There's Pittsburgh. COL is significantly lower than SF. It's a smaller city and there are fewer jobs, but you some some headquarters there, like Duolingo, and s

There's Pittsburgh. COL is significantly lower than SF. It's a smaller city and there are fewer jobs, but you some some headquarters there, like Duolingo, and several branch offices, like Google, Facebook, and Amazon. There are several university, such as Carnegie Melon, which brings in AI and self-driving related jobs at places like ArgoAI and Uber. Being a bit of a university city, there are a ton of young people so that might help with the "plaid, hippy and Alanis Morissette" vibe that you want. Outside the city is typical PA, so a bit redneck and change in demographic, but it gives a good amount of variety. Surrounding area has plenty of nature, if you're into that (biking, paddling, climbing, fishing, hunting, etc...). Weather is decent. Winter doesn't tend to snow that much (avg 28in/yr) and the temperature rarely drops below 0F. Hell, I'd say below 10F is fairly rare, maybe a few nights each year. The roads can suck, but you'll hear that everywhere. PA state income tax is relatively low, even with the extra 1-2% municipal tax if you live in the city.