As an ex-Ohio resident, I'm glad to hear Cinnci-tucky is growing with the times - maybe there's hope for Ohio yet. I was raised in Zanesville, but left home at 19 to live in San Diego. Echoing Alex's assessment of CA, the Bay and a few pockets along the coast (La Jolla, Santa Barbara, and a few others) are really the only cost prohibitive areas I'd say. Los Angeles and San Diego seem to have no shortage of IT jobs, and you can definitely live as frugally or expensive as you like, though it may make for a slightly longer commute. The nice thing about most of CA is that you're usually only a few hours drive from the mountains, the desert, and the beach if you're into any or all of those things. You might like the central coast if you want a small town vibe with things still going on, though it does seem there's much less of an IT job market (but it seems to be growing in the last 5 years).
Colorado is awesome. I've visited most of the cities mentioned in this thread already, and I'd agree with everyone's assessments so far.