Most Aspie-friendly places to visit or live?

[JKG]

What are the most Aspie-friendly, or Aspie-welcoming, places that you've visited and/or lived? Is there such a thing? In your experience, are there differences between how certain places (cities/rural areas, states/provinces, countries, cultures/populations, etc.) in general treat Aspies? If so, in what ways are certain places/locations better or more welcoming?

My question is inspired by the fact that there are places that are more and less gay-friendly, and more or less open to racial diversity. Is that also true with respect to Aspies? Given the delightful fact that AspieCentral hosts discussions among people who live in many different places in the world, I thought it might be fun to compare our observations.

 

[King_Oni]

I haven't lived all over the globe so I can't really comment on differences. But I've found that, despite my personal struggles with the dutch legal and insurance system for disability income and such, I can't really say that this country is a terrible place to live for aspies.

A few friends of mine on the spectrum are a bit more fortunate, so to speak and it seems pretty fine for them.

The area I live in doesn't really seem to care that much about people being different... I suppose within reason. But I tend to be a character on my own and I haven't really run into serious issues where I would be shunned or anything.

So I reckon, The netherlands in general isn't a bad place to live for aspies.

 

[watersprite]

Other than the mountains, forest or other natural settings I don't know about welcoming physical places, but virtual places: AC tops my list.
Having said that, for me places that are predominantly sunny and hot are not comfortable at all.

 

[SonoranPrincess]

I am fortunate to have traveled to many places (except Asia). Although I love the great cities like New York, Paris, Rome and London, the crowds and constant pressure to be on guard and defensive about ones performance is exhausting. I prefer rural areas with cultural significance. The Southwest US works for me. Yes, it's hot and dry in the summer, but I escape to the mountains during that time of year. Small towns, with friendly people who are accepting of their neighbors quirkiness have worked out best for me. If I get the urge to travel I can always put on my "NT disguise," and venture out into the world. Oh, and I also love snorkeling and scuba diving. Water gives me a sense of calm I have a hard time finding anywhere else.

 

[watersprite]

SonoranPrincess you're a sturdy soul to live there. I lived in the (U.S. Southwest) high desert for 25 years. I am soo glad to be in a cloudier place now.

 

[SonoranPrincess]

SonoranPrincess you're a sturdy soul to live there. I lived in the (U.S. Southwest) high desert for 25 years. I am soo glad to be in a cloudier place now.

It is true, Aspie's are all the same, and all different. I am "solar powered," and feel the best when I'm in a place that's 85 to 100F, with bright sunlight. Too hot? That's what A/C is for.

 

[HermanHesse]

The Netherlands is a great place to live for about everybody.

How is Japan for people with Autism? I have heard that the have a fairly rigid system of manners and face-saving but they also have the money for therapists and such.

 

[JCPHN]

Cool thread, thank you. This is something I've been trying to think about lately.

 

[Ste11aeres]

The Netherlands is a great place to live for about everybody.

How is Japan for people with Autism? I have heard that the have a fairly rigid system of manners and face-saving but they also have the money for therapists and such.

I've heard that Japan now has a social phenomenon of extreme reclusiveness, and a dearth of actual relationships. Sounds like a bad place for an Aspie-
for the Aspie will either:
A) already be reclusive-and will find such a place to be a temptation to become far far more reclusive than anyone should be (I do believe in solitude, but I think there should be limits)
or B) be an Aspie who wants friendships and human relationships, but in all likelihood has not succeeded in forming them-and such a place will make the forming of such things even more unlikely, because even other people aren't forming them.

Disclaimer: I've never been to Japan and as a result am no expert on its culture. The above is only based on what I've heard and read.

 

[On the Inside]

San Francisco area is the place where I have felt the most comfortable and least affected by my Aspieness. It's a great city for walking around all day, which is one of my special interests, and it has water all around, not that sunny, and mild temps.

Maybe the gay-friendly/aspie friendly goes together somehow, more inclusiveness. The city I live in is both as well, though I'd really rather live somewhere else, but that's a different story.

 

[HermanHesse]

Welcome to the N.H.K. was an alright anime about social isolation in Japan.

 

[Datura]

I read in Wired that Silicon Valley has a relatively large autistic population. The hypothesis is that high functioning autistic traits are an advantage in programing and computer sciences. This leads to a high concentration of people with such traits, who then go on to make children with each other. These children are then more likely to inherit their parents autistic genes and develop more sever autism as a result. Because of this heightened autistic population there is a higher degree of support and understanding than you are likely to find elsewhere.

Wired 9.12: The Geek Syndrome

 

[Naturalist]

Living in Central Virginia, I can say that this is probably not an ideal place for most Aspies unless you have a place in the country. There are a lot of engineering jobs in my small city, and it seems a lot of people with Autism-related license plates and bumper stickers, but they only are aware of the nonverbal, low-functioning forms of autism. They are really unforgiving of eccentricities. Sometimes I wonder if I have landed in Pleasantville. The college where I work is very tolerant, but the outside community is very hit-or-miss.

There is also a very strong religious tendency here to want to explain autism as "God's plan"--not for the child, but rather for the parents. This makes me irate: just recently another woman stated that her child's autism was "God's design to make me a better person". Because it's all about her, I gather, and her child is just a tool to get her to heaven??? And then another woman, who was telling a co-worker not to eat this, or that, or these other foods when pregnant because they will make your kid autistic. Stupidity abounds among NTs here... I keep looking for a new place to go.

I grew up in Colorado and while people were generally friendly it was a very superficial friendliness in some ways. I didn't find Londoners very accommodating--in fact they seemed quite rude and intolerant during the four weeks I was there. Glasgow (Scotland) seemed very tolerant, but I was there only a week. More rural places in Great Britain were variable; some people very suspicious of outsiders, others very hospitable, but there were lots of eccentric locals around who seemed to be valued in their communities. Also spent a summer doing preservation work on Nantucket but aside from the last remaining true locals, Nantucket only "welcomes" people who are wealthy (and even then grudgingly). They do their best to nudge everyone else off the island...

 

[RGDaniel]

I think I've been lucky as an Aspie in the east of England, as we have the combination of good research and good support/respect. And more locally, there's colleges which support the students with Autism while also not ghettoising us into a whole 'special college'.

Generally speaking, American Autism organisations have alot of research but very little respect. France is doing more research than it used to but there's still too many horror stories of abuse comming out of it.

 

[etbe]

Climate is an issue of personal preference, I prefer cool but some prefer hot.

London is bad for Aspies, I think that the rumors of English people being tolerant of eccentric people only apply to high status people and people who are well known in their community.

Dutch people are generally quiet and reserved. They are also very tolerant of differences, "we all do it the other way but it's ok if you want to do it that way" is a quote from a Dutch colleague.

People who need assistance might have different experiences (Dutch beurocracy can be difficult even though it's generally good). But if you are capable of getting a good job and like cool weather then Amsterdam is great!

Note that the culture in other Dutch cities differs. I recommend avoiding the regions with few foreigners.

 

[Grumpy Cat]

Kansas! Cause that's where I am and I'm Aspie-friendly!

 

[DarkAscent]

I've found Berkshire, Newbury to be very friendly compared to London, probably because there is a disabled school situated about ten minutes away from the town. The staff at a shop that I like to visit regularly know of my deafness and thank me in sign language whenever I buy something at their shop. The locals are quite welcoming and accepting, and it's been a massive difference since I moved there. I feel more at home there than in London.

I agree with the previous posters about London. From my own experiences, a lot of Londoners look at you and treat you like an alien if they see you as "eccentric" or "weird". I've been laughed and shouted at in the streets of London.

 

[JuniperBug]

I live in Taiwan and, as far as Aspergers goes, I don't know if I would recommend it as the best place. That being said, I am personally planning on living here for many years to come. Here are the positive and negative aspects.

Cons:
Lots of Noise pollution (fireworks, bells, parades)
Air pollution (but not as bad as china)
City are densely populated
Traffic is fast-paced, unpredictable, and mostly made up of motorbikes.
The most popular attractions are loud and crowded (clubs,bars, KTV, etc.)

Pros:
Extremely kind people and low crime rate
Social faux paux are blamed on "foreignness" and not "weirdness"
It's possible to living in very remote areas (Good for loners)
Cost of living is cheap and teaching jobs are easy to find.
Many parts are breathtakingly beautiful (mountains, beaches, hot springs, wildlife, architecture, etc.)
One of the best healthcare systems in the world.

 

[JKG]

I live in Idaho, which is full of natural beauty, remote places, rivers, mountains and wildlife. Those things are all restorative. It is nice, too, that there is little bad traffic and it is relatively easy to get away from crowds. On the other hand, the politics are conservative, which means very few resources are given to public services of any kind. It is an individualistic culture, so people are blamed for their own misfortunes or praised for their own good luck--whatever that might be. It is a homogenous population racially, and differences and oddities of all stripes tend to be viewed with suspicion and judgment.

I've also lived in Seattle, Washington--a city surrounded by sparkly water and white capped mountains and lots of lush green growing things. The politics are liberal, so generous resources flow to public services and public health. The culture is more community focused, and the population is quite diverse. With that comes more tolerance and even celebration of people's uniqueness and the creativity that can flow from that. It has a strong technology sector (Microsoft is based there) as well as the arts. The down sides are crowds everywhere, with tons of traffic and honking horns. And, it is now very expensive to live there.

 

[Harrison]

I love Wales, the country itself is relatively unspoilt with some spectacular scenery. Where I used to live was regarded as the welsh equivalent of 'red neck country', and yes it was rough. But we had no crime, everyone knew everyone else and we watched each others backs. The teens were polite to their elders and rarely were a problem, mostly because the nearest adult would sort it out. It was hard on visitors as they were seen as 'income' and would be tempted into all manner of things. Being an aspie there was great for me as they spoke their mind, no messing about, and you knew exactly what was going on. Everyone lived off the land, never took too much and always shared if there was a bounty.

I miss it.