[seanflyon]

It's an arbitrary distinction, but I wouldn't consider an area "very cheap" until it was significantly below the nation average.

According to http://www.payscale.com/ cost of living in Austin Texas is 7% cheaper than the national average. I would consider that cheap, but not very cheap.

payscale just happened to be the first site that came up but its number seem a little less extreme than the ones you gave:

cost of living relative to SF: Phoenix: -41% Miami: -34% Anchorage: -23% Dallas: -41% New York: +38% Knoxville: -45%

I doubt you could hire the same quality of developer in Miami for half the cost (especially including benefits).

I don't mean to sound argumentative. "very cheap" is an arbitrary distinction and I have no idea if the cost of living number you gave are more or less accurate than the ones I found. There are many places with good developers and significantly lower cost of living than the bay area.