If you don't mind heading up north...

East Lansing, MI!! I grew up there. It's a friendly midwestern college town with a large university (Michigan State), a well educated community, no traffic to speak of, decent number of bars, theaters, bookstores, etc. Convenient train service to Chicago, the beaches of Lake Michigan are <2 hours drive away, plenty of open space.

Drivers have always been courteous to cyclists, in my experience. Also housing prices are very low compared to on the east coast. EL population is 40,000 permanent + 40,000 students, the greater Lansing metro population is maybe 1/2 million. Many of my friends there work at technology or automotive companies.

Oh yeah, and the ground is flat. Flat flat flat, with these pathetic little hills that won't even make you shift