Atlanta has a lot of good stuff going for it, midtown area and the tech village up in Buckhead have some promising startups.

Few other south eastern cities to add to OPs list:

Charlotte isn't bad either and has a similar if less developed vibe, lot of financial business around there. People seem split on whether they like it or Raleigh more, seems like a toss up.

For a smaller city Chatanooga has a lot going for it.