I don’t know anything about the Salk Institute, but San Diego might suit you–lovely climate, not too big, somewhat of an easygoing/surfer vibe despite all the military.
Tampa is like if you put up a strip mall in a goat’s rectum. Don’t do it.
Tampa is out anyway. They didn’t offer me the job. They wanted somebody with more biology experience. San Francisco didn’t either, they wanted somebody who could start sooner.
Currently, in the running, is San Diego, Germany and Switzerland. In that these three have expressed an interest. I also have a bunch of applications for faculty positions, but I have not heard back on those yet.
I’d love to live in Switzerland, so that would be my first choice for sure.
New Zealand sounds great, but it is so darn far from anything and anybody I know. Germany and then San Francisco would be my 2nd and 3rd choices.