Learn Italian: Mi trovo bene in questo quartiere. - I like it in this neighborhood.

Trovarsi bene is a very common idiomatic expression in Italian. While it literally translates to "to find oneself well", it is used to express that you feel comfortable, happy, or at ease in a place or situation.

Is "trovarsi" related to the pronominal verbs we are learning right now, like "cavarsela"?

Yes! Just like cavarsela, trovarsi shifts its standard meaning by adding a pronoun. Here it acts as a reflexive verb using the pronoun mi. Adding reflexive pronouns to standard verbs to create new, idiomatic meanings is a very common pattern in Italian.

Could I just use "mi piace" here instead?

You could say mi piace questo quartiere (I like this neighborhood), but mi trovo bene adds a specific nuance of personal comfort. It means you feel at ease living or spending time there, whereas mi piace could just mean you think it looks nice on a surface level.

Why do we use the preposition "in" for a neighborhood?

The noun quartiere (neighborhood) naturally takes the preposition in to indicate location. Because we are specifying which one with the demonstrative adjective questo (this), the preposition simply sits directly in front of the phrase, giving us in questo quartiere.