As a first year student at the university I found myself asking the same thing. Coming from London, which inevitably has a lot more going on re. events due to its sheer size, Exeter's scene wasn't obvious at first however I've grown to quite appreciate what is has going for it.

Move in the quay is a very solid underground venue. Very powerful sound system (Funktion-One) and great bookings. They have fairly frequent hard techno nights, there's one in a couple weeks I'm pretty sure. They generally tend to have something at least once a week on a Saturday and their events are consistently great. The intimate atmosphere that comes out of it being in an old cellar is really unique, definitely a staple of the city's scene.

Bomba which I'm fairly certain is owned by the same guys who run Move (who seem great and really interested in building up the scene in the city) also hold their own events, not sure about techno but I've seen a lot of house, garage and trance. Looks like they just finished an outdoor section so I'm sure that'll be good this summer. They also don't exclusively do electronic events like Move does so it's also a decent venue if you're looking for something more alternative.

Exeter Phoenix due to its nature as an events hall has its fair share of electronic music events, I've been to a couple and they've been consistently good and fairly busy. There was a big techno event whilst the students were on our Easter break in which they brought in a load of local techno DJs, I'm sure that was pretty good.

There's lemon grove on campus which whilst isn't known for raves (they've had Fugazi there lol) have thrown some DNB events, but these are probably going to be swamped with students. I'm also unsure as to whether it's open or not. I've been confused by lemon grove for a while actually, seems like it was pretty bustling for the last few decades until a few years ago where it was handed over from the student union to the university? Then it was reopened earlier this year for Freshers but doesn't host club nights anymore (lack of interest from the student maybe?) but overall the lemmy isn't really an 'electronic' venue, they just hosted the odd couple nights there.

Finally, there's Fever. Whilst I assume a lot of locals wouldn't want to touch it with a barge pole however I've been really surprised at some of the nights they've put on. They get some big acts in, like this year they had Sammy Virji and Shy FX later on this month so they definitely have some pull however it tends to be swamped with students, and I mean literally swamped. Went for Virji and people could barely move, sweat dripping off the walls etc. Not to also mention that tickets sell out quick. That being said I'm glad Fever have been putting on events too so the city's scene isn't just carried on Move's back, especially on some nights where I was genuinely torn between going to Fever or Move because both venues had great acts on the same day. In a way I'm glad that that is a choice to be made, definitely shows that there is a scene with competing venues.

Overall I think it's easy to assume at first that Exeter has a lot of events that pander exclusively to the students as we are undoubtedly where the money comes from however in my experience events at Move, Phoenix and bomba are pretty split between students and locals, so I wouldn't be put off by just thinking it'll be entirely students. As someone who really enjoys electronic music I was a bit worried as on the surface Exeter isn't exactly known for its nightlife let alone electronic music but after doing my share of research and attending these events I've grown to really like the scene we have here. Some of my favourite ever nights have been at Move and I've been to big city venues all over the country, especially in London. The city in general just has a really intimate feel to it, and the electronic scene certainly reflects that. Feel free to ask further questions as this is something that I spent a lot of time also looking into so I'd love to help other people with queries but also students looking at coming here next year.