So you think people in the middle of nowhere do not eat, need housing, have a professional activity, etc ? I agree, there should be less things in the middle of nowhere but still, people would need to farm, hunt or trade to secure food, while they would need markets or craftsman to provide them with the necessary services to live their lives (e.g. carpenter, stable,...). I mean if there are all these barrels and food items scattered over the map, I assume someone would have put them there ? Or is food magically conjured in 5e DnD ?
With the drow, goblin, and gnol armies nearby, any ordinary human would have escaped by now. In the first act of the game we mainly have forest areas, it is certainly not a densely populated area even in better times. Apart from the druid grove (who are able to deal with it on their own), there is a fishing village nearby and it might as well be destroyed already. We do not have access to it, but it does exist. We can also come across a toll station (currently destroyed) or an inn. The fact that the vast majority of it is in complete ruin makes perfect sense. It would be strange if people could live peacefully with such neighbors. We will certainly have more "normal" terrains when we finally reach civilization, which will happen sooner rather than later.
