I was able to completely change my entire life with a long distance job hunt. You just have to be smart about it. In my case, before moving, I found a friend just over the border from the state where I wanted to move and crashed at his house for a few days. I took the train into the city where I wanted to work and went to pre-scheduled job fairs with copies of my resume and my portfolio to show potential employers. Luckily, a few of them bit and invited me back to give demonstrations within that week. I was offered a job by three of the employers, made my pick, and had a month to move to the new state. The moving part was made a lot easier with ads on Craigslist. I just lived in a rented room with no credit check for a few months until I could find something more permanent.
It can be a little scary to pack up your whole life, roll the dice, and move somewhere completely new, but it really does work out if you plan everything properly. In the span of a couple years, I went from shitty credit, an empty bank account, an abusive relationship, and no employment opportunities to great credit, investments and a healthy emergency fund, marriage to someone wonderful, and full employment.