New York is also the easiest place to survive, so why are you surprised noobs and everyone else like to stay there.
I'm for the following:
-make all npcs approximately the same strength, except in places where you REALLY want it to be hard to survive. For example wilde, nomad, and guard systems.
-ditch the generic pirate ID which have a ZOI of all sirius, and remove liberty from the ZOI of the outcasts (and remove the outcast npcs there too) and morphs.
-make a starting system with 1-way jump holes that lead to Champagne, London, New YOrk, Berlin, Tokyo. Make a boye like the one in bastille which tells you to choose your system of choice and also that restart commands exist.
-Make an activity like mining, scrap collecting, or missions that are equally suitable for getting started as a noob and make the same amount of money in all of those systems.