In fairness, it seems very unlikely that he only applied to jobs 1) in his city, 2) at companies that "have a position open for what [he does]".

He likely also applied to jobs that he wasn't super pumped up about, in case the job (or other factors regarding the job) turned out to be awesome.

Unsolicited advice: I'm not sure if you're actually looking for a job (or will be in the future), but try not to limit yourself so much before even starting. It feels like your comment had a lot of excuses/reasons why it won't work for you/your industry. It's not true: getting a job can be a grind. Sometimes that's just what you have to do. When you've applied to dozens of companies, or turned down dozens of offers, you'll have a much much better idea of what's possible what isn't worth the effort (plus you'll have a ton of very useful experience and skills because of it, to boot).