Where the Affordable Homes Are: "If you want a housing bargain in the Southwest, head for the Lone Star State. The housing boom seems to have passed right over Texas. ... You'd be hard-pressed to find a bargain anywhere in California, which is probably the most overvalued state in the Union. In the San Francisco metro area, the median price is $722,000." —BusinessWeek

Hint to would-be Boom 2.0 startup founders: lower cost of living means lower salary OPEX, which ultimately means more wealth-creation bang for your VC buck.