Over time, your meetup will build traction.

I plan to leave engineering and go full time in this once I gain some traction. 

Also loved traction by Gino Wickman.

It is supremely difficult to get any traction on a shoestring budget because all the success stories sound like "well we dropped $7k in this marketing campaign and $7k in that other marketing campaign and after spending about $750k total we made over two million last year." 

It is harder to get traction in a more expensive market - so it's often best to do an owner occupant style loan.

It will take up every ounce of availability you have and you won't get any traction for months.

I'm hoping that becoming a bit more active on the forums might help myself gain some traction while helping out others where I can.

Also, I HIGHLY recommend reading the book "Traction" if you want to learn more about how to run a business. 

I've mailed a few letters but I'm not getting any traction with it.

Finding roommates can definitely be more challenging in the burbs but given your proximity to the train and that Canton is a thriving town, you would be able to gain traction.