Want to tell me why I don't even want to consider moving there and should just forget the whole scary concept?
i have failry deep and somewhat irrational fears/issues inre: moving, especially to a part of the country that i have not yet lived within. that being said, i highly support your attempt to do such (if in fact you have not lived therebouts, if you have i still support your endeavor).
when things like this are happening to other people, i like to ask them "what's the worst that could happen?" (when it is happening to myself, i do not ask that question because i do not want to know).
besides possible negative financial implications, travel is expensive, from that fact that you are looking for different employment, you have the opportunity to explore a different avenue for your life, and are brave enough to do so!
i had an opportunity a couple of years ago to move to berkely and participate in a somewhat thrilling initialization of a new-ish industry, and chickened out of it not because the chance of the job actually being around longer than 3 days quickly approached zero, but because i was just fundementally scared. that's never good.
good luck wombat! and at the very least enjoy the non-interview time as a well-earned vacation, and an opportunity to appraise your current "home area" as juxtaposed against the california backdrop.