It's a lot like many places without significant industry and nice quality of life. Less expensive than more "hot spot" areas, but wages are out of whack with the cost of living for most people. You definitely pay a premium relative to general wages to live in a nice place like this.
That said, there are many people who do quite well for themselves here, and they seem to love it. But it's not really a place where you can advance quickly by moving between companies. Most employees here seem to be lifers.
In terms of tech, there's not much to report. I got my current job through a personal recommendation, but was preparing to move away right before that happened. There are a couple of smaller tech companies, but otherwise developers pretty much work for the university, the hospital, W.L. Gore, Deckers Outdoor, or they work remotely (last year I met a principal architect from Blackboard who apparently lives here and works remotely for them). There are no meetups that I know of, and almost all of the jobs are .NET/JVM enterprise-y integrations and IT stuff. I'm sure there are little pockets that I'm not aware of, but there's only like 70k people who live here anyway.
So, uh, I guess my view of the economy is rather dim :). But that's not why one moves to this area -- it's the urban trail system, the backyard national forest, the easy access to the entire southwest, the low crime rates, the fresh air, the friendly people, the liberal mountain town vibe, the microbreweries, etc.
