I avoided listing my criteria because I wanted an unfiltered idea of what people here consider a "good place to live." Since you asked, though, I'll tell you my areas so far:

In the United States, I am looking for cities and areas that show some forward thinking and planning (generally determined by looking at their environmental measures and infrastructure as well as their economic history), a healthy population (generally aligned with a good healthcare system), and an active intelligence community (libraries are my field so, aside from personal enjoyment of intelligent groups to associate with, this helps in securing a job). Some cities on my list: Austin, Texas; Boulder, Colarado; the Bay area of California; the Research Triangle of North Carolina; the northern area of Vermont and New Hampshire (more for environment and well being); and the Seattle area of Washington.

Outside of the U.S. I am looking at countries that display much the same qualities. A strong economy and infrastructure, an active intelligent division, a reliable healthcare system. Countries of interest so far are: Luxembourg, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdoms. I'm also looking at Canada, especially for its proximity to the U.S. and the main providers of cyronics should that become a factor in my decision making.