My wife and I lived in Chicago, Melbourne Australia, and now San Francisco.
Chicago (25 years)
+ Good culture, COL isn't too high
- Weather!
Melbourne Australia (2.5 years)
+ Culture, Weather, cycling culture etc
- HCOL area
San Francisco
+ Culture, Pretty good weather, best cycling culture
- Very HCOL area
Since my wife and I can find jobs most anywhere (she works in sales and just needs to be near a major airport) I'd like to find a city that has good culture (cafes, downtown area with restaurants etc), good cycling (road) culture and routes, good weather (where cycling all year is possible) and lower cost of living.
San Francisco offers everything except the low cost of living.
I was thinking maybe:
- Charlotte
- Raleigh
- Charleston
- Atlanta
- Phoenix
- Denver (can't cycle all year, but great cycling culture in summer)
Sure, not all of the above (Denver, Phoenix) are LCOL, but coming from San Francisco I'm sure it would be a good step down.