I am in the same situation, but only considering a relocation.

All I have is an anecdotal, personal case response.

You should look to see what types of jobs are out there just to get a feel. Write letters to practice.

I have contacted employment agencies directly, and they will not consider anything until you are actually relocated.

The jobs in the listings are the tip of the iceberg. I find the bulk of the stuff on Careerbuilders, etc to be employment agencies, and the bulk of the stuff on Craigslist to be anonymous postings that could be scams. Any non-scam responses from Craigslist have been through posts that mention the company's name.

If you have companies in mind, directly check their website career listings. Likewise, make a list or related companies and do the same. I find this difficult because the listings are constantly changing, and it is something that has to be check consistently. Now if there are 10 or more companies of interest, it gets tedious. Also, there are so many company career listings to sift through, it is daunting and needs to be checked in little batches.

I have applied directly to out-of-state companies, but with the qualifier of my intentions to move and that I can immediately fly out on a moment's notice for an interview. I have not had any responses (but I also have not had very many responses from in-state as well).

What I am considering is that:

1) Maybe I should make and distribute a resume with my potential new address

2) With this, submit the resume a week or two before heading out there as I have had an instance, maybe two, where a response of interest was received 30 days after the resume submission

If you know exactly when you plan to move, start looking right before. Most employers do not hold on to an admin/clerical resume for months on end as it is easily filled. You don't want your resume to end up in a forgotten stack. So--once you have your date, start checking out the market there and what it looks like by looking at ALL of their employment ads. (remember that the economy has made the job market rough--pay scales are not what they were before and you can't demand the highest rate) So, a few weeks before your move--start looking at actual open jobs. Keep in mind, most companies want to filll these positions quickly, so don't send your resume to far in advance.

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