I live in a more-connected place, but the only real communities I&#x27;ve participated in are online. Granted, there&#x27;s not the time zone difference, but being physically in the same place as other programmers hasn&#x27;t ever felt like a priority to me.<p>Actually, that&#x27;s not quite true. Conventions and meet-ups are great for networking, and the SCALE conference is how I found my first job back in 2008. But as a weekly thing? Meh.<p>In my current job, I&#x27;m much more on the &quot;Ops&quot; side of things, when I&#x27;d rather be in Dev, so I&#x27;m not getting my fix at work. I&#x27;ve had a series of hobby projects. I talk about them to friends, and that&#x27;s always been enough for me. Everyone&#x27;s different, though.<p>Maybe Australia&#x27;s different, but if you got a job offer at a decent employer in the US, you could probably get some money for relocation costs, and even sometimes a hiring bonus that would tide you over in a new environment until you really got your footing. It sounds like where you are has limited opportunities for growth, anyhow. You&#x27;re likely to need to leave at some point, if you&#x27;d like to remain a developer. It&#x27;s something to think about, anyhow (although you know your situation better, and I&#x27;m sure you&#x27;ve thought through all the paths countless times).