I’m Never Leaving Seattle — it’s the only place I’ve felt safe

Hey, here with a kinda serious take on the meme topic, but since it’s topical I wanted to share something I wrote about my experience moving to Seattle as a trans woman from a very unfriendly state. I moved here from Austin in 2024, and in a sentence, it changed my life more than transitioning did. Before moving, it was likely each time I left my house, I would face overt bigotry. Slurs were common, people would confront me pumping gas, with accusations and actions most people wouldn’t even believe. It became literally unsafe for me to go out – and that was in the blue part of the state. It happened so fast, too. The first few months of my transition were okay – and then it wasn’t. Since then it’s become all but impossible for trans people to exist there, and many have moved here more recently. I wanted to share this for any of them, give them some reassurance that things are different here, and that it is all worth it, and also to encourage anyone else who might be considering the move themselves.

If you’re a queer person living in a place that’s hostile to your being, and you have the means to move to a friendly place, I would highly recommend you do so, as it’s been the single best improvement to my mental health ever. It’s allowed me to fully feel my transition, as I’m no longer fighting to exist day to day. In the 21 months I’ve lived here, I’ve had one person make a transphobic comment on the street. I go out multiple times a day, walk everywhere, and see orders of magnitude more people – and have faced basically no bigotry or judgment for who I am in my entire time here. It’s so life changing I know most who haven’t experienced it wouldn’t believe me.

I came a long way to be here, and sacrificed a lot to make the move. I went through a lot to be myself as well, being a victim of conversion therapy growing up, and facing significant issues because of that that prevented me from transitioning until later in life. Despite that, it’s been more worth it than I could have imagined, so again, if you’re someone reading this who’s on the fence, I couldn’t recommend it more, even despite the broader situation that’s forcing so many people to relocate here.

I wrote this last year, and while things haven’t gone well since, I’m still more optimistic than I’ve ever been at any point in my life, because I feel like myself, and I’m in a place I feel safe. That’s all trans people want, and that’s what’s literally impossible so many other places. This is genuinely a very special place. It’s worth being proud of. Here’s a link to the chapter, it’s uh – 11,000 words, so it’s a long one, but it’s been a pivotal point in my life, and something that has allowed me to feel safe enough to be myself, despite all the persecution I’ve faced in being that self up to this point. I appreciate anyone taking the time to read it, and everyone who makes this a welcoming place to be. I haven’t made any real friends in my time here, yet I’ve had good interactions with about everyone I’ve talked to that entire time, which is pretty unreal.

Trans people deserve to live – not just survive – and it’s imperative places like this exist where we can do so, until we can do so everywhere.

https://weaponizedtrauma.substack.com/p/city-on-a-hill