How does the hobo life sound to you? And I'm not trolling, I'm not making fun of you, I'm being dead-serious.
I've known people who have moved to a big city with no job lined up, and made it work, but they had to be willing to – cause they had to do it for awhile – live with nothing for a bit till they got something to live with. Like, be willing to walk from place to place (no spending money on bus or tax fare!), asking for a job, find “menial” work where you live above the shop type thing, but for a week or two before finding that, you might be sleeping in the park. If you're willing to do that to start out with, go for it! It will be a great adventure and a story to tell your grandkids or nieces and nephews 10 years from now. My partner is one of the folks I know who did something like this, and sometimes I wish I'd done something to have the memories like he does.
But…I'm not that much of a risk-taker, so for me, I wouldn't want to do it. I'd want to know how I could make sure I had a roof over my head before I went. So, if you're going to go to SD, and aren't willing to go the hobo way if needed, then get a job lined up first. Yeah, it's going to be hard to line up a job if you're not there, but it's going to be hard to line up a job even if you are there. IIRC, you don't have the most super-impressive resume. Not that you have one that won't allow you to get a job, but you're not going to be that person that as soon as people see your resume, they just know they've got to have you. So, I'd plan on at least a couple months for a job-search, and maybe longer. There's people in the SD area on here that have been searching for much longer, and you could end up being one of them.
Another thought: it may be hard to find somewhere to rent to you when you have no job. They'll see you as a risk of non-payment when all you have is a quickly-dwindling bank account. $8k doesn't go far in SD, and the landlords know it.
Last thing: I truly was sincere in asking about the hobo lifestyle. If that adventure interests you, then go for it! You'll at least have a fun time, and there's nothing wrong with it, when you choose it. Just don't end up stuck in it and hating every minute of it cause your $8k ran out; choose it if you want it, or plan to avoid it if you don't.
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