Today, applying for jobs is mostly passe. Make sure- by paying a professional if you have to- that your resume as the right “keywords” for the industries and jobs you want. Post said resume on Monster, etc. Headhunters send out “'bots” to search the resumes looking for the keywords, then* they* contact you.
pbbth- why move if your company is not transferring you? 
From what I know Dallas dudes will likely not be Happy in the Big Apple.
The reason I am moving is because though I am in Dallas, I am not a southern belle at heart. I hate being surrounded by republicans (no offense conservative dopers!), I hate that I have to have a car and have what amounts to no sort of public transportation, I hate that the idea of culture in my neck of the woods is going to a chili cook-off, etc. I love the theater and would love nothing more than to be able to live near broadway! I have been to NYC and I felt at home there in a way I do not feel here in Dallas. I have known since I was 17 that I can’t stay here in Dallas and now that I am 24 it is time to get the hell out. My lease comes up exactly 10 days after a good friend of mine graduates and we both have several thousand saved up so we can live in the city, so that is the time to go. If I moved today I have 3 months worth of living expenses not counting the money I have set aside in my emergency fund and the $$ I will get when I sell my car. I am just neurotic and I’d feel useless and pathetic without a job so I would like to avoid that if I can. I know it would be that much harder to find work if you seem desperate and freaked out all the time so better to try and take care of that now 
FWIW I have had my resume reviewed by a headhunter and he helped me get everything as perfect as it can be so that I am getting the full potential out of it. He also coached me through several mock interviews for a position with a major company here in Dallas that ended up not being right for me.
Then you are ready to go pbbth!
You have money and you are neurotic…sounds like a native New Yorker to me!
You are going to do just fine. I moved there with less, and not only did I survive, I thrived in that city!
You are going to love NYC…it is the most exciting place to live on earth, and I have been around. Granted, it is non-stop and the competition is fierce - but it sounds like you are up to the challenge.
You are going for some very good reasons, and I have no doubt you will succeed - you are exactly what NYC needs - young, eager and ready to go. I seriously think your only problem will be which job to take, and which direction you want to go once you arrive…keep those options open and please, please, please - do NOT take the first job offered! Take a deep breath once you get there and weigh your options. Start off by shooting for the moon - go for your dream job! This is your big chance, dude…unless you get desperate, don’t screw it up by just taking the first paying job you are offered. Think career track - it will be very important in the future.
Thanks, I appreciate the positive words. It is a little overwhelming to be planning on changing your entire life! I know I will do fine but I can’t help the neurosis 
I think my favorite web comic said it best:
Did I mention that my new job is producing TV news? And that my old job in New York was writing for a certain national morning show?
You will have an incredibly difficult time getting into media in New York if you don’t already know someone to give you a foot in the door. There are literally THOUSANDS of young people with your background trying to do the same thing. So many that a typical morning show gets hundreds of applicants lining up for the chance to spend three months as an upaid intern.
If you’re pretty, have a semi-decent clip reel, AND your own car, News 12 (a local New York City station) will be willing to give you a looksee and if you are lucky offer you a job as a reporter. It pays $20k or so, which will cover your share of the rent, some of your gas money, and let you go to food banks.
New York One (another local station, the better known one, sorta owned by CNN) won’t even bother looking at your resume. If you haven’t been in the city for three years, the human resources department throws your resume in the trash can. So far as I can tell, Human Resources at New York One continually posts jobs for the sole purpose of having mail come into the building so they can look busy – then someone from CNN points out a friend from Atlanta, and they get a job 18 weeks after the posting originally went up.
If you can write fast, take lots of abuse, and stay awake overnight, you might have a chance at writing for news radio.
Sounds discouraging? It should. It’s true though. The only way I got work was because I knew someone in New York. He was just a guy I talked with on the phone every other month – but it was enough to let me skip past the black hole that is human resources at media companies in New York. I should send him a case of something one day.
I know I have to find work through people I know if I want any kind of decent job. I wish I knew someone in New York but I guess you have to deal with things the way they are. I will meet lots of people when I get there though so I know it won’t be terrible forever. Lots of people go there with a lot less money and experience than me and they all do just fine. (Well, I assume they all do just fine…I’ve never met anyone who went there and just couldn’t hack living in the city.)
absolutely. There is tons of work in NYC. But you should be realistic about breaking into media. It is a very difficult sector, with loads of people willing/able to work for free to get in the door. I don’t have much experience with broadcast – I worked in the book industry – but it sounds pretty similar. In sum, apply for lots of different kinds of jobs, nit just the media ones, even though that would be awesome if it worked out.
Oh, totally! I have several different resumes, and media is just one of them. Currently I am in insurance so I have that resume out as well, but I also have some (fairly) extensive customer service skills so I have a separate resume for that and I also have a general resume that I send to places when none of my experience lines up with any openings but I think I have a skill set that would be valuable to them. Media is not something I expect to fall into but I am not ruling it out as an option!
Also, does anyone out there who has ever lived in NYC have any advice for a soon-to-be resident? Anything that I should know about when I am looking for jobs and apartments and such? (You know, “Don’t work there because they are horrible to their employees and are not honest with you in the interviewing process.” or “You should totally see if you can get an apartment with X landlord because he was really good about fixing any problems I had right away.”)
And more importantly, does anyone have any recommendations for safe yet affordable neighborhoods to live in? I would hate to have spent all sorts of time and money on an apartment finder only to end up in a neighborhood where you don’t feel comfortable walking down the street at night. Right now I am looking towards the west side of the island, running from Inwood to Morningside Heights. I have not been there yet (I will be visiting that area in January) but I would like to know how other people view Manhattan, where they lived, and how they liked it there.
Personally, I wouldn’t live in Manhattan. Its just so damn expensive for what you get. I live in Kew Gardens, which is a residential neighborhood in Queens. I am short walking distance to the Long Island Railroad (a commuter rail that also goes into Manhattan) as well as a longer but very doable walk to the E & F trains at Union Turnpike. It is a quiet neighborhood, all the basics but not too exciting. (Nearby Forest Hills has more going on but is also somewhat more expensive.) A large city park (Forest Park) is just 2 blocks away.
There are many “medium-rise” (ie 6 stories) apartment buildings; generally they are rent-stabilized (means rent can’t be raised more than 3%/year) and have elevators, basement laundry, and fulltime on-site supers. I pay 1150/mo; that includes gas, heat and water, for a roomy 1-bedroom.
Because this is an aging neighborhood, there are lots of available apartments. Most are brokered, but you might want to consider the broker’s fee (ulp! 12%) as a valuable investment, saving you considerable time and hassle (the unbrokered apartments I looked at in the price range were really crap).
Apartments generally rent on the 1st or 15th of the month, so consider that in timing your move. I came a couple weeks ahead, and lined up an apartment for movein Aug 1st. This is your best shot if you don’t want to rent a place sight unseen.
Some other neighborhoods to consider in the cheaper-yet-safe vein are the already-mentioned Forest Hills, Quuens; Astoria, Queens (Greek immigrants, hipsters); Clinton Hill, Brooklyn (walking distance to a Target!) or Williamsburg, Brooklyn (hipsters, artists).