I'm gradually turning my small town into a startup hub, and it's great. So far my efforts have helped launch a co-working space and have helped a bunch of creative and technical people meet each-other. There are some money people in my area too, and they should be getting interested pretty soon.
Even if those meeting suck, go to them. Get to know anybody worth knowing. Suggest creating a new group or club (make sure it has a specific purpose and some direction). Go to chamber of commerce mixers religiously -- even if the first four send you home empty-handed, the fifth might get you a curious entrepreneur. Pay close attention to the items in the local newspaper. Start keeping a list of who the "movers and shakers" are in your area.
I wasn't real fond of the YC process, or of living in the Bay Area, and I already had some things going here. So ... why not keep pushing things here and create the environment I wanted?