I live here but if you just took a raw numbers, by simply moving your business to dallas you can improve your bottom line by about 30 percent. But then again who wants to live in Texas anyway? I'd do Florida though! :)
I grew up in Durham, NC and went to college in Texas. Everybody drives in both places. Now I live in SF and take the train every day to Stanford. Transit here could be better to be sure, but it could be a lot worse.
CA's educational standards (as well as other standards) cannot be maintained in the long run: the political system won't allow it. Within a few years we'll see significant downsizing of CA government and government services. For some this will be a lowering of standards but it is necessary.
I was talking to a friend of mine a few days ago and we were talking about the best place to live in the US. We were thinking in terms of a) reasonable cost of living (a million dollars should buy a mansion not a house), b) good weather (all four seasons at worst - no harsh summer/winter), c) low crime rate, d) high average IQ (no 'steel towns'), e) not under the constant threat of natural disasters and f) race not an issue (I don’t back down from racists which makes my fiancé nervous and ruins my day a bit ;)).
I have lived in the Pacific NW (rain sucks! I often joke I'd rather be in prison ;)), lived in So Cal (traffic sucks, homes cost way too much, the crowd is whack mostly, the air quality is bad, nothing is close etc.), short stint in Chicago (living there despite the weather is an act of arrogance against Mother Nature).
Long story short we concluded the best spots are 1) Denver, 2) San Diego, 3) Atlanta, 4) Salt Lake City.
If you have heart disease in your family (I do), don’t move to Denver. I’ve been told high altitudes are bad for heart patients (even future heart patients like myself.)
1) The weather here can get kinda crazy. Schizophrenic even, one day it could be 80, then 50 or 30 then 70. Mostly when the seasons change, and it can get really hot 80+ all summer (which I personally love as a southern native. I just spent at summer in California last year and found out that alot of people don't though). And in the winter we have a few really cold days but its mostly 30s.
2) If you are living in the suburbs crime rate is low to negligible, the city is another story.
But aside from that on cost of living, tolerance, etc. you are very correct.
Just thought I would share
We were trying to avoid harsh climate - like Chicago winters or Miami summers. I'd rather deal with 'schizophrenic but cut off before the extremes' spikes than constant, months long punishment.
Are the burbs nice? :)
Look for a place in Marietta, Alpharetta, or near Emory's campus (Druid Hills i think they call the area) for the nicest places to have homes and Midtown and Atlantic Station for the nicest condos (in the city, we just call it downtown here).
Assuming that Dallas has a talent pool that fits your ambitions and is willing to work at your company.
I wouldn't launch a paper mill in San Jose, or a startup in Montana.
I'd rather have (near) first picks from the University of Texas Austin, than third or fourth round picks from Stanford.
The top 10% of a top tier school beats trying to compete with Google, FB, MS and every known tech company in the world while being in the Valley, or paying for huge relocation costs to bring people in from other states or countries while being under the constant threat of them being picked out by recruiters for other companies.