This is very cool. But I’m thumb fingered idiot.

How can I check and see if anyone in my area had started an instance I can join?

Unless you live in my home town, it’s highly unlikely that there are any other instances yet. From a practical point of view, until I build in federation, it’s a matter of literal word of mouth between people of a community. Once it’s federated, the nearby tab will show you your closest instance.