Have to agree on ATL.

As much as it may fulfill the OP's other requirements, public transport here is really not so great. I guess it depends on what you are willing to bend on in your requirements; ATL or DCA/IAD wouldn't have the low cost of living, but RDU wouldn't have the good public transport.

Central NJ?

Close to EWR (SkyTeam hub), lots of public transportation throughout the region, cost of living isn't cheap, but you will be able to take advantage of NYC - so the cost is relative I suppose.

Iselin/Edison are both enormous hotbeds of Indian culture as well - great Indian restaurants, Short Hills & Menlo Park Malls, plus, it's about 70 minutes to Philly by train.

As odd as this is going to sound, check out SJU. Since the local economy is in the sh!!!er, they're doing whatever they can to attract new business... and that also means prices for a lot of things are subject to negotiation.

eg. My office rental lists for approx $1800/mo. I'm paying $1,000 and the owner of the building is picking up the power bill (which is quite a savings since I run 2 servers 24/7)

Unfortunately, it's not a Skyteam hub, but DL, CO, NW, and CM all fly here... and I've seen a handful of Aeromexico birds here in the past, so maybe seasonal service on their end.

Thank you all for your replies. Keep 'em coming!

ATL and EWR (NJ area) seem to be the front runners.

SJU is very interesting. I am worried it may escalate the cost of my domestic travels.

What do you guys think of MCO (Orlando) or Tampa bay area?

I, too vote for ATL. Dallas or Houston would be my 2nd choice, excepting public transportation. Those are also cities that you might want to start business in, as they are so big and fairly sound, financially speaking.

Good luck!

MCO and TPA would both fulfill your requirements... except that they have almost no public transportation to speak of.

I think it depends on which of your priorities are highest, as no city has the best (or even nearly the best) of everything.

First, there is no rule that says you need to live in a hub to have good access to a particular carrier. I live in a non-hub city that has great access to MSP, thereby making it easy for me to fly NW. Pretty much any city in the eastern half of the US would likewise have good access to a hub for NW, DL, and/or CO.

Next, if public transportation and cultural/entertainment activities are your priorities, go for Washington. The metro is awesome and can get you to DCA in no time for little cost. From DCA, you can catch flights on all of the domestic SkyTeam carriers. As others have said, cost of living is higher than a place like Atlanta, Tampa or Orlando, but you get something in exchange for that higher cost. (By the way, many of the cultural activities in Washington are free, including some of the greatest museums in the world.)

If cost of living is your priority, some of the other cities mentioned will indeed be cheaper. I'd throw in Jacksonville as well, but once again, public transportation and cultural opportunities are way behind what you'd get in Washington. On balance, I'd choose Washington if you can find something in your price range.

Another vote for ATL.

I have to echo the Atlanta suggestions for the best approximation of your complete set of requirements. If you could put them in order (from least to most willing to compromise on), we could give you other options to consider.

DCA/IAD/BWI

You don't have to get that far out of the city to lower your cost of living, and still have access to a better public transportation than ATL by a long shot!

Why the East Coast? If you're traveling around the country, a location in the Central Time Zone might cause less wear-and-tear on you in terms of the length of your trips and time changes. Have you considered Dallas or Chicago?

Public transport and the climate needs are the problems here.

No US city (outside off maybe NYC, D.C., Boston, Chicago, etc.) have public transport that would be considered "decent" by the rest of the world.

If you loosen up on climate, Chicago, Detroit & Minneapolis could be doable. Cleveland is a Continental (ST) hub, that links well to the rest of the world. CLE is also very affordable, and depending on where you live has decent public transport. The SW side has decent winters but no tranport. The E-NE side has good transport but crappy winters.

If climate matters - ATL.

CVG is really a nice city, and is not the cultural backwater others have alluded to. No public transport though. Cheap cost of living, but really high airfares though.

Houston may be a good choice actually. No transportation but it's dirt cheap and CO has their giga-hub. Fares are astronomical however.

Also hotter than hades in the summer which you seem to like.

If you do loosen up your requirements, could consider MSP since it's basically a mid-america hub and it's really not a bad place to be despite being so cold.

What do you guys think of Memphis, TN (MEM)? Is it a contender?