Queer, Immigrant, Musician: Finding Home in a New Land

Moving to a new country is like stepping onto an unfamiliar stage—exciting, terrifying, and full of unexpected improvisations. As a queer musician and immigrant, my journey from the UK to Canada has been one of identity, reinvention, and the constant search for belonging.

Because let’s be honest: being an expat isn’t just about visas and new addresses. It’s about rebuilding a life from scratch, figuring out where you fit, and navigating the unspoken rules of a culture that isn’t quite yours—yet.

The Double Outsider: Being LGBT+ and an Immigrant

There’s something strange about leaving a country where people already knew who you were—your history, your accent, your quirks—and landing somewhere that forces you to redefine yourself.

🇨🇦 New Culture, New Norms – Canada is welcoming, but the way people interact, form friendships, and build communities is different from the UK. There’s a different rhythm, a different pulse to belonging.

🎶 Music as a Lifeline – When words fail (or when homesickness kicks in), music is where I return. It connects me to my past, helps me express what can’t be spoken, and acts as a bridge between worlds.

🌍 The Loneliness of Being Between Worlds – Not quite a local, no longer fully "home" in the UK—expats live in a liminal space, caught between old and new identities. When you're LGBT+ on top of that, it can feel like you're searching for two homes at once.

Building a New Queer Community

One of the biggest fears for LGBT+ immigrants is: Will I find my people here?

🏳️‍🌈 Seeking Out Safe Spaces – Finding queer-friendly music venues, LGBTQ+ organizations, and events where I can be both an artist and myself.

🎤 Telling My Story Through Music – Every song, every performance, every conversation is a way of staking a claim in this new world.

💬 Navigating New Conversations – The way queerness is understood in different countries varies. Even in an inclusive place like Canada, the experience of being LGBT+ here isn’t exactly the same as in the UK. Sometimes it’s liberating, other times it’s just… different.

Advice for LGBT+ Expats & Immigrants

1️⃣ Find Your Creative Anchor – Whether it’s music, writing, or art, hold onto what makes you feel like you.
2️⃣ Be Patient With New Friendships – Building a support system takes time, but it’s worth the wait.
3️⃣ Create, Even in Uncertainty – If life feels unstable, let your art be the one thing that grounds you.
4️⃣ Embrace the Duality – You can be British and Canadian, queer and an outsider, musician and explorer. You don’t have to pick one.
5️⃣ Make Your Own Home – Sometimes, home isn’t a place—it’s a feeling. It’s in the connections you build, the music you make, and the moments that remind you why you moved in the first place.

Final Thought:

Being a queer immigrant isn’t just about adapting—it’s about redefining. It’s about turning displacement into discovery, isolation into community, and uncertainty into something beautiful. I may have left one home behind, but I’m creating a new one—one note, one song, one story at a time. 🎶🏳️‍🌈🇨🇦