Give Northern Arizona a try. Flagstaff is in the largest ponderosa pine forest in the world, and is bordered to the north by a sacred strata volcano. It is the first STEM community in the US and the first Dark Sky City. Northern Arizona University provides funding for research, and the USGS has a large presence as well. The Grand Canyon south rim is an hour away for hiking, and Flag has a large river rat presence in town too. Sedona is 45 mins away off of the Mogollon Rim (the Southern edge of the Colorado plateau), and offers amazing red rock hiking and vortex Crystal magic if that is your thing. There is a large influence of the Navajo, Hopi and other tribes. I could go on and on. It’s a special place and the housing prices reflect that. It has been called “poverty with a view” by locals for more than a decade.

Oh, and AZ is the 3rd most bio diverse state in the union given its large elevational gradient and mixtures of different ecosystems like the Sonoran, Mojave, Colorado Plateau, Basin and Range, sky islands… also some of the birds found in the extreme south eastern portion of the state can be found no where else in the country so it’s a Mecca for birders as well.