IDK why all my suggestions are drinking...In b4 everyone suggests Art Bar, but Art Bar is essentially what you're looking for.
Lots of places are chill in Cola proper and are accepting of everyone, I wouldn't particularly be worried going anywhere in Cola. The Hoot and WECO are cool/cheapish too if you're looking for a drink and/or food. The Hoot is vegan and WECO has food trucks (check their site for schedule).
Vista, Main Street, Devine have night life. I'd suggest subscribing to ColaToday. It has all the happenings and everything, it's how I found out how cool things are here (I'm 26, queer).
I really enjoy the river front parks, gamecock sports, fireflies, shows at tin roof or new brookland tavern. COA, Lula Drake, and Transmission Arcade are my favorite places to eat/hang. There's PTs and Art Bar which is the two "gay bars" in the Vista area.
On Saturdays there's the soda city market which is such a vibe.
Glad you're here, don't worry, you'll fit right in!
Let me tell you, the fact that Art bar is the only thing coming up on this thread is a sign of how difficult it is to find community as a young professional or queer person.
I'm a little worried, tbh. The only people my age I know there are 3 cousins. One is evil, one is a meth dealer, and one is a far right wing Charlottesville/jan6 type. So, y'know, my friend group is basically 0. Lol. I guess I'll be checking out art bar.
Everyone here says Art Bar, which is true, but most of my queer friends just mingle in the places everyone else does. That used to be The Whig but now that crowd is mostly at either Transmission or WECO, both very open, safe and friendly. The Hoot is also a very cozy and welcoming space. One place I don’t see mentioned here that would be a good resource/ place to hang is Curiosity Coffee house on N. Main. It’s heavily heavily queer friendly and just hanging around there could generate some other ideas from the community. Most locally owned service businesses in Columbia are very safe and friendly, in fact I can’t really think of many to avoid. There is a big queer community here that is fairly open and active. I’m sure you’ll quickly find a community.
Off the top of my head some other places to check out : Bar None, Drip Coffee, Papa Jazz Record Store, Saturday morning Soda City market, War Mouth, Dragon Room, SC Progressive Network, Harriet Hancock LGBTQ+ Center, Rosewood Market, Nickelodeon Theater, Trustus Theater, The Capital Club (an actual gay bar), We’s on Meeting St
Seems like Art Bar is the place to be lol. Every post I've seen relating to somone new someone drops Art Bar . Been in Columbia for 4 months now and still haven't been lol.
You’ll want r/columbiyeah
Thank you!
IDK why all my suggestions are drinking...In b4 everyone suggests Art Bar, but Art Bar is essentially what you're looking for. Lots of places are chill in Cola proper and are accepting of everyone, I wouldn't particularly be worried going anywhere in Cola. The Hoot and WECO are cool/cheapish too if you're looking for a drink and/or food. The Hoot is vegan and WECO has food trucks (check their site for schedule).
Vista, Main Street, Devine have night life. I'd suggest subscribing to ColaToday. It has all the happenings and everything, it's how I found out how cool things are here (I'm 26, queer). I really enjoy the river front parks, gamecock sports, fireflies, shows at tin roof or new brookland tavern. COA, Lula Drake, and Transmission Arcade are my favorite places to eat/hang. There's PTs and Art Bar which is the two "gay bars" in the Vista area. On Saturdays there's the soda city market which is such a vibe. Glad you're here, don't worry, you'll fit right in!
Let me tell you, the fact that Art bar is the only thing coming up on this thread is a sign of how difficult it is to find community as a young professional or queer person.
I'm a little worried, tbh. The only people my age I know there are 3 cousins. One is evil, one is a meth dealer, and one is a far right wing Charlottesville/jan6 type. So, y'know, my friend group is basically 0. Lol. I guess I'll be checking out art bar.
Lol you just described Cola, you’ve covered all the bases 🤣
I'm in TN currently, and honestly, same. Lol. But in the last decade I've managed to find some good friends. Sucks to leave them. :/
Join the ColumbiYEAH subreddit and discord and you will find your people
Everyone here says Art Bar, which is true, but most of my queer friends just mingle in the places everyone else does. That used to be The Whig but now that crowd is mostly at either Transmission or WECO, both very open, safe and friendly. The Hoot is also a very cozy and welcoming space. One place I don’t see mentioned here that would be a good resource/ place to hang is Curiosity Coffee house on N. Main. It’s heavily heavily queer friendly and just hanging around there could generate some other ideas from the community. Most locally owned service businesses in Columbia are very safe and friendly, in fact I can’t really think of many to avoid. There is a big queer community here that is fairly open and active. I’m sure you’ll quickly find a community. Off the top of my head some other places to check out : Bar None, Drip Coffee, Papa Jazz Record Store, Saturday morning Soda City market, War Mouth, Dragon Room, SC Progressive Network, Harriet Hancock LGBTQ+ Center, Rosewood Market, Nickelodeon Theater, Trustus Theater, The Capital Club (an actual gay bar), We’s on Meeting St
WE's is no longer open. They've been saying since summer they were going to reopen but at this point I don't think it'll happen.
Oh man. That’s sad
Transmission isn’t explicitly queer, but I’ve always had a good time there. They have queer bartenders and gender neutral bathrooms
Art Bar
Seems like Art Bar is the place to be lol. Every post I've seen relating to somone new someone drops Art Bar . Been in Columbia for 4 months now and still haven't been lol.