Sure, yeah, that's basically where I was coming from. I'm not 100% set on moving yet, just testing the waters. I have some personal connections at large companies that I intend to use to get referrals into the hiring pipeline when I do actually move, because that's apparently the only way to reliably get interviews at the huge places. For now, it was a lot of applying to jobs online with targeted resumes/cover letters at smaller to mid-sized startups in SF/bay area. There really just are a huge amount in the 20-50 person size range.

I found that once I actually got an interview or two, it was like a bit of a waterfall. I applied to companies X, Y, Z. When I got an interview at X, I emailed Y and Z and said I'm interviewing elsewhere and if all goes well plan to be in SF, and would love to interview with you. I think this is confirmation bias at play or whatever, because that really seemed to help get additional interviews.

Sure, kind of answered below! I'm more than happy to answer additional questions.