set the channel description: The channel for folks not in tech hubs, whether you work remotely or not

Outside of the obvious solo options (tutorials, blogs, side projects), what do y'all do to stay up to speed on tech and meet others with similar interests? Coming from bigger metros like DC, SF, and Atlanta, I'm really starting to feel the absence of a robust tech community outside of the typical web dev and Python meetups that can be found almost anywhere. I was briefly a mentor at a non-profit code bootcamp here, but quit due to the time commitment and I found out I could technically lose my job over it because of Apple's policies on OSS, which extend to things done in one's personal time. Still, that only met some of the need. It'd be really nice if I could find, IDK, a Rust meetup. Except for Chicago, all of the ones within a day's drive either virtual-only (Indy) or appear to be dead (Louisville, Columbus, Pittsburgh). I'm not entirely willing to try to set something up myself because I don't know anyone here and I don't see the point of going down the same path as the now-dead meetups.

I'm also not in a position to register for most conferences, as I'd have to be granted the time off to attend (without pay, as I get no vacation days) and cover 100% of the costs out of pocket (the joys of being a contractor 😑 ). I will likely register for Cloud Native Rejekts since it's a fraction of the cost to attend KubeCon, but it would be nice to find something that doesn't require an overnight trip