What are the best towns on Cape Cod? I know the gays love PTown but houses and condos there are tiny and expensive and are packed together.

What are the other towns gays should consider?

by Anonymous

reply 22

June 5, 2021 4:39 AM

Chatham is supposed to be quite nice, and off of the Route 6 corridor.

by Anonymous

reply 1

June 4, 2021 2:43 PM

Brewster. Or almost anywhere on the northern shoreline (Rt. 6A) of the Cape. The southern side has better beaches and way, way more breeders (Hyannis, Falmouth, etc.)

But all of Cape Cod is expensive, dull as hell in the winter, home to a large retired senior population year-round, and a long way from the amenities most of Massachusetts enjoys. Lotsa property crime by junkies in the winter, too.

And Provincetown is more straight every year. The end of anti-gay discrimination resulted in assimilation.

by Anonymous

reply 2

June 4, 2021 3:02 PM

I spent a week in Harwich Port & adored this town. So much to explore in the surrounding areas but always good to get back to this charming spot in the evening. Not garish or touristy at all. Good food, too. One of these days I will get back there.

by Anonymous

reply 3

June 4, 2021 3:09 PM

Harwich, Harwichport, Dennis, Chatham, Wellfleet. A friend retired to Cotuit and liked it--convenient to regular shopping.

It's common for people to buy a place and see it as a retirement place, so older people are common among the year round residents and have been for ages. Fall is beautiful and winter is stark in its beauty. A lot of toriust infrastructure closes down across Sept/Oct, so the amenities do change out of season. The cape has a special atmosphere, even with increased development and either you get it or you don't.

by Anonymous

reply 4

June 4, 2021 3:13 PM

If any of you are considering moving here, or buying property here, you should think seriously about the availability of health care.

There are a few Urgent Care Centers scattered around the Cape but the only hospital is Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis. Most of the specialists (and these days, everything is referred to specialists) are also in Hyannis. The hospital is good, and the Cape Cod Healthcare network of doctors and sites is also good, but you need to consider distance to Hyannis - the hospital and the specialists - when looking at property. You don't want to be an hour or more away from a hospital if you're having a stroke or a heart attack. Those are extreme examples but should be considered.

Outer Cape Health Services (OCHS) is excellent and they have sites in Provincetown, Wellfleet, and Harwich. They are health centers with Doctors, Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, with limited access to Opticians and Dermatologists on-site. They are wonderful for standard health care.

Of course there is superlative health care in Boston, but that can be a two hour (one way) trip. Excellent resource for serious issues, but not easily accessible for standard health care, hospital needs, or illnesses requiring many visits to either a Doctor or facility in Boston.

Many of the people that retired up here are rethinking their choices as they age because of the health care issues.

by Anonymous

reply 5

June 4, 2021 6:10 PM

Barnstable is charming and somewhat central for accessing lots of other towns and beaches. A second vote for Chatam. Orleans is also lovely.

Psssst...a nice secret is Cape Ann is lovely. A lot of people call it the "secret Cape" as a lot of people - even in New England - don't know about it. Rockport is charming AF. Lainsville is wonderful. Marblehead is gorgeous. The beaches are rocky, which make the landscape more interesting. Rockport can get crowded but most beaches aren't crowded and are more local visitors. Gay friendly and gay in the know, but it's not the gay ghetto like P-town.

by Anonymous

reply 6

June 4, 2021 6:52 PM

The whole place seems so desolate in the winter. Why would want to live there then?

by Anonymous

reply 7

June 4, 2021 7:12 PM

I went to the wedding of a Johnson and Johnson heiress in Chatham. Amazing house and quiet environs. That evil Basia Johnson watched it all from a huge bay window. It was creepy. But Chatham is amazing

by Anonymous

reply 8

June 4, 2021 7:25 PM

I’ve heard the Outer Cape (Wellfleet, Truro and PTown) is Democratic and everything else is Republican.

by Anonymous

reply 10

June 4, 2021 10:10 PM

Huge opioid problem. Lots of break ins and property crime.

by Anonymous

reply 11

June 4, 2021 11:24 PM

R10

Without looking at the Town by Town returns, I'd say that the retiree vote on the cape is largely Democratic at this point in towns like Chatham, but there's a significant Caucasian not so wealthy Republican vote in other areas like, perhaps Falmouth or Hyannis?

by Anonymous

reply 12

June 5, 2021 12:06 AM

Perhaps local elections are different, but the NYT 2020 election map by individual precinct shows the entire Cape in varying shades of blue. There are a few precincts where Dump did draw something like 45%-48%. .. In the 2016 election map, it appears Dump actually won some of those over Hillary.

by Anonymous

reply 13

June 5, 2021 12:43 AM

R11 - That tends to be centered in the Hyannis area, but yes, there is a problem on the Cape with opioids. Whether it's significantly worse than other areas of the country would require drilling down to health data by town and I'm not sure how accurate or reliable that data would be.

R10 and R13 - It's true that the Outer Cape is largely Democratic. Surprisingly, the Cape as a whole went more Democratic in the last election than previously. Generally - very generally because it varies according to specific towns - the closer one gets to the Bourne Bridge (to get off the Cape) the more Republican it is/was.

by Anonymous

reply 14

June 5, 2021 1:14 AM

495 corridor is the most Republican part of the state.

by Anonymous

reply 15

June 5, 2021 1:17 AM

I live in Falmouth. What would you like to know?

by Anonymous

reply 16

June 5, 2021 2:54 AM

R16 Tell us about The Bipolar & Religious, The Toothless Inbreds, and The White Trash from Cambridge on Vacation as indicated in the map at R9.

by Anonymous

reply 17

June 5, 2021 3:11 AM

R17 none of those terms particularly apply but there is one road from 28 to the beach called Seacoast Shores that is kinda white trash. That's really the trashiest part of town. Divorced Scientists is kinda true of people in Woods Hole. Stolen Native Lands is true. I don't understand the Katrina and Grub references.

by Anonymous

reply 19

June 5, 2021 3:21 AM

I have relatives in Yarmouthport. The first time I was invited for a visit I was excited to spend a weekend on the Cape with the extended family. I live in Boston so I’m familiar with the Cape but only with the usual tourist areas so I thought this trip to hang with the locals would be fun.

When I got there I was really surprised. I was expecting idyllic salt boxes on rustic dunes. Instead I got bland suburban ranches in a tired 1960s cul-de-sac development. What a disappointment. There are beautiful coastal areas but the farther inland you go, the more it becomes a senior living community. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) It’s also one of the few Republican districts in Massachusetts. So there’s that to deal with.

As an aside, a few years back I rented a rustic A-frame cottage in the middle of the snow swept dunes in January in Truro (next to P-Town). It was surreal and beautiful. Being off-season it was pretty cheap. I recommend it if icy ocean waves, howling winds and solitude by a crackling fire appeals to you. Took my two dogs and left the city to recharge. It was incredible.

by Anonymous

reply 20

June 5, 2021 3:47 AM

If you're gay and priced out of Provincetown, the towns of Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans and Brewster have high numbers of gays. Brewster is the prettiest town. The cape is a wee bit warmer than the rest of New England so it's winters are milder. It's certainly quieter in winter, but there are still amenities available, year round restaurants and various holiday activities.

Living here is more about local theater and arts centers, short trips to the islands, shopping in Hyannis and Mashpee, sailing, windsurfing, fishing, camping, the state parks and national seashore. Providence and Boston are still close enough cultural activities. It's more for couples than for singles.

by Anonymous

reply 21

June 5, 2021 4:35 AM

Let "The Singing Rage" tell you all about it.

Offsite Link

by Anonymous

reply 22

June 5, 2021 4:39 AM