Young college graduates and mid-life career changers entering the technology field must migrate to a city with the best chance of succeeding. The best places to live in US for tech contain obvious cities for tech fields and under-the-radar surprises.

Silicon Valley

The "Silicon Valley" area of San Jose, Sunnyvale, & Santa Clara is popular due to various tech innovators, manufacturers, and millionaires residing here. Half of the San Francisco Bay Area, these cities contain startup companies, technology centers, research parks, and scientific businesses. With 39 companies in the Fortune 1000 and home to Intel, Google, Apple, & Facebook, Silicon Valley is supreme.

San Francisco Bay

The other half of the San Francisco Bay Area includes San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont. These Northern California cities benefit from nearby Silicon Valley's popularity in tech and are alternatives to Silicon Valley. Start-ups and established names like Twitter, Pandora, Lyft, Logitech, Fitbit, LinkedIn, Yahoo, and Uber call San Francisco home, and that's only a small portion of job opportunities here.

Austin

One of two Texas cities on the list, Austin doesn't just keep it weird. From Dell to South by Southwest, the city is the premier Southwest destination for tech; Facebook, Google, and IBM offices back those claims. Southern tech seekers who appreciate a culture-filled city, affordable housing, great cost of living, exceptional schools, excellent weather, and live music will adore Austin.

Dallas

While not as prestigious as Austin in tech fields, Dallas can hold its own thanks to well-known companies hiring tech candidates. Twenty-two Fortune 500 companies, including AT&T, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Kimberly-Clark, Exxon Mobil, and Texas Instruments reside here; non-tech companies (JC Penney, 7-11, etc.) offer tech positions too. With plenty to do and affordable housing, the sky's the limit for tech candidates in Dallas.

Research Triangle

The research triangle in North Carolina is a hidden tech mecca in the Southeast. Cities within the Raleigh-Durham area thrive because businesses specializing in technology have offices here along with the colleges to train tech hopeful. Examples include IBM, Cisco, GSK, and RTI International. In closing, job seekers who crave an affordable Silicon Valley will try the Research Triangle.

Boston

Tech opportunists seeking residence on the East Coast should venture upward to Boston. With MIT offering majors in technology, Boston should naturally compete in the tech space, and it succeeds by offering jobs at various software and web companies. Along with MIT, expect tech jobs at Wayfair, Constant Contact, Hubspot, and TripAdvisor, just to name a few.

Washington DC

The nation's capital doesn't spring to mind when a person thinks about entering a technology field, but don't overlook this gem. The state and federal government departments fuel endless tech jobs. Additionally, tech fields spring up in start-ups, private sectors, programming, and computer systems design.

Seattle

This Pacific Northwest city doesn't get much credit in technology due to the San Francisco Bay Area's popularity, but it's a west coast city to watch. The king of online sales, Amazon, resides here; Microsoft and Boeing have establishments here. Westerners who value affordability will love Seattle.

Nashville

Stereotyped in music, no one would consider Nashville as a tech mecca. Still, it's surprising to tech opportunists how progressive Nashville is in the technology field. Most tech jobs originate from the thriving healthcare industry. Other tech jobs originate from companies offering data programming, engineering, mathematics, systems design, military defense, computers, and IT positions.

Huntsville

A two-hour drive south of Nashville takes you to Alabama. A hidden gem in tech, Huntsville is flyover to most job seekers yet reading about Cummings Research Park and NASA's space flight center will give job seekers double takes. Besides a thriving tech industry, Huntsville competes with Indianapolis for lowest cost of living and housing.

Indianapolis

Look past the Indy 500 NASCAR series stereotype and you'll appreciate Indianapolis for its tech scene. Home to three Fortune 500 companies, Indianapolis contains jobs from businesses containing mathematics, programming, system design, and internet ventures. Low cost of living and housing complete the package.

People with careers in technology can live anywhere in the country. Nevertheless, these cities offer the best opportunity for success. As always, research for cost of living, weather, and leisure activities before migrating.