Every score on Gayborhood Travel is built from real sources — verified, cross-referenced, and never made up.
I don't scrape one database and call it a day. Every destination gets the same treatment: I pull from legal databases, government advisories, community safety reports, venue directories, review platforms, local forums, and real people on the ground. Then I cross-reference. If two sources disagree, I dig deeper.
The result is a scoring system — the Traven-Dex — that reflects reality, not marketing. Here's where the data comes from:
National legislation, constitutional provisions, recent court rulings, and enforcement patterns. I track marriage equality, anti-discrimination protections, criminalization status, and gender recognition laws — and whether they're actually enforced.
Traveler accounts, community safety surveys, local LGBTQ+ organizations, expat forums, Reddit threads, and direct conversations with people who live there. PDA comfort, social acceptance, and the general vibe — the stuff no law can tell you.
Review platforms, local directories, business outreach, and community recommendations. Every venue in Traven's Picks is independently vetted — not paid placement, not algorithmic. Real places, verified by real feedback.
Travel advisories from the US State Department, UK FCDO, and Australian DFAT. I track what they warn about, what they don't, and where their advice diverges from on-the-ground reality.
Raw data from these sources feeds into the five dimensions of the Traven-Dex: Chill Factor, Legal Climate, Scene Score, Pulse Check, and Destination Quality. Each dimension is weighted, and the composite score reflects both the LGBTQ+ experience and the general travel appeal.
Sub-scores aren't self-reported by cities or tourism boards. They're computed from verified data points and calibrated against community feedback. If a score changes, it's because something real changed — a law passed, a pattern shifted, or enough people reported a different experience.
Every guide shows its last-verified date. I don't publish stale data. Laws change, governments change, and I keep up.
I don't accept payment for scores, placement, or reviews. I don't use a single source for any dimension. I don't copy other travel sites' ratings. And I don't pretend every destination is safe just because it's popular.
If a score seems low for a city you love, read the breakdown — you might agree with the reasoning even if the number stings. If you think I got it wrong, tell me. I read everything.
Transparency is the whole point. If you're a researcher, journalist, or organization that wants to understand the methodology in more detail — or if you have data that could make this better — I'd love to hear from you. Get in touch.