DrummerMan wrote:"Hey, what part of Legit-town do you live in?"
"Oh, I've got this sweet spot over in Thirtyfivedollarsburg."
Just to chime in, if you decide (why would you?) to East Coast it, Philadelphia is going through a renaissance right now (not the fair). Lots of killer music (War on Drugs, Nightlands, Spacin', Purling Hiss, Lantern, Solar Motel Band, are some of my favs/friends). Great venues. Growing at a few new ones each year. More and more people staying after college is translating to crazy art/music scenes cropping up like weeds. I'm 40 this year and have been very active playing here the past few years. Beer town, too. And lots of farmer's markers and stuff.
Houses are really affordable. I paid under $150K for mine 5 years ago BEFORE the crash. Also, close to NYC (90 miles), and accessible by bus, car, train, helicopter (if you have one).
Downside: school system sucks. My friends who have/are having kids now are freaking out. There are some great suburbs right outside of the city with great schools, though, so you could always have a studio in the city and drive 20 minutes home.
My brother has been in Portland with a great job for nearly a year and he loves it out there, but the lack of sun definitely gets to him. That said, I also love it there and I'm planning on visiting him again this fall. It's a great town.
Jeff