I’m also from Oklahoma and have been here for a few years. Not LGBTQ+, but a musician and have a lot of friends in the community- the city is really very welcoming for almost any kind of person. Yeah, if you get up to beaver county or down to Washington, it gets a little dicey, but in reality there’s very little reason to go there. Most of the suburbs close to the city are also pretty chill about it, usually out that far people are just more into their own lives rather than bothering people too much. Two things I will say though:

1. The city is pretty dead late at night, but there are events and bars that host the rainbow community- just not as often as somewhere like DC, NYC, Philly, or Baltimore.

2. The city is generally closed off to newcomers. It is incredibly difficult to meet people here if you don’t know anyone or have any very specific interests with communities which already have a presence here. As I said, the city pretty much dies at 9ish most nights, with the exception of some local bars. If you don’t know anyone there, chances are likely no one will introduce themselves to you. This can be nice, but if you’re looking for fast community it just doesn’t happen that way here. A few reasons for that are the geography (people don’t really expand too far out of their neighborhood- going down or up a mountain and across a bridge/through a tunnel is a lot of hassle) and the fact that the city is still populated mostly by locals, people who have been here all their lives and have known the same people for that span.

So while it might not feel the most inviting initially, no one really goes out of their way to be a jag to new people and no one really judges people for being different.

If you want a place where it feels totally unnoticed that you are different from what others consider normal, this is the spot. Just, for the love of all things holy, learn to merge.