"Don't want small town big cities. Aka, cities who's economy/livelihood revolves around 1 or 2 things: e.g. A university (Austin), country music (Nashville)"
Austin and Nashville are very definitely NOT one-industry cities, as you suggest they are......Austin is also the capital of Texas and has a thriving tech industry (also derisively nicknamed the "People's Republic Of Austin" and "Moscow On The Colorado" for its liberal reputation).....and Nashville has big-tech and several large colleges.......very diverse economies in both cities......
despite the cold winters, if I were you...........