[mntrsx]

In the US there is the Silicon Valley, but what about more exotic places like SEA, EE or Latin America?

[Cortés]

As a programmer you could get a job anywhere in the US and telecommute. You could live anywhere in the world and not worry about getting a work permit, certain type of visa, etc

[Moma]

If your job is location independent then why mention it in regards to location? Your question should be "What are the top location for a man interested in so and so type of lizard or <insert desired environmental climate>?"

[456]

Big location advantage: anywhere you can find Businesses as Clients to Solve Problems For.

That's what the most successful programmers do -- they understand their client's business needs and engineer solutions that respect resource constraints. It's not about the most ideal tech, or inventing something new.

So any big city with growing businesses that have processes to be automated. Save a business money, employee-time, headaches, or literally make them more money (sales pipeline, checkout optimization, etc.), and you can charge a nice cut (think of a nice cut then translate it to hourly or weekly rates). Always be able to show your ROI to clients.