Advice on lateralling from lower MM firm - is BB an option?

I'm 18 months in at a small boutique firm located in the Northeast. We are well-known within our industry but entirely unknown outside of it. Neary all engagements are sell-side with EBITDA ranging from around $3MM on the low end to around $20MM (the highest I've worked on). 

My goal is to lateral to a larger firm in a different industry, preferably real estate or industrials. I'm willing to live in any city but NY. 

I'm not sure how to approach recruiting. My questions at this point are:

1. What is the highest tier of firm I can reasonably expect to get into?

2. Is my best bet to schedule as many phone calls with associates as I can and try to periodically reach out?

3. How hard is it to switch industries as an analyst?

4. Is there any significant advantage to waiting until A2/3 to make the switch?

Many thanks in advance.