[dennmart]

About a week before my contract for my job in New York City was up, I decided to take the plunge and try my hand in landing some work in the Bay Area. In less than a week, I had been contacted by four companies here, and was offered a position by one of them, which I accepted. I asked them to give me three weeks to be able to move - This meant selling whatever I couldn't afford to move, flying out here to find an apartment and preparing to start a totally new life by myself. They had no problem with that, and let me know that if I needed more time, that I could let them know.

I'd say you should start approaching companies about a solid month before you're going to move here. That should give you enough time to find a good fit, enough time for your new employer to prepare for you, and enough time to for you to begin preparing for the long move. Best of luck!