Austin, TX is worth considering. Lower cost of living, especially with a (less than insane) commute. The city even gave itself the moniker "Silicon Hills" in the '90's, and there's a thriving tech & startup industry in the area.
Worth noting that this is quickly going away. Traffic is projected to get far, far worse over the next few years at current growth rates and public transit is still very disappointing in comparison to other large cities.
That said I love this city.