The NYC Python meetup is terrific. Tons of smart people there. There's a huge crossover with the Django meetup. NYC Ruby is good too. You should consider the

The NYC Python meetup is terrific. Tons of smart people there. There's a huge crossover with the Django meetup. NYC Ruby is good too. You should consider the Web Performance meetup if you want to know about web architecture. There are fundamentals courses at General Assembly, and it's a good environment.