You seriously need at least $4,500 to get into an apartment at all here, plus a little bit of extra to help furnish it, help you get your resumes printed up, and get your ass on the grindstone. 

Again, I was lucky enough to have a friend with whom to crash, but if you don't have a friend like that, you can still sublet for a month from craigslist OR do a long-term (monthly) rental of a hostel bed. Both ways could give you the time to actually find an apartment. On the bright side of things, there are plenty of ways to get free furniture (www.freecycle.com) or just find a lot of stuff off the street, it's amazing! Additionally, be prepared to really have to sell yourself in the interviews. Competition is tough here, of course, but it's better to be poor or semi-middle-class in a city like this with all of these amazing amenities than poor and living in a city with nothing.