tl;dr start your own networking group

I'm a startup consultant, helping startups with 2nd round funding, growth strategies, technology integration.

I moved back to Los Angeles in 2011 It was my hometown and just starting to become the very strong startup ecosystem it is today. Young people were moving there to have the ideal combination of So Cal living and startup success.

As I tried to navigate the new scene I found a few things had changed:
1. Many more "startup people" were in town than ever in L.A. history.
2. Some strong technical people and professional entrepreneurs were moving there, an indicator that So Cal had a future as a startup town.
3. About 80% of the people I met were posers, hustlers, or wantrepreneurs, looking for either instant success or trying to sell something to me.

I went to several meetups and conferences and parties, but most of the people I met were the wantrepreneurs. So I started my own meetup group, and the results were amazing. I met literally thousands of people and wound up doing business with several. Today, 5 years later, I'm still close to hundreds of the people I met from 2011-2014.

So my recommendation is to start your own meetup group, specific to your interests. If you use meetup.com their search engine does a lot of the recruiting for you. It takes a lot of work on your part and the willingness to play "host" but the rewards are pretty amazing.