If you are a tech person, I'd say you should seriously consider the Silicon Prairie.

For example, it doesn't surprise me this article emphasizes Nebraska. Whereas this article mentions not owning a home in California, you can readily afford a home out in the Midwest. If you don't want that, grab a two-bedroom apartment that costs you less than a $9,00 per month. Insane commutes don't exist.

Places like Kansas City have Google Fiber and other places like Lincoln and Omaha don't have Google Fiber, but still gigabit Internet or even 300Mbps Internet plans (for $60/month)

For a while, the fastest growing company in Nebraska was a tech startup called Hudl (https://www.hudl.com/)--which you really can't even call a startup anymore since they're big enough to be building their own buildings now.