To add to your tip #7: Get to know your local user group. Google "PHP/Python/RoR/etc [Insert City here]".
They might be doing monthly meetings, code sprint, bug squashing parties, or just enjoying a beer once in a while. That allows you to stay on top of what is going locally, get to know other freelancers, grow your network and have fun!
In all seriousness, most non-major areas are very lacking in things like this. My area has none that I can find, and I tried to expand even to just general programming meetups.
They might be doing monthly meetings, code sprint, bug squashing parties, or just enjoying a beer once in a while. That allows you to stay on top of what is going locally, get to know other freelancers, grow your network and have fun!