I’m not sure where you’re from but from my experience, I find some countries such as US very dependent on cars. As much as how shocked your family was, I was surprised to see how people were heavily dependent on cars and it was a weird for anyone outside of NYC to not have their own car. I would say it depends on your personal preference and values for sure!
When I lived in a typical suburb in the states and France, it made me feel suffocated that I could never walk to a grocery store a mile away without getting into a car in the states aside from always looking for parking and paying every darn month for insurance with the risk of running into reckless drivers. It wasn’t solely for being carless but it did play a major role when I decided to move to another country and has always been a major factor when deciding on a place to nomad. I love being efficient with my time (reading or taking a nap on the subway or buses) and money. Having been in a car accident a few times and seeing even my friends who’ve been driving for a longer time than me get into near-fatal accidents did shape my opinion of living in a car-free setting. One of the perks of walking around all the time also helps with leading a healthier lifestyle than before and more sensory stimulation touching grass (kidding) and random encounters with street vendors and gardens.
I believe it’d be helpful to check it out for yourself if given the chance! Most of my friends enjoyed and missed being in cities with compact design where it is walkable with reliable public transit.
Other than the responses I’ve seen so far- any religious groups that do not drink or filtering out drinking habits on Bumble Friends can also help.
Looking for any overlapping culture and where these people may hang out can be useful when you’re trying to find people like you.