I am biased but I liked Chicago. You can get a good house for a decent price. If you want to raise a family though, inside the city schools suck - you have to play a lottery or try to test into a good school or pay for private.
That said you won't find startup jobs like SF, a lot of the top paying jobs like NYC are in finance.
That said you won't find startup jobs like SF, a lot of the top paying jobs like NYC are in finance.