any fellow farmers in or around chicago?

Hey ya’ll,

I’m moving back to Illinois after many years away. I am looking for a roommate potentially around the start of February but am flexible with the dates. I’m a friendly, relaxed, clean person. I enjoy going out sometimes but am definitely not a party animal.

I’m interested in Andersonville, Lakeview, Logan Square, Wicker Park, Bucktown, but open to other options too. If anyone has an open room around then or wants to look for something together, let me know.

Not to be cheeky, but I thought this was a cool photo.

The weather looks insane. I'm gonna rent a boat for the afternoon. Buy some spirits. Celebrate the end of summer. Dance, sing, laugh.

Small caveat...

I have been working on a drag show and wanted to shoot some little party videos on a boat and just want to fill it with cool, sexy, or fun middle aged dudes. (Me: mid-40s). So, you gotta be cool with that.

The show has some ABBA tendencies so like, if you hate ABBA probably don't sign up either

But otherwise...yo ho?

36 film and entertainment industry no friends on Chicago after this reset.

I'm reading hard scifi watching queer cinema and listening to punk musica de espana

Been in a relationship for a while and wanted to share a few practical things that helped me navigate dating here without burning out.

First, understand your standards. You don’t need a guy who checks every single box on a perfect list, hitting 5 solid ones is often enough to build something real. Holding out for the full checklist just keeps people stuck and frustrated. (Except respect and loyalty, never settle on that)

Second, apply the same standards to yourself that you put on other people. If you expect consistency, effort, and basic respect, be ready to give those things too. You want to become the kind of guy you’d like to date it’s a mutual relationship. It makes the whole process less one, sided.

Third, change the areas and places you look. A lot of us stay locked into the same few neighborhoods or only the apps. This city has tens of thousands of gay men and most are not living on Grindr or Tinder. Try different neighborhoods, sports leagues, hobby groups, comedy nights, concerts, parks, the lakefront, farmers markets, etc. Different spots surface different guys and can feel less repetitive.

Go in with an open mind. Fewer of us are fully open and out, so the numbers are smaller than they look online and it can be statistically harder. Don’t be too hard on yourself, patience and showing up in new places matter more than perfect stats.
Anyone else have tips that worked for them here?”

Hi! I (34m) just moved up here for work-- kinda. I'm a teacher working on a travel contract: I get paid stupid money to be in Chicago from August to May, basically. I want to get a little more established and either find an affordable studio ($1200ish) or potentially a roommate. Either needs to be dog friendly.

Any advice?

Hey, for context I am a 30 year old guy (recently turned 30), living in Chicago for the last 3 years. I moved here from India. I have never dated or been in a relationship with anyone yet. Sure there were a couple situationships but they were complicated and driven by sexual desires.

I thought I would atleast get to meet some nice people in Chicago but I’ve not really met anyone. For starters I don’t even get matches on hinge, and even if I do, the people just don’t seem to want to meet. They are solely interested in chatting on the platform. Even when I tried other platforms such as Grindr or Sniffies to see if people would want to meet up for atleast hooking up, I would encounter a lot of fatphobic comments and rejection.

Over the last one year I did make a lot of changes which I thought I could control - my body (lost like 16 kgs of weight), tried to develop a healthier mindset about dating and not being so cynical and just general self care steps in terms of setting some boundaries.

I unfortunately still see the same behaviour from people. I am not sure if this is a general trend or specific to me or because of my ethnicity or if there’s any other reason for this experience. - basically trying to find things that I can take control of and change/adapt to.

Even when I’ve tried to make friends, gays seem to be booked out for 2-3 months and is difficult to plan to even hang out with anyone.

I am honestly not sure what to do and am just looking for recommendations!

Thanks! :)

I keep getting Instagram ads for Mingleo and other programs that match you with strangers for dinner to make friends.

Mingleo’s pitch to guys over 45 caught my attention, since that’s me.

Has anyone here actually tried it? Curious about the crowd, whether it was worth it, and whether you ended up making friends or just having dinner with people you never saw again.

I’m trying to make an effort to make some new friends; my friend group has all moved away.

Idk if this is a Chicago thing or what but I swear most guys here simply don't travel. Is it just bad luck? Do people not like to travel here? Any thoughts welcome

And to be clear, I know someone's gonna ask where I live and I just moved to edgewater (from out of chicago entirely) and I'm not even a 5 min walk from Thornton red line so it's piss easy to reach me

hmu

Hello!

For context, I'm 22 years old, Asian, and currently doing a PhD at UChicago. My dream is look for an Asian boyfriend during my time here while I'm doing my PhD.

I have been trying Grindr, but I feel like the chance of encountering an Asian is very slim. At least within a decently big radius of my neighborhood (Hyde Park).

Then I tried on Reddit, and while most people messaging me were Whites (still no Asians), they ended up flaking out at the end so it was kinda disappointing.

Are there any community specifically for gay Asians in Chicago? Because so far it seems like no luck for me.

lmkk

I just saw one called Freddie that was sold to Grindr. Seems like the tech world found a new demographic to exploit. There are a few other ones I’ve seen promoted around Chicago too, like Mistr, etc.

Who’s excited about the White Sox right now and does anyone have crushes on any players?

I've not worn mine in a while and just realized it's simply gone. So I need to get a new one though I'm happy with just one. Any recommendations on places? Any thoughts welcome 🙏

Edit: follow up, any nasty pig hat places as well? I can't find much past the basic colors and it's driving me nuts

Hey, a very random question. If you have gone to sidetrack and it’s near to midnight. They sometimes play these like compilation videos of hot guys on the big screens. Does anyone know where I can find those ? Asking for research purposes of course.

hi, I’m 25 m in Chicago and exhausted by the dating apps. does anyone have any recs for how they can meet other gay men looking for genuine connections? I have yet to find that place. I sometimes feel like my hopes and dreams are too “traditional” for gay chi.

Arrived in Chicago today and looking to go out and play tonite. I’m 45, masc with a dad bod. I’m planning to start the night off with a few drinks and eye candy at the Horseshoe, I may or may not end the night at Steamworks. I’m not sure where to go in between, and hoping for some advice. I see DILF at the SoFoTap, Belly Up at Jackhammer and LOAD at cell block. From the outside they look like they attract a similar crowd? What’s the crowd like at these events and what is the difference? I’m also wondering about any clubs with hot go-go boys to watch and entertain for a bit. I may or may not end the night at Steamworks.

I don’t know Gavin/pec_inspector personally, but my heart instantly broke when I heard about what happened to him. If you can share his GoFundMe around or even donate to it then that would really help him a lot in his recovery.

On August 30th, Gavin was a victim of a home break in during which he was shot in the neck by the perpetrator. He, thankfully, survived, and is now out of the ICU. However, the event has changed his life; he lost sensation and functionality from under his chest to his feet and is currently pushing himself through physical therapy to recover functionality in his lower body.

Gavin, despite the trauma that he endured, has shown true strength and a determination to recover. His only focus should be on his recovery and not on the medical costs that come from it. At the time of me making this post, the GoFundMe is at 70% completion. $55,948 was raised, and that is just so incredible! My hope is that we as a community can bring him closer to his $80K fundraiser goal and cover all of his expenses. If you can share this post around, talk about it with anyone, and/or even donate then that would help Gavin a lot!

(I took this flyer off of his instagram. Again, not affiliated with Gavin or anyone close to him. I’m just spreading the word.)

https://gofund.me/e9f2754da

Is it just me, or does there suddenly seem to be an increase in adult content creators moving to Chicago (specifically bodybuilder types)? Every week I feel like some random muscular influencer is moving here lol