Much has changed about quests. You won't get any arbitrary quest at any time now; instead, they are chained and only appear after prerequisite quests have been completed. Starting somewhere near the Hydlaa Plaza and exploring from there is probably recommendable; there are several quest chains sending you even to other towns. Being curious about many different fields of knowledge (crafting, art, science, magic, etc.) is useful, so at least don't avoid introductions to these fields, even if you don't plan to master related skills...