How do I handle contacts like these?

Since moving to a new city, I've met a bunch of really interesting folks with crazy high speed careers. And every one that I've talked to has basically said that they knew someone kinda deal and ended up where they are.

But like a lot of us, I'm in my 30's, my career didn't work out and I'm in that funky spot where I could really use a pivot to something new but the traditional avenues haven't been fruitful.

And I got to thinking like, I know these folks now!: how do I break into the world of networking and navigate this without coming across in a bad way? What are the rules and social norms around this kind of thing?

Any advice? I know a lot of ND folks have the same problem but I figured I'd start here