Most people will stay in the city if there are still stuff to do, experience to grab, etc... before chasing the world. You want to be as ready as possible before going to the wildness. It's the Stanley Parable : we do react to some reflexes.
Even if I can understand that you want that game to be different, the thing is, most people will get *a little* bored in this 3hours tunnel of dialog.
They are ways to make a city more alive, take Baldur's Gate 2 for exemple...
But still, I had fun (the first time at last)
