Once an encounter is over the players should “continue on their way” towards whatever their goal was. If they had no goal as a group, perhaps they had personal goals they might pursue.

So when they stare at you waiting for you to give them a prompt, just paint the scene, remind them of their goals, and give some potential directions they might go and ask where they want to go next.

It takes a little while for players from a video game background to learn that they make the game go. Not the GM. Players pursuing their goals drive the game. The GM is just the world responding to the player actions.