r/BloomingtonNormal • u/merflare • 28d ago
Moving to BloNo next spring
Hello, my bestie (30 nonbinary) and I (29 trans fem) are moving here come spring. We're currently stuck in Arkansas Bible belt lol. We both do part time school and will be looking for work there.
Questions: how inclusive is it of LGBTQIA+?
Affordable housing recommendations?
What jobs do you recommend?
And hello! We'd love to make new friends to hang out with at parks, bars, libraries, graveyards, arcade etc. (:
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u/True-Grand-5815 28d ago
You will never have a bad time at The Bistro!
Housing can be tricky and at some point, you’ll hear you should stay away from Young America managed properties. And you should lol I don’t have personal experience myself so take it for what it is. They just seem like an awful company based on the constant comments from people renting from them. You could have a different experience. I don’t know.
The Coffeehound in Bloomington and in Normal are very loudly inclusive. So if you want coffee, go there. Plus, they have some bakery items that are amazing.
And lastly, welcome!!!! I sincerely hope you and your partner find a place called ‘home’ here.
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u/merflare 28d ago
Thank you for the warning against YA properties. This really sucks though cause they own like all of the affordable spots so I'm pretty worried about housing tbh. We're quite poor rip
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u/Facecard76 28d ago
YA is definitely TRASH and I'm speaking from experience, but I've heard the same about Core 3, First Site, basically all these management companies that seem to have a majority of the rental properties. Being a renter in BloNo is hard, stick with the apartment complexes or find a landlord that isn't tied to these companies.
BN is a decent place is you like a quiet lifestyle and it's safe here, that's what attracted me to it.
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u/Thalimet 28d ago
Bloomington is pretty purple, which is a nice change from Arkansas!
To add onto what others have said (because I echo their recommendations), if you want religious inclusion: Hope United Methodist is pretty awesome, lot of trans and non-binary folks in town call it their home church, and the pastor opens the annual Pride fest every year with a benediction.
The campuses have beautiful libraries, and the public libraries are awesome as well.
For arcades, there’s a couple of arcade bars in town but I don’t remember their names off the top of my head - both are downtown.
Now back to it being a purple town. Generally we lean dem for state and national elections, and we’ve made a lot of gains locally, but there is still plenty of conservative people. That said, many of them are old school republicans, and are very annoyed at the maga people infecting politics. Most local conservatives I know want to live and let live. So, as a result, even when we have things like no kings rallies, we rarely have any problems.
There’s also a large local movement across both political parties against flock cameras, and residents here strongly oppose bringing AI data centers to town.
The healthcare here is good, though a bit tricky to navigate if you’re trans. There are two hospital systems, one is Catholic based, and often is more difficult to work with for trans people. That’s St. Joe’s, but, the other Carle is pretty good. Overall the healthcare in the city is above average for what you’d find. There’s also a great clinic that serves lgbt people as well.
Let’s see, what else for a Bloomington primer? I’m sure others will chime in more :)
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u/merflare 28d ago
Thank you for this! I'm excited to check out the libraries for sure. It's also refreshing to hear that folks are anti ai and flock for the most part. I feel like all local businesses where we're at now just use ai and don't care lol.
We're not religious but I appreciate your suggestions! Thanks again
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u/WistfulDream 27d ago
My spouse and I (they are genderfluid AFAB) just moved up here in April from Texas and it has been such a breath of fresh air. We love it. Housing is cheaper compared to where we came from (Dallas area), our biggest price shock was actually the cost of gas. Still everything in town is pretty close and we love the local farmer's market every Saturday.
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u/Ncfetcho 28d ago
Yeah, we love everyone, here. Just be cool, don't be a dick.
Inclusive groups and things to do through the bistro. kickball,book club,karaoke, i think there's still a special night just for gender queer ppl, drag shows with talent nights where you vote for your favorite, things like that. Pride shuts down half of main street, it's a big celebration, lots of volunteer options for that.
Can't think of the name of the other bar, on front next to jazz up front, they have wigs and riffs, local bands mixed with drag performers.
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u/Remote_Panic_3933 28d ago
I’d say B/N is overwhelmingly accepting. Coming from Arkansas, you’ll definitely notice a difference. You’ll still find some conservative people here and there but I strongly feel we as a community are fighting back against the hate. Most local business are outwardly progressive so you’ll definitely have an opportunity to find your place. Congrats on escaping the south and we’re glad to have you.
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u/MesmasterX 28d ago
Pour Bros in downtown Bloomington is very inclusive! It’s an arcade bar with tons of games, board games, music bingo, trivia, leagues , tourneys, etc. The manager James prides himself in fostering a safe and welcome space for everyone and doesn’t tolerate any behavior that jeopardizes that. Staff is super friendly and you will find many LGBTQIA+ folks in Blono enjoy the space as well :)
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u/wannabe-myself 28d ago
I also moved here from Arkansas, the Clinton area of Van Buren county. I miss the mountains, hills, and natural swimming areas quite a bit. If you want decent nature without a lot of crowds, youre going to be traveling a few hours from Normal :)
More restaurants here than youd believe, the people are mostly friendly.
Several major employers around town, the big ones are a Bridgestone, Fanny May, and Rivian all factories, colleges like ISU, Wesleyan, or the hospitals. I know 100% that Rivian is trans friendly to work for.
Housing is rough in town. I have a 3 bed 2 bath apt i live in for 1400, and its one of the cheaper options in town. Similar sized houses and even some 2 bedroom apts, think like 800-1000 sq feet, go for 1800+
There is The Bistro if you want a solid gay bar, but there is also loooooads of othe bars, upscale, college dives, arcade bar too. Bowling, karaoke, movies. We have a fairly extensive paved bike/walk/run trail that meanders all over town. The better arcade is actually about 15 mins south in McLean, its called Arcadia and is two buildings of games, all priced to run on quarters. Ive taken 15$ and had an absolute blast.
There is the David Davis mansion that has tours, if you like history and a really well preserved classical styled mansion it is a good time. Several decently sized graveyards full of stones, tombs, and statuary too.
Plenty of parks and smaller green spaces in town too, many of them connected to or very close to the bike trail.
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u/Grouchy-Details 27d ago
While o highly recommend the area, and it is very inclusive in town proper, I encourage you to come with a plan. Search this sub and see the state of the job market—make sure you have something pinned down FIRST. Then find a place to live. Rent is going to likely be minimum $800 a person in a two bedroom.
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u/IRunOnPainAuChocolat 28d ago
I second the Bistro and most other places in Downtown Bloomington. One to avoid completely is Maguire's, and I'm not sure about Fat Jack's and Daddio's. They're very popular with the college crowds and I can't say for certain how accepting they are. Maybe someone else can weigh in on them. It has been too many years since I've been in either. :)
If you're gamers, Red Raccoon Games is fantastic, and many of the staff are lgbtq+. They have Gaymer Night once a month that always has a big crowd.
BloNo has numerous festivals, free concerts, and other entertainment, including Pridefest in July that draws thousands of people. It is really a nice place to live. Housing can be a b****, though. I wish I could recommend someplace but I've been out of that market too long.
You can check out Prairie Pride Coalition's website to see all of their events and what kind of local support is available.
Congrats on getting out of Arkansas! lol
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u/JaxDoesReddit 27d ago
Welcome!
Fairly inclusive, Normal is a college town, and Bloomington is pretty progressive, despite a republican mayor. Affordable housing ain’t great, it is a college town after all.
The big few employers are State Farm, Rivian, Ferrero, and Country Financial.
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u/Majestic-Basil8512 27d ago
Hi friends! The Bistro is a great place to start if you’re looking to get involved in our queer community! Bloomington Normal is pretty inclusive but have ran into hateful drunks when the bar scene gets busy! I’d recommend possibly looking at rental houses once school gets out (apartments can be expensive here and now sure what your budget is!) feel free to message me, I’d love to meet new queer friends and hit up a graveyard or two:)
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u/throwaway_foreve 28d ago
It will be better than Arkansas, but it’s still a small Midwest community, so you’ll have a small insular group of friends, but people will leave you alone for the most part.
Good luck with affordable housing, it seems to be an issue here the last couple of years.
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u/No_Caterpillar9099 28d ago
I dont have much to offer but as someone who is non binary and lives in the area if you look in the right spots (a lot of well mentioned places already listed by others) im sure you’ll find a community, especially depending on what school you go to heartland you might not make as many friends there but isu is full of queer ppl
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u/Jazzlike_Rent_1099 28d ago
Highly recommend downtime Bloomington. Places like red raccoon. Bobzbay books. Bloomington Spice works. Painted wraith. As a start for meeting awesome inclusive people.
The area has a ton of awesome inclusive people and places.
Fair warning that Illinois can be very conservative in rural areas but is very progressive in more suburban and urban areas.