These days, it's very hard to find events in my area that aren't online. And the online events are usually prerecorded videos and marketing pitches. Even extremely popular topics (like web development) have basically zero IRL presence within a 50-mile radius.
I'm not sure the community will rebound. If the office is dead, tech community is deader. I've started a group of my own, but it's also very slow to grow.
Have IRL meetups and communities in your area rebounded to 2019 levels yet?
Tech meetups still seem to be mostly Zoom. In particular there was a local company that hosted an OpenHack night once a month where you could just bring your computer and hang out and work on your personal projects and/or chat with other people there. It got about 20-30 people there usually, provided pizza, and you could bring alcohol if you wanted.
It stopped entirely (not even Zoom) when the pandemic started, and it still hasn't come back yet. I miss it. :/
On the other hand, with most of these being Zoom, I'm able to attend more of them, as I can attend some that aren't even hosted in my state.
As I’ve gotten more experienced in my career, I’ve wanted a new type of meetup that appeals to more than just software.
Come hang at Outland on August 26 in Palm Springs, California :)