My brother moved from CA to Houston, TX area and thinks everyone should move there. It's in a down market right now with all of the energy sector jobs disappearing, plus there's no state income tax. Personally, I couldn't handle the humidity. Not sure about recreation, it's pretty flat.
I am in the CA central valley, two hours from just about anything you could want: Yosemite, San Francisco, Monterey, Santa Cruz, Napa Valley, Bakersfield...but COL is high compared to the midwest/south, just WAY lower than Bay Area. No plans to leave.