People are nice and friendly
Reasonable priced housing
Not too hot
Houston, Texas has those characteristics you mentioned that you need in a place. If you are looking for an affordable price housing, Houston have lots of it. That's one thing nobody will deny about Texas. There's a good income which goes a LONG way here, especially compared to other states. Food, transportation, etc. are also cheap, and to top it off, there's no state income tax. Also, friendly and nice neighborhoods.
If not living in a hot place is on your list you are not talking about the south that appear to meet your other criteria. The humidity in the south is terrible. When it get extremely hot, most just go into their air conditioned houses and drink sweet tea.
You might have to compromise on some of your requirements, as you might not find everything in one area you would like, but enough that you are able to survive.
What are you feelings about rain. If this is not off your list you might try northern Oregon or southern Washington.
If you don't mind snow, then you are speaking of northern mid America. You would have the winter sports that go along with the cold weather.
One of the prime things that you would or might want to consider is the availability of employment, shopping, schools, if you have children and the crime rate.
There are many many cities in the United States to narrow this search down for you. Selecting an area might be first in being able to select a city in the area you select.
Friends and family might have lived in certain areas of the United States that you would be able to get information about certain cities and the things you are seeking in your search.
Getting into and narrowing your search down to an area, prior to selecting a city would be better in selecting a city.
You might consider looking on line for the availability of housing and and their cost.
You might also consider looking on line for potential employment. It might be to your benefit to submit your resume to potential employers prior to your move.
I hope this has been of some benefit to you, good luck.
"FIGHT ON"
I think the northwest is fantastic, but I'm no city dweller. I will admit that California transplants are likely to be the biggest complainers. It's not hot here often, cloudy a lot, but the people make this a wonderful place to live.
As a true southerner you don't want to leave the south. I suggest Kentucky or Eastern Tennessee (Chattanooga, Knoxville). Inexpensive housing, nice polite people, get the full four seasons, options to choose between large and small towns depending upon your personal pursuits.
Get a book called "Places Rated Almanac." It may be at your library. It talks about every city in the U.S. and what it's like to live there. You can decide what is important to you and why and then look at the cities based on rankings on those factors.
The best places to live are not cities at all, but the best place for you to live is where you can find employment in your line of work. I live in rural Colorado, which meets all of your criteria, but would you be able to find acceptable employment?
Almanac
Nebraska is a very nice place to live. So is Ohio, Kentucky, and South Dakota!
IS your biggest complaint cost of concentration of people in LA?
i would suggest you look up the list of cities with the least black population and start from there. you will be less likely to be a victim of violence.
My husband and I want to move out of LA. We want to live where :
People are nice and friendly
Reasonable priced housing
Not too hot
Quooge....New york
