> There are locations calling themselves "community centers". They only rent their common rooms for $25/hour or more, an amount that makes it impossible for most informal, average individual to afford.

Where I grew up in the midwest it was relatively trivial to meet at either the local public library or community college, and I never had money. Private rooms were available, they only required reserving ahead for scheduling purposes.

We even ran a linux installfest taking over sometimes two adjacent classrooms while the quarterly computer show would occur next door. That required someone actually enrolled in the community college to get the reservations however.