Not making these lists is LA, which I like. Specifically West Side. Santa Monica is great, and easily best weather of any of these listed. Good nightlife in Hol

Not making these lists is LA, which I like. Specifically West Side. Santa Monica is great, and easily best weather of any of these listed. Good nightlife in Hollywood. Better startup scene than Seattle (at least relative to 2 years ago, haven't checked out Seattle startups in a while). Also, don't underestimate the value of a well-connected airport. If you're not in the bay or NYC, you'll have to travel a lot if you're connected. LAX is remarkably accessible from the West Side, and has flights to everywhere leaving in 2 hours. Seattle has one of the least accessible and least connected airports. Portland would be worse. I hear good things about Austin.