One of the things that I love about living in Tampa while doing technology consulting traveling around the country is the cost of living. The cost of living is so low that I can afford to do anything that I want to do while still having a lot left over for savings.
This was by far the best thing about living just outside of Orlando (and, in the long run, the only good thing). I spend more now to live in Minnesota, and the tunnel vision exhibited by Silicon Valley and San Francisco residents is an ever-nagging reminder of how vastly different perspectives are within just this profession, and how difficult it can be to see solutions when you're mired too deeply in the problem.
One of the things that makes it difficult living in this area is the lack of people with similar interests. I usually spend time with some friends from high school who are motivated in similar ways to me. Random bars, though, forget it. I get too much of my social interactions that I identify with during the week with coworkers.