Hi I used to fly over twenty years ago and now I am back. We used to have a large hobby shop here in Lansing, Mi. but it went out of business. Its a medium sized city and I would like to find others who like to fly electric park flyers.
Welcome to the forum! One of the most helpful tools for finding RC flyers nearby for me has been the RCgroups “Places” tool. Put in your zip code, and it will show you the closest RC clubs, open fields, and hobby shops: https://www.rcgroups.com/places/.
Yup, you'll attract plenty of interested people just by flying. Pro-tip, have a goofy plane like a Nutball handy. I've met more of my neighbors asking about the Nutball than I had passively met the year before.
If you do find a flying buddy, learn how to link your transmitters. We've let a few random strangers try out our planes this way, and gotten a few people interested.