Hi friends. This is the first time I am posting here. But I have been reading the posts and it seems one can actually get help here.
I am a second year PhD student. I have not attended any conference yet. I know it is important to attend these conferences and meet people and talk about your work but I am in a country in the middle of nowhere. Its an island and flying from here is very expensive. My supervisor does not have a lot of money neither. I dont know what should I do. I also feel stupid to have joined here in first place. But I like the kind of work I do and that was the reason I joined. Also from outside it looked like a big group with lots of money but since moved in the story changed. 5 people left the place in one year. I am very worried about my career. I do not want to be stuck here for my entire life. I want to get a job/Post-doc after this. What should I do? Was this the worst decision of my life?

You don't say what field you are in, but most fields can get funding for conferences. I got 1500 pounds to attend an international conference by joining 3 scientific societies for about 20 pounds each and then applying for their travel funds. You can also often apply directly to the conference organisers for scholarships.

Hi TreeofLife, thank you for replying. I am in Biological Science. I will check for the travel funds with the Conferences. But my concern is also that everyone is leaving the place. Out lab is almost empty now. I am the only PhD student here and 2 Post-docs, 2 technicians and 2 Profs (including my supervisor). This makes me nervous about being here. I have always had a good academic record. Also, for PhD I got call from almost everywhere I applied to. I want to continue my career in research after PhD. But I dont know if I will make it somewhere good.

Do you know why people left? If it is because their projects ended and moved on that is less of a concern than if there is something like bullying/poor management going on.

As TreeofLife says, there are various ways to get funding to apply to conferences. Either through charitable trusts. university grants, or from the conference organisers (e.g. if you want to go to the annual conference of an academic society, join them as a student member and you may be eligible for a subsidised place or a grant.)

Conferences are helpful for meeting people and to get the opportunity to present and discuss your work. But it is not the biggest problem in the world if currently you cannot attend one. You just have to get creative. There are other ways to network, such as online (e.g. lots of academics use Twitter to connect). And if you want to present your work outside your institution, make contacts with other universities that might host a talk from you and try to organise it to coincide with other travel plans e.g. if your home town/country is elsewhere, consider giving a talk nearby next time you visit.

Yes, you are right, it is not the biggest problem in the world. Thank you HazyJane. I will try to meet people and interact with them online. I think I was just demotivated and having these thoughts as I am anxious about how my PhD is going to be. I feel better now. :)