LA - too big an area to summarize, could be anywhere. Plenty of choice on great places to live, almost all with a significant commute.
San Fran - what, in the City? High cost of living, but if you're near a BART station, you can actually live across the bay as far away as Concord and Walnut Creek or down the peninsula a bit from the City, which would also work. Bay area people loooove the Bay area. NoCal isn't for me though, so the question is, are you the NoCal type or the SoCal type?
San Diego - Chernabog loved it when he lived there. Easy access to lower-priced areas, but San Diego made a recent list of most overpriced (compared to avg income) cities in America. So did LA. Not OC though
Pasadena - Beautiful. South Pasadena gets a bit sketchy, but for the most part Pasadena is awesome
Reno - Haven't lived there. Haven't heard anyone rave about living there. Prices will be quite decent though, and you're close to skiing in Tahoe.
Las Vegas - Like SoCal, only REALLY far inland. Not quite as nice a place to live as it was 5 years ago because it grew so much, but I loved it there. Avoid Summerlin unless you like HOA interference level set to "Nazi". However, that whole west side, up the hill from the strip is a great place to live. A lot of the new stuff on the southwest end should be great. Prices have been declining a bit, but they gained a lot beforehand. Still, compared to CA, much more affordable.
Phoenix - Saw a LoT of growth in the boom. Sellers suffering now. Could probably bargain and pick up a deal from over-invested speculators
Tucson - no idea
Sacramento - Depends. Some nice rural and suburban areas. Not far from Tahoe, but not as close as Reno
Spokane - no idea
Portland - no idea
Medford - no idea
Honolulu - Well hey, it's Hawaii. Prices are high though. But... it's Hawaii.
Santa Ana - You wouldn't wanna live *in* Santa Ana necessarily, but plenty of great areas within close commuting distance, and it's near Disneyland! You'd have LoTers near you in Garden Grove, Orange, Lake Forest, Costa Mesa, just all around you!
Fairbanks - Alaska? Gorgeous landscape and about 8 men to every woman (as they say, "The odds are good, but the goods are odd.") Actually, I don't know, I've never been there myself.
Boise - I keep hearing buzz about Idaho. It's probably nice.
Billings - no idea
Anchorage - Alaska?
Juneau - They really want you in Alaska, don't they?
Riverside - "The I.E." It's where people move to when OC is too expensive. Really grown in the last few years. The area gets mixed reviews, some love it, some don't.
Woodland Hills - it's like, The Valley, okay? I grew up in Chatsworth, not far from there. Nice place, but I see the Valley as a declining area. Still, would be a decent choice to start with.
Fresno - growth area. No longer "dee ends of dee urt" like it once was. Some folks say it's quite nice.
Oakland - no. Okay, not "no", but you'll want to commute in. Like San Fran, consider coming in from Walnut Creek
San Jose - Not wholly familiar with the area, but probably alright. Dot com boom had an effect on prices. Pixar is near there.
Missoula - I have one friend in Montana... she can't wait to leave. She's in Missoula. However, she does like the wild areas.