I am looking to move away from the DC metro area, preferably to a suburban area that is not too far (30 min or less) from good shopping malls and places to get good jobs (My husband is a mechanical engineer, I am a psychology major looking for my first real job). I would really like to live in a place that doesn’t get too much snow, is not really hot either (less than 100F), has lots of cultural diversity, but is not incredibly fast paced and has a bit less traffic. Do such places exist in the U.S.? If so tell me about them please. Thank you in advance for any help 
Check out the Tampa/St. Pete area. If hubby has a security clearance, he can probably find a job down here in a day or less. Lots and lots of medical things going on here too (huge VA complex, USF, etc.). It does get hot down here, but I got used to it, it’s better than having to guess what to wear every day or chipping ice off your windshield every winter morning. There is a fairly diverse culture in this area, I judge that by the variety of restaurants available. I think there are about 2 million people in the Tampa/St. Pete area. The traffic here is what I consider moderate, after living in Chicago many years. They have planned things out fairly well here, the busy streets are wide enough to handle the rush hour and the traffic lights are intelligent. I love it here, come on down!!!
Consider a weekend just 90 miles south in Richmond. We get just about the same weather as DC, though.
Richmond has a lot of industry were your husband could find work…a few off the top of my head are:
Capital One
Philip Morris
Infineon Semi-Conductor
Xerox
AMF
Brown and Williamson
Overnite Transportation
Perot Systems
Nabisco
Verizon
Federal Reserve
State Government
Dominion/VA Power
DuPont
Chaparel Steel
…and many more…
In addition to 5 hospitals within the metro area, each with psyche opportunities, we have MCV, which does a lot fo research in that area.
For food we have good steak (general american cuisine), Cuban, Chinese, Indian, Thai, Italian, REAL Mexican, Greek and many more types you may enjoy.
Getting around is pretty easy and are always 15 minutes from a rural park, a dance club, an Irish pub, great food, the theater, good shopping, a quiet neighborhood etc etc…
We have a lot of history here as well if you into that. We are inveesting substancial amount into our riverfront area modeling it after the Riverwalk in San Antonio, TX.
We are close and may be worth a look.
Thanks guys, we’ll consider both places Anyone else?
Well, I’m a New Englander at heart, so you aren’t going to like most of my suggestions. If I wanted to move to someplace warmer, I’d go to either the Tampa/St Pete or Florida Keys areas. Keys are probably out because of your job requirements. I don’t think that you are going to find one single place that meets all of your criteria in the US, maybe San Francisco? Costs, housing especially, are high there, though. What are prices in Marin County like?
You could try the Pacific Northwest. I would, if I could.
Orlando… Disney and Universal are almost always looking for experienced civil and aeronautical engineers to build new rides and improve old ones, and you won’t have to worry about drunken folks in pirate costumes (well, other than my friends) accosting you every Sunday…
Also, land values are skyrocketing so if you’re gonna get in, now is the time to do so.
I’m bucking for Bellingham. But I’d settle for Seattle.
I really liked San Fran when we visited there a few years ago, it was just that constant wind that was a bit annoying. A perfect place my not exist, but I can certainly look for it. Thanks guys, any more suggestions?
The closer you are to NYC, the closer you are to a high concentration of psych clients…
LOL, if it were not for the snow in winter, I would so move to NY!
Jacksonville, FL. Plus I’m about to put my house on the market so you can buy it and both of our problems will be solved! 
El Hubbo and I had the same conundrum about seven years ago. We bought Places Rated Almanac and used it to find our way to Minneapolis-St. Paul.
The book rates all 354 metropolitan areas in the U.S. and Canada in nine areas, giving all equal weighting. It also teaches you how to weight the categories according to your preferences, so you can create your own list. Great book; we’re still happy with the results we got.
Wow, that is a cooincidence! I have an Aunt and 2 cousins who live in Jacksonville Definately a thought.
When are you looking to move? We won’t have the finances to even think about buying a house till at least Dec or Jan though, so unless you want to wait that long, can’t help you there FairyChatMom 
Thanks for the offer and hope you find a buyer.
Actually, I don’t have to be gone until June 1 - I’ve still got to get my daughter thru her senior year of high school. But we decided to go on the market now rather than hope we can sell in the spring. The way I look at it, if we don’t sell by November, I’ll have it delisted until after the holidays. Oh, and we’re just outside Jax, in Orange Park - truth in advertising, you know.
This area of Florida isn’t too bad. It does have seasons, but winter might last a few weeks at most. Since I moved here in '83, I’ve seen it snow twice, and both times, it all melted before noon. If you like water-related activities or golf, this is a great place to live.
As for me, I want to move to Maryland and live with my husband again. Just gotta get thru the school year…
You leave in Springfield and have never been to VA Beach? We’re only two and a half hours south. Besides NoVA, the city of VA Beach has the lowest unemployment in the state. From “downtown” VAB, downtown Norfolk, Chesapeake and Hampton are less than 30 minutes away. VAB has two large malls (both comparable to Springfield mall), is 20 minutes from the new McArthur mall in Norfolk (very upscale, like the Galleria in Bethesda). Our traffic jams (well, except for the tunnel during summer months) are a joke compared to DC. (People around here cannot comprehend taking 45 minutes to go ten miles on a Saturday, let alone taking 30 minutes to drive 20 miles in “rush hour”)
BTW, I was raised in NoVA, why else would I live elsewhere?
Now that I reside permanently in Palm Springs, I find myself missing Sacramento more and more. Lived there for many years, and try to go back once or twice a year. The weather may be too hot for you, although it does cool off at night in summer. Not really humid but it will reach 100 degrees. And the winter weather can be foggy and drippy at times, but no snow.
If you wanted to be away from traffic, you would have to head into the foothills. But there’s plenty going on in Sac., and it’s only 2 hours to both Lake Tahoe (east) or Bay Area (west). But Sac has its own cultural activities, good shopping, and a shitload of trees.
Oh yeah, I still have a condo there, if you’re interested…
You might consider Alburquerque, NM. It’s not quite as metropolitan as you might like–the city is about half a million, I think–but it’s not devoid of culture.
I loved the weather. It occasionally gets hot, but with no humidity, you don’t really care, and it cools down at night. We lived in a big, new expensive house and it didn’t come with refrigerated air–just a swamp cooler–because it wasn’t needed. It does snow a couple times each year, but not often and not hard. It is cold, but again, dry and cold.
Their is a huge air force base in town, so there are government and government related jobs for engineers, and Alburquerqus, as a legacy from it’s days as a hotspot for TB sanatariums, has a truly remarkable number of mental institutions and research facilities.
Sac is a nice place, but it does hit 100 degrees for a couple of weeks each summer. No snow.
Otherwise, you might try San Diego, Long Beach, Santa Monica, Burbank, Oxnard, Santa Cruz, San Jose, Oakland, or Berkeley, California. However, coastal areas can be pricey.
Austin, Texas is also nice.
Actually, I have been to Va beach area a few times and have thought about it on and off, but thanks for the suggestion anyway BF.