I hope I am posting this in the right section but I am pondering moving to the following cities: Austin, Honolulu, Phoenix and Seattle. I work in IT and have a 500k budget to purchase a home.
I already know the basic and generalized consensus on these cities, ie: Austin is cheap and has a lot of IT jobs but has traffic issues and is less inclusive based off what I have read except in the UT area; Honolulu is expensive, traffic congestion and might not have a lot of IT jobs but has a good quality of life (health, inclusiveness); Phoenix has a lot of IT jobs and has affordable homes but lacks in diversity and inclusiveness; Seattle has a lot of IT jobs, inclusive, and good quality of life but has traffic issues and is expensive to buy a home unless you move 40m to an hour away.
I am leaning towards Seattle or Austin and perhaps Honolulu after 10-15 years when I have more money saved to buy a 3 bedroom property.
After Apple has announced its new big campus to be opened in Austin, that should be the place to go. Although it still cant be called "Big Apple" but it'll be a good hub.
Seattle is losing it now. Dont know much about Honolulu but I dont see a big IT prospect there.
Phoenix, ya sure if you are red neck :p Ok just kidding.
500K budget? Then Austin's your only option, in the other cities you won't be able to buy a house with only 500k, maybe a small shoebox apartment however in Austin you can get a big house in the suburbs and it's a really nice city, relatively liberal (not as much as SF or Seattle), it's hills and rivers, lots of desis and brown girls in Austin (if that's important to you) and close to both Dallas and Houston.
Austin also has a lot of tech jobs, it's like our silicon valley and you pay no income tax, plus eating out is cheap.
EDIT: Don't go to phoenix, it's a dump. Full of old racist white people, they don't even have grass there and it doesn't rain. Humans never lived there before the advent of the airconditioner, people aren't meant to live there unless you prefer living around rocks and sand.
If you wait a few months things will be cheaper than now, you will have more options depending on how deap is the coming recession going to be, just be patient!
Good Luck!
City wise I would select Seattle/Everett/Bellevue where Boeing is hiring IT personnel!
First vote: Austin. Second: Seattle Is there a need to purchase a home? You could get an apt. (Saying this only cuz I read your other post and I got the idea you're single, or soon to be)