As an openly transgender person, I had the same thought. Specifically, in the Bay Area I can be a walking pride flag, and in fact strike up conversations with all kinds of people in all kinds of places and feel very connected. There's all kinds of community here that I haven't found other places I've lived.

In a lot of parts of the country I have to be very careful about what I say and how I present.

In a lot of other countries, my very existence is criminalized.