Best investing markets in California, Nevada, Texas and Utah

[Nicole Jones]

I know this is a loaded question because these states combined cover a rather large territory but the deal is that I live (and own) in Central California and have been considering investing out of state for the obvious reasons. I want to keep it on the Western side for a few years because my fiancé works in sales and travels through these states on a consistent basis anyway. What are the markets/areas/cities worth looking into to narrow my search?