+1 on DFW. I'm not a big fan of the summer heat, and the area will be prone to water problems in the future, but my wife and I love the area. Still plenty of rural areas to choose from less than an hour from the metropolitan areas.

The biggest advantage is the size of the area. 2 Big cities, large suburbs with duplicate large cities activities (2 zoos, 2 sets of museums, 2 symphonies/opera companies, etc.)

For sports there are major league football, basketball, baseball (well, it's debatable with the Rangers ) and hockey. Big speedway with 2 Nascar races, 1 Indy car race, and lesser series. Nice new horseracing facility. Three minor league baseball teams, three Division 1 colleges, two major golf tourneys. Incredible high school sports. Fishing, hunting, boating all nearby.

Food: BBQ, Tex-Mex, Southern Home Cooking, Southwest and just about every international style you can imagine.

Downsides: The area sprawls with some lengthy commutes. Commuter rail still in infancy. Bus service is average. Succeptible to droughts, tornados and ice storms and serious thunderstorms. Roads becoming increasingly congested due to rapid population growth. Increasing number of former felons being signed by the Dallas Cowboys

Other upsides: diverse economy no longer concentrated in oil industry. Much growth in technology, health-care, transportation. However, Banking and finance being hit hard due to failures of subprime mortgage lending companies. Biggest airport (in size) on the planet. Largest amount of shopping/retail space per capita in the US. Finally, home to TWO Bass Pro Outdoor Worlds and 1 new Cabela's.