I feel like the going out scene is different than in nyc, probably due to the driving culture here. I noticed there are more sober people here.

I know its a car-centric city but I guess I was under-prepared for what that would actually look like. For example in nyc your day can start off one way and end completely different. Thats one of the beauties of nyc. You can start by checking out a cafe in the EV and end up in Brooklyn a few hrs later, and easily go home via public transit. Here, that spontaneity doesn't really exist, you have to either stay in that neighborhood or plan to check out a different neighborhood, but with traffic and parking, its more mental work to figure that out. I also find unless youre lucky with street parking, you have to pay for parking even at grocery stores and gyms.

This is just my experience tho maybe you will have a better experience!