Check out Santa Clarita, CA. It's just shy of 300,000 in terms of population and it's just north of LA (at the 5 and 14 freeway). It is a bit expensive ($400k+

Check out Santa Clarita, CA. It's just shy of 300,000 in terms of population and it's just north of LA (at the 5 and 14 freeway). It is a bit expensive ($400k+ home prices) unless you opt to live on the outskirts of town. You can survive on under $30,000 with a family though, if you have inexpensive tastes and have some self control. It's only about 5mi radius, so everything is pretty close. The city is developing quickly and does have a few tech companies around here, but I have to be honest, the entertainment industry is much larger here. We have a bunch of movies and other things filmed here. But as far as job opportunities for hackers, we do have a somewhat entrepreneurial climate. The only "Universities" are 2 community colleges: College of the Canyons, and Cal Arts. College of the Canyons is decent though, with about 20,000 students per semester and growing. Under an hour drive to UCLA and USC without traffic, and there's Cal State Northridge too (my school). Another notable feature, Six Flags, Magic Mountain is here. And as an added bonus, we are in a valley (surrounded on all sides), and it just snowed on the mountains. It looks beautiful.