That kind of thing only works for a short while before word gets around. Maybe you can keep ducking the fallout indefinitely in a big enough city but where I live, it's a small world and you'll burn your reputation in short order.

Only if you do it badly. It's very likely that the people at the top of this "small world" in your town have done exactly this to get there.

If you spend 90% of your working time self-promoting instead of working, I guarantee you your co-workers will notice and they will hate you for it even if your current management are too incompetent to pick up on it. The only exception is if your entire department is a nest of weasels.