Can you search in other areas? Places like Nashville, Raleigh, Atlanta, Austin, and even Canada tend to have more open, laid-back business cultures than NYC, Chicago, and the Bay. I've found that in the "B" cities, you can often get time even from executives of fairly large companies. (The pay-to-cost-of-living ratios tend to be higher, too!)
I'm bullish to Austin. Also into the Denver/Boulder, CO area. Of course, paid relocation needs to exist but those that do tend to be the better companies already.
