Right now the Bay Area has a very high demand for good software developers which means the pay and perks are better there than most places. Cost of living is ve

Right now the Bay Area has a very high demand for good software developers which means the pay and perks are better there than most places. Cost of living is very high, but you will make enough to easily pay rent. However if you are wanting a house, then you have to be a millionaire, live in a shack-sized house, or live in a decent house with a long commute. Bay Area is also very crowded like most big cities. There is also Seattle, Denver/Boulder, Austin. I personally moved to Boulder from Bay Area because I wanted a lower cost of living, sunshine all (or most) of the time, less crowds, be next to mountains, and drive 20 minutes to be in the outdoors instead of 2+ hours. My definition of outdoors is being in the middle of nowhere with few people around.