The same sex dating scene in Timaru is not exactly vibrant, says Cameron Foster, 19.

Cameron Foster is young, gay, single and lives in Timaru.

He's not exactly full of praise for the local dating scene.

"It's tough in a town like this," Foster, 19, says.

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"It's more of a sleeping around scene."

Dating options in small New Zealand towns like Timaru are limited by the population.

But Foster says there are also some men living a public life as "straight" who are privately gay. They are too scared to come out, he says.

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Foster himself came out only after finishing his secondary schooling at Timaru Boys' High School.

He says coming out at an all boys school "wasn't an option".

"There is no way you would do it. You would get too much shit."

He has experienced some abuse since revealing his sexuality in a Facebook post.

"I was walking home from town one night and some guys stopped and offered me a ride," he says.

"They were friends with some of my friends, so I thought it was okay.

"We were driving along and I said turn left, they turned right and took me to the cemetery and then kicked the shit out of me."

He has recently come out of a year-long relationship, which still sometimes hurts.

But he says it was no different to anyone else's heartbreak over their first love.

Life will go on and there are still plenty of fish in the sea, but like his heterosexual female counterparts, he says not many of the "decent" fish seem swim in Timaru.