it sounds like houston is your place. but it's very cheap to live and you'll easily find a good job, so the money will go a lot further. it's car central, with loads of parking and roads (doesn't even have a subway), and you have an enormous amount of personal space if you choose to walk anywhere. men are very monogamous and plentiful. it's very much not a place focused on the arts, hip trends or a food culture (though you can get some great food there if you look). out door stuff doesn't stack up against all the stuff within an hour of NYC, it's true, but the NYC summer is the weather 3/4 of the year in houston.
seattle isn't going to be for you, if weather, cars, personal space and cost of living is a big thing for you. the rain is no joke, and the city is on a massive development spree that's eliminating parking spaces and car lanes, and throwing up condo buildings to meet the demand, as the throngs flood in and rents spiral upward.
san diego is great but it's hard to imagine what work you could get and, there again, you're paying california prices for everything.
no, really, houston is your place. check it out.