Todd Henneman

University of Toronto business professor Richard Florida wrote in his best-selling book The Rise of the Creative Class that a large gay presence helps a city's economic performance. So we asked the mayors of five cities: "Why should young gay professionals move to your city?"

After all, we spend the majority of our workweek pushing papers under the flicker of fluorescent lights too. But there's something, well, hopeful about a group of professionals who carve a career from the stuff of dreams--adventure travel, race cars, tropical islands, professional sports. They make work seem fun. So kick back in the cubicle and prepare to meet 10 gays and lesbians working outside the paradigm.

If you're gay, you're more prone to depression than those in the general population, experts say. And if you "party" by taking certain illegal drugs, your risk may jump.

In 2006 when the world marked the 25th anniversary of AIDS, it also saw the rise of a new generation of AIDS heroes who are taking the fight to their communities.