Vdaff,
The answer to your question is you keep trying for as long as it takes to get there or until the day you realise that maybe that thing you have wanted so long may not be what you need now after such a long time trying.
As much as some people on here think otherwise, because of your geographical location your chances may be much more limited than others. Without a thriving GA sector the chances of a first job are even more limited.
There are people out there from all parts of the world who could go to a hundred interviews and never get a job. That is life and no matter how fair or unfair it is you have to live with it. I think there are many posters here who would rather just disagree for the sake of it. Maybe those people need to focus more energy on getting ahead in life than trawling pprune looking for a fight.
I am happy to retort to anyone on this thread but now I would prefer to do it via pm. If any of you feel the need to carry this on go right ahead.