You could also check out TREIA - they have a monthly meeting specific for new investors with lots of great info and encouragement for folks just getting started (not exactly sure what the status is with COVID but they've had some virtual meetings). 

My advice is try to run virtual if you can for a as long as possible.

There are quite a few local meet up events and virtual events listed on biggerpockets.

One last note, if you are purchasing a property on the MLS and you are one of many offers, using a big bank or virtual lender can hurt your chances of winning the bid because the seller's agent will want to work with a lender they can get a hold of outside of business hours.  

There are plenty of virtual Real Estate investing zoom meetups on the meetup app!

I’d love to hear back from you on this thread, or perhaps I can buy you a virtual Cup of Coffee over the Phone or Zoom Call.

We monitor and present the raw MLS data every month as part of our virtual meetup and there has certainly been a shift in active inventory in Boston proper.

Find a local meetups (most are virtual right now) and try to attend / network.  

I have someone in Livermore, and can commute throughout the Bay, yet sure a lot of it is virtual at the moment.  

Look in the events for Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing or DM for the links.