I did exactly this -- I lived in Portland, OR and moved to Chicago, IL without a job lined up.
It was not easy, but I have a job I really love now! I definitely would not have gotten (or even considered) this position if I hadn't moved out here.
Definitely, do not expect to get the perfect job right away, and prepare to have 9 million existential crises lol, but if I could get through it, ANYONE can.
I would recommend finding a job ASAP -- and I recommend prioritizing a flexible job that pays the bills over a "foot in the door" kind of opportunity. Also, try to have some contacts lined up. Send out some cold emails and reach out to people on LinkedIn, and try to grab a cup of coffee with them to get some career advice. Leverage any contact you can... people are very friendly out here :)
I am not sure what your journey would look like, but I can share with you what mine was like! So, I have a math + philosophy degree (comp sci minor) from a state school, and I didn't know what kind of career I wanted, but I felt like I had foundational skills that could potentially apply to a few different industries (consulting, insurance, tech, finance/trading, etc.) Tbh, I moved to Chicago because there are highly reputable companies in every industry/field I was interested in. If I hated one industry, I could pretty easily jump to another.
I found a job through craigslist right away that allowed me to work remotely 80% of the time, so I could go on interviews + network + learn new skills + gain a better sense of what I want to do in life in my spare time. I didn't really like that job and I was living paycheck to paycheck, but I stuck with it for ~6 months. I eventually landed a job with an independent consulting firm and I am LOVING it so far. I feel trusted, valued, I learn A LOT every day, and I get to apply several of the skills I developed in college. Oh, and the value of my salary + benefits quadrupled over night which doesn't hurt haha.
So, for me, moving here is one of the best decisions I have made.... and sure it was a pretty big risk, but I don't think I have an outlier experience by any means. Went to an average college, got average grades, have average social skills, and I had 0 professional (or personal) connections before moving here.
The best part is, I genuinely feel like I have built and earned this life for myself, without anything getting "handed to me" per se (as I have in the past). Of course, I got tons of help along the way...but I like that I learned how/when to ask for it.
Some other advice:
- Don't tell interviewers that you moved here without a job lined up. It is a huge huge decision/risk to take... and I found it was tough to explain ALL of the reasoning that led me to this decision. But use your best judgement.
- The reason I chose to prioritize getting a flexible job over a "foot in the door" opportunity was because I had no clue what I wanted to do. It doesn't make sense to get my foot in the door of an industry that I am not interested in. If you have a more specific job in mind (like chemical engineer or pharmacist or something), then searching for a "foot in the door" opp right away might make more sense. But again, use your best judgement.
- It's corny AF, but keep believing in yourself!! You will encounter some people (mostly of the Boomer generation) who will think you are nuts and then offer really bad (+ condescending) "advice." It's all garbage that you have likely found through a google search already haha.
Sorry to give such a long winded response... but I relate to this very hard haha. Let me know if you have any questions/concerns!