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Dallas - Does have the large transplant population, large job market, and highly affordable prices. Is not walkable, has mediocre Public transit, and I would not ditch the car in this city. Might be too spread out for your liking. Not very outdoorsy.
Philadelphia: Not sure about job market. Very affordable. Probably decent public transit and is walkable. Outdoorsy I wouldn't think so in the light that you are thinking of.
Chicago: I feel it fits your criteria the most and isn't crazy expensive. I'm just not sure about the status of the industries you are referring to in Chicago though. Finance probably is huge here but everything else I don't know.
Boston: Good transit, highly walkable, large transplant population. I feel like it's somewhat outdoorsy in terms of parks. It's getting too expensive though and creeping up on NYC style prices. I feel though that the industries that you are looking into are very prevalent here.
Other cities that come to mind: Portland, Seattle (Both are getting California style expensive though), Minneapolis.
Don't know enough about Dallas or Boston to comment on them, but will comment on the other two:
Chicago: Great public transit network if you are in the city itself (or Evansville)...Job market is good, but not incredible, But is pretty robust across most areas (Philly is stronger in biotech though I believe). Of course, you have Chicago beaches and parks which are nice in the summer and are fun to explore. Winters are pretty brutal with the wind off the lake, but the rest of the year (including summer USUALLY) is pretty nice and fairly reasonable. Cost of living is slightly high, but nothing too outrageous with many options, depending on what you're looking for.
Philly: Very good public transit network, although subway/el network suffers vastly compared with Chicago. Yet, bus system is quite robust. Job market is slightly weaker than Chicago overall, but is quite strong in biotech and pharmaceuticals, etc. Outdoorsy stuff is good, but you don't have the beaches. Fairmount Park is quite nice, but is rather lacking in upkeep compared to what it could be. Winters are significantly less brutal than Chicago, but summers are a bit worse (still only a relatively short period of time-maybe very end of June to mid/late August that is really tough; even most of June is decent). Cost of living is a bit lower than Chicago's, but is going up somewhat quickly.
Someone else mentioned Pittsburgh. I hear way more people bring it up than Minneapolis and it's weather is much milder. Back to your original cities your taking trips to. Although Bostons not as expensive as San Fran or NY, it's still quite expensive.
I love Philly and I hear more and more people talking about it all the time. With University City booming with new activity, and being on the east coast, it's an extremely diverse city that gets a lot of transplants from New York looking for a less costly lifestyle.
Chicago isn't much more expensive than Philly but it's definitely noticeable. Ironic since Chicago's actually losing people. Also because it's in the interior, foreigners aren't flocking there as much as they are the west coast and east coast.
Rather than Dallas I personally would go with Houston because of the coastline, beaches, and milder weather. Houston's more cosmopolitan.
The climate isn't much different at all, Minneapolis is not "extreme" like people think. The winter is a little colder, and gets a little more snow, but not as much as you'd think. They're also right around the same humidity levels throughout the year.
Pittsburgh Avg.Temps- June 79, 61. July 83, 66. August 82,63
December 41, 25. January 37, 21. February 40,22. Average Snowfall- 38"
Minneapolis- June 79, 59. July 83,64. August 80,62
December 27,12. January 25,10. February 29, 13. Average Snowfall- 45"
I'd say Atlanta. It has, IMO, the best balance of a good economy, COL/Buying Power, good outdoor assets, good climate, and good public transit. Some of the other metros mentioned like Seattle and Denver may not have NYC or Bay Area price tags, but they're heading in that direction fast. They're no longer affordable and it's only going to get worse. I'd go with Atlanta.
This x100 in regards to COL of Seattle, Denver, etc...
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