Skurj...I'm too lazy to read the entire thread, so if this has already been mentioned or is now off topic I, well, I still don't care, but I thought I'd mention it. Check out Oregon, specifically the Willamette Valley. Great place to live, ocean about an hour away, desert about two hours away, snow and mountains about an hour away, and plenty of crap to do between Eugene, Salem, and Portland. Anyhow, it ain't hot year round by any stretch of the imagination, but worth looking into - it doesn't snow much in the valley.
SOB