Hijacking this a bit: for you folks who've relocated, how did you handle getting connected to the tech community in your new city, and eventually finding a job there? Did you find something beforehand (if so, how), or just start interviewing once you're on the ground and established?

I've contemplated this before, and make a point to check out jobs in other cities when I'm job hunting, but it's hard to ignore the local recruiters who just send me local jobs out of the blue so I always end up staying where I am. I'm currently in LA, and am somewhat interested in relocating to somewhere with a similar/warmer climate, lower cost of housing, equivalent/better outdoor recreation opportunities, and not-awful startup/software scene. I've considered Denver, SLC, Bend, and Phoenix pretty strongly, but haven't found anything that lines up yet.