Pittsburgh. Housing prices are ~20% below the national average and we have a growing technology sector with CMU and offices for Google, Apple, and Uber employees. Some startups here, like Duolingo. This is technically the rust belt, but you can still find "big city" amenities with a small town feel.
I second Pittsburgh. I moved from Cambridge to Pittsburgh 10 years ago after my first child was born. I have had no trouble finding interesting projects to work on at decent pay. I live in a great neighborhood (Point Breeze) and my 3 kids go to a good school.
Cambridge was great when I was single, but after I got married and had a kid, it didn't look that great. Once I started looking for a place to raise a family, the only affordable options had killer commutes. Pittsburgh is great for families. I highly recommend it.
