People love to say New York is sooo provincial compared to x place but if I moved to Cairo for the nightlife people would justifiably be mad at me
New Yorkers ALWAYS cope when this is mentioned, but outside of a few areas (E-W Villages, Astoria, Bushwick, whatever) NYC is DEAD after ~10 PM, with Manhattan especially feeling eerily empty.
If you think NYC is a crowded or lively city, you have NEVER been to Naples, Cairo, Istanbul, etc.