Austin, Texas – Really nice city, had all of the good things about Texas whilst socially liberal and little of the overt bible bashing that is prevalent in other parts of the state.
San Francisco, California – The Brighton of America! Skateboarding, punk rock, anything goes cosmopolitan free for all. Quite expensive, but you can live just across the bay in Oakland for a fair whack less.
Portland, Oregon – Cheap to live, beautiful scenery, indie rock central, good beer (micro-brewery capial of the US).
I used to visit Seattle, Washington a lot whilst I was living in Vancouver. I quite liked that too, but not as much as the other cities I mentioned.
I’d give the Mid West a miss really with the possible exception of Chicago. New York and LA are a little too hectic for my liking too. Boston is quite an interesting city and there’s a real sense of history there, but, the East Coast urban sprawl does nothing for me.
To me, my own personal little ‘American dream’ involves the West Coast, cowboy country or the untamed wilds of the Pacific North West.