I moved from Chicago (One of the cheaper "big cities" that actually has jobs), to a medium sized city (population: 250k).

I got almost double the house size, and 1/2 of grass to call my own... but now I can't walk anywhere, and life is too short to spend it on a mower. Plus I now spend a ton to take care of my house/yard, and I need a car, etc. etc.

Big city life is the way to go ;)