Hi Seano,
I run a hackerspace down in Boston and we have an Arduino Users group meeting once a month. The next one is scheduled for Feb. 19th at 7pm. We also have open hack sessions on the first Friday of every month if you want to hang out and build things with others.
We also have a large fabrication shop with metalworking and woodworking tools for when you are ready to make the things that your Arduino controls.
The Arduino users group and the open hack are free and you can drop in.
We're located at 197a Elm Street in Somerville, MA (just outside of Boston and on the red line). Check us out at Willoughby and Baltic, www.willoughbybaltic.com.
-Meredith