I am keeping my eyes on Boulder, CO. From what I hear, good university, good business climate, willing to take initiatives (Smart Grid being rolled out as we type).
Boulder _is_ a good example of how to foster a tech hub. Wired had a print story about this a few months back, but I couldn't find it on their site. Though they did claim that Colorado's Front Range is an optimal site for a new SV. Given time, I agree.
I can say that there is a very open and supportive start-up culture here (Boulder & Denver metro). Tech Meetups and LUG groups are pretty active; the new-tech group based in Boulder routinely overfills 300-seat auditoriums and is expanding to handle the traffic. Most tech folks here have the mentality of wanting others to succeed, no matter if it is with our own companies or with a different one. We are happy to share knowledge.
Sorry no beachfront though, you'd have to settle for the best mountain sports anywhere.
Now if they only had ocean access... :)