community would be better for 'Aspies' than some isolated hick town. I've always wanted to live in a big downtown, but since navigating puny downtown Chattanooga is kind of intimidating, maybe I should reconsider that.

In my opinion, those kinda seem like the best and worst cities for people, aspie or not.

New york city, many things to do and nobody even notices anybody exist, they are too busy to care if you are aspie or not

Well, that is true, NYC is the best place to go blissfully unnoticed, but on the down side, the daily sensory overload is often overwhelming.

It is particularly horrible in the subway during rush hour, when you have to be squashed up against people who smell as if they emptied entire cans of air freshener on themselves so that they'll "smell good".

By the time I get to the office I am usually rolling with nausea.

I can tell you this one people, ALABAMA SUCKS FOR ASPIES!!

Hmm. I want warmth, which many of those "best cities" don't offer. Cold completely stresses me out and makes me feel like a bag of crap. Also, I like a city with enough people in it that I can disappear in the crowd and go unnoticed.

If you are Aspie and do not have a southern accent, you may run into some southerners in Charlotte for instance, who might want to presume that you are "an arrogant yankee"... They want to attack the "weirdness" they observe and teach you a lesson for venturing into their town and not having the utmost respect for them.. They interpret the aloofness of an Aspie (or NLDer or AdHd person) as arrogance if you have an accent other than southern... and see that as disrespect of their southern culture and "southern pride".. I was born in Florida, which is in fact a southern state, but my accent doesn't sound southern because I grew up around alot of New Yorkers that had moved to Florida.. In N.C., you will often see confederate flags waving and on the backs of their trucks.. To some this is pride, to others it is a show of force like a gang symbol and they still have stickers that say "the south will rise again", etc..

If you are southern with an accent and are an Aspie, your chances may be better.. Although, they might still presume you need to be taught a lesson.. or that you are just schizo or something and they will try to break you down so that you will seek help and therefore, be "cured" of your weirdness... I was told by some people in N.C. that Florida is not a "southern state" because it was taken over by yankees.. "Florida is a cesspool" they would say to me about the state I was born in... I have heard stories of where they would slam their truck doors into the cars with NY plates or they run people off the road if they have New York plates too.. There are people in the vicinity of Charlotte, NC that are still apparently fighting the Civil War (although not overtly with actual swords), but they will keep you from getting a job, set you up to get arrested, threaten you with re-arrest if you dare ask for an appeal of the legal railroading... They want to show you what "Southern Justice" is... watch out for those people...

I think Aspies would be particularly singled out as targets, especially if you have a Northern accent and are alone... God help you in Charlotte. Having lived in Florida for many years, where there are alot of people from New York, my accent is not very southern... I was greatly misunderstood and really, truly treated horribly by alot of people there.. They laugh, tease and love to humiliate.. That was my experience... I found Nashville to be considerably better than Charlotte... at least on the surface so far as I could tell.. they are more accepting of different types because it is a "music city" and there are lots of artists there also.. charlotte is a "banking town".

I, too, would like to find the best city for Aspies... I liked Austin, TX.. but it is surrounded by many places that are probably quite similar to Charlotte.. I have heard really good things about Brisbane, Australia.. I would LOVE to visit Australia one day : )

Last edited by MusicMaker1 on 27 Mar 2008, 2:36 am, edited 1 time in total.

I could imagine living in the "CITY" espically like in Ny could be awful for aspies cuz they're surrounded by tons of people and there's no grass just all brick and gravel. I live in the south (north carolina) where we got lots of grass and open space to be by ourselves.

When I was a kid my family moved to Houston and despite being in gifted clesses and skipping grades previously, the school district decided I should go into a lower grade because I had come from a small town and I was so much younger than my classmates... that's when the rebellion started. So a few years later, we move to Dallas... rant snipped.

That has nothing to do with this... just interesting to me that it happened in the top two cities on your list, hmm. I still live in the Dallas area, and it sucks because it seems like everything is based on a big social network that I have no idea how to access. Not to mention the "$30K millionaires", that's another rant I'll supress...

I've wanted to move to BC for some time now, but I fear leaving my family. I've recently come to realize that I need to take that step... just don't know how .

LOL! I've been called a yankee a million times here. We are a bit south of St. Louis, MO, and I grew up in St. Louis. Oddly, I got called a yankee in St. Louis, too...

Around my neighborhood everyone wants to be friends with everyone, which definitely doesn't work well for me, lol. I know the neighbor-have lived here almost 3 years and still refer to her as "the neighbor lady" most of the time. I'm sure most of the people on this street don't even know I live here, lol. Other areas in my city I've found the majority of the people act like idiots, but want to think they are better than everyone else for some reason. It's almost funny to watch really.

St. Louis is definitely more accepting, but it depends on what street you are on, lol...

Here's my view:

1. Houston (live there)
Hated it when I stayed on the southeast side in '82

2. Dallas
Never been there

3. San Antonio
Looked like a smaller version of houston from the highway

4. New Orleans
Spent a day there, didn't really do much. The downtown was a curious mix of new buildins and urban decay. It was really sprwaled out, so I would have hated it.

5. Atlanta
I've only passed though it, but it was really sprawled out.

6. Nashville
Passed through it, looked OK from the highway.

7. Memphis
Drove around it, I wasn't impressed with it.

8. Little Rock
Never been there

9. Charlotte
Lived here from 1993 to 2002. Hated it and a lot of the people there. Supposedly it was like Atlanta only smaller and with even less to do. There wasn't much to do there, people were racist, pretentious, and generally very odd and unpredictable. One thing that I noticed about Charlotte, is that it seems to be polarised between incredibly upscale and unaffordable and total crackhouse ghetto. There really was no middle ground.

That being said, I went back there a few months ago for a few days and it outlwardly seems to have gotten better. There is now stuff to do there, and the downtown is not abandoned to the crackheads after business hours the way it was when I first went there. There is also a burgeoning Mexican/ Central American population there now, so that makes Charlotte a little less southern than it used to be, which I think is a good thing. --MusicMaker1 has a good assessment on Charlotte.

10. Oklahoma City
Never been there.

And based from my experience these are the best cities for Aspies:
1. Toronto
Never been there.

2. Ottawa
Never been there.

3. Montreal
Never been there.

4. Vancouver
Never been there.

5. San Francisco
It's a beautiful city with a lot of stuff to do, and a lot of interesting people, many of whom seen freindly. Unfortunately it's very expensive, and I could not afford to live there. Also, like a lot of compact cities, it can be trying and claustrophobic.

6. Seattle
I passed through it, it seemed nice, it's in a gorgeuous location.

7. Quebec City
Never been there.

8. Boston
It's nice, but is very expensive and can be quite claustrophobic at times.

9. Portland
Maine or Oregon? I;m from Portland Maine, and I like the city a lot, unfortunatley, the cost of living is quite high, which is why I moved.
Portland Oregon, OTOH seemed like a nice place when I passed through it in 1985.

10. Minneapolis
Seemed like a nice city when I went through it a few times when I was a kid, and later, once agin in 1985. From what I understand, though the downtown area was gutted and is now all high rise office towers. --I understand it's also now quite sprawled out as well.

Melbourne Australia is pretty good for my son at least - but cold at times. I grew up in Brisbane, if it hasn't changed since I was living there, I would imagine it would be a bit too *redneck* (is that the word?) for my son. Where the slightest difference meant being bullied - adults and kids alike. I'm sure it's very different now as it is becoming more culturally diverse and hopefully more tolerant of others who are just slightly quirky or happen to come from somewhere else.

As for resources for Aspie kids - Melbourne is ace

Never been to New York, but since I was 10 years old I liked it because it sounded so STIMULATING, and I'm that kind that needs stimulation.


Nice was stimulating, but then I wasn't there very long. Florence, same thing. London-- cold, wet, dark and depressing. But other than that, really stimulating. Paris-- stimulating from what I saw, which was hardly anything! It was rainy and dark and depressing there too the day I was there. Vancouver-- wet, dark, depressing. Edmonton-- dark, depressing. Montreal-- stimulating, but since I lived there for almost my whole life, nah, you know? Houston? Never even been out in the city yet, really. Brockville, Ontario (little town city)? Gets boring/understimulating fast, wouldn't stay there more than 2 weeks. Munich-- stimulating. Koln-- stimulating. Rome-- stimulating. I want to go back!

Best place for Auties and 'severe' aspies-Botton in the UK [or another camphill village,they're all over the world],they're all villages designed for people with LDs,developmental disabilities etc.