Large Research Institutes Geographically close to Texas (looking for Tech job)

Hello, I am a recent college graduate with a few months of full time lab tech experience. I have some experience with plasmid construction, PCR, western blot, etc- the standard stuff. I have been looking for research tech jobs for the last ~3-4 months and have filled out upwards of 100 applications to only get 4 interviews and no positions. Although I have had interviews at MD Anderson, Baylor College of Medicine, and UTSW I feel these places may be too competitive so I am looking for places that may be less competitive but still have a number of openings for hire. I recently have applied to some positions at OU HSC and University of Alabama at Birmingham. If anyone could direct me to an institute in the South that does a lot of research I would appreciate it.

Or any geographic region really where it is feasible to live on a tech salary and that would be willing to hire someone from out of region Thank you