A new Dice survey (PDF) suggests that the majority of technology professionals are happy with the area where they live. The data comes from 1,600 respondents in the United States during the month of September; in addition to level of happiness in their current location, Dice also asked about their level of satisfaction with commutes, housing, and local school systems. Although 58 percent of tech pros said they were either extremely happy or very happy with their area (and 33 percent described themselves as somewhat happy), many still had complaints about housing. For example, only 12 percent of tech employees in “major tech cities” such as San Francisco felt there was enough housing available (versus 23 percent in “non-major tech cities”). Another 46 percent felt that housing in those major urban areas was “too expensive,” versus 20 percent of those living in the “non-major” areas. In light of that, no wonder half of those surveyed said they would move to another city or state for a new job. That creeping dissatisfaction with the price of housing, especially in expensive cities, could end up putting pressure on employers to offer better compensation packages in hopes of persuading their best and brightest talent to stick around. Given how younger workers tend to switch cities and jobs more often than older peers, the challenges of retention will only grow in coming years.