yes good thoughts, seattle is actually in the running, i'm from portland so its well known to me, just wishing i could stay in the warmer climate + sunshine (i gave up on pdx after 7yrs of rain)
Then I would say look into Plano, Texas. A lot of my co-workers work there and they are pretty happy about it, a lot of them are from San Francisco and Southern California. And its is pretty warm there. Its apparently becoming a hot-bed for start-ups (At least that is what I have been told)