Man that sounds rough. Is new job/city not an option there?

Depends. For me, probably you, sure, but for the average person a decent job and apartment can be hard to come by.

For a few months last year I was apartment hunting while unemployed, and you'd think I was radioactive. I offered to pay the year's rent up front at one point and that spooked the landlord even more; apparently they thought my income was illicit.

Moving is expensive, getting a new job doesn't necessarily increases your income and potentially increases your income volatility: how stable is the new job? Will you get fired?

When you have no extra cash, opportunity costs make some changes impossible.