7. South Williamsburg, Brooklyn

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In South Williamsburg, under the J train is where we saw Maksim Khimchanka, an aspiring actor originally from Minsk, Belarus. Maksim came here to be himself. As a gay man in Belarus, he has to hide who he is. In New York City, that isn’t the case at all. Maksim feels comfortable dating, being affectionate and being open about who he is in the city. It is a place he says he wants to “stay forever.”