Need a good city to startup?
I am shilling for the city I live in, but surely a place where you can buy nice houses for $120K and have 3 desk offices for less than $300/mo is a place to be. My startup is growing after our first year and we feel it is because first we've bootstrapped very efficiently and we've cut costs by being ecommerce only. The city is a perk in itself.
Duluth has a beautifully clear inland sea (lake superior), brilliant hiking along the Superior Hiking trail, it is 2 1/2 hrs from the twin cities (Mpls/St.Paul), and has a thriving arts community. There are whole buildings going for $200K and storefronts for cheap.
I understand why Silicon Valley is so cool, but you want to start a business not make craploads of money just to pay for a small apartment with nothing to show for it in the end.
Duluth has more than 5 river parks running right through town. The waterfront is beautiful. There are all of the amenities of any large town (mall, cool bars, theatres, history, condos and restaurants). In a couple years we will have a nice new high-speed train to the twin cities linking the greater metro area to one of the best city for outdoorsmen.
So, consider Duluth, Minnesota. There are real winters, hot summers and colorful falls. A 4 mile sand beach downtown (Park Point)! Duluth rated as one of the top 10 dream towns by outside magazine.
http://www.visitduluth.com/media/pr_view.php?id=5
So, spite me for telling you what to do, but know I am not making anything from this. I am just pointing out a great incubator city for you.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duluth,_Minnesota
http://www.duluthhomegrown.com">Homegrown music festival