Hello! My partner and I are pretty seriously thinking about moving from Los Angeles to Albany in the next few years! There’s a few reasons for it, but a large one is escaping the heat death of Southern California. My partner is from Brooklyn and went to college upstate, i lived in the city for 10 years before moving back to LA. I know it’s a smaller city compared to NY or LA, but that’s sort of what we are looking for in our next phase of our lives (we are both mid 30s).

I’m a sommelier and have worked in the wine industry for super long, so i wanted to know what the restaurant and wine scene is like there? Are there nice places where i can work and earn enough to afford the cost of living there? Similarly, my partner is a baker, so same question!

Beyond that, we are both queer and trans and wanted to know if it is a generally lgbt friendly place?

Thanks so much!