Realistic Job Search Advice - 30 year old M&A Analyst moving to New York from London

I'm a 30 year old moving to New York from London in the next 6 months. My wife is a front office Associate with her bank in the UK (think BNP Paribas) and I will be joining her when she gets sent to North America. I will need to find a job and want to set a realistic expectation for my job prospects in New York

Education: B+/A- student with undergrad (Canada) and masters (Europe) from top 20 economics programs. In the process of studying for CFA Level 1.

Work: 2 years Big4 consulting (not transactions work) in the UK, 2 years in commodity market research in the UK, 1 year M&A Analyst in London (current job)

My M&A work is with a natural resource-focused boutique advisory firm. Smaller deals ($20-100 million) but solid deal flow with consistent transaction work. I don't always do much modeling, although I'm getting more exposure through time.

Basically, I want to know what I should prioritize. In a dream world, I'd work in M&A for a few more years before heading to PE or a hedge fund, or maybe even a research job with a larger firm. I am very keen on natural resources if at all possible, but am open to industrials. And, really, if I run out of money I'll take what I can get.

I am doing my own research on the firms that ARE hiring, but my question here is about the sort of places I'd have a realistic shot interviewing with that will keep me at least somewhat on track for my career ambitions. I don't want to waste time applying to IBABs or MMs if I'd be a non-starter, basically. I'd also want to know if the job market is bad enough that I'd be better off "widening my net" outside of M&A toward consulting etc. I've really had to grind it out to get to where I'm at in corporate finance, so I'd hate to take too big a step back.

Thanks a lot for any guidance!