Returning Player, pleased to meet you

[Black_Rose]

Hello everyone.
I've decided to reinstall FFXI after seeing the notice of the the free login period from 11th-17th November.

I've quit back in ToAU before server merges and Abyssea came out, came back for a week after abyssea hit but quit shortly after since i was having a hard time finding my way and also find other players to play with (i had the feeling i was the only EU on my server Valefor)

I've seen there is a guide for returning Players called the "Adventuring Primer", so i might stick to that to find my way back into the game, regardless, i still have a few questions.

What happened to the AH and all these crazy overpowered equipments that yet are so cheap?
I've left the game with a KC and about 8 million in my pocket, yet when i check the cheap new stuff i feel kind of underpowered.there is equipment that increased my skill values for well over 100 points, yet it's so cheap X_x (i might have missed a bit too much)

What weapons should i focus on?
I've heared relics/mythic (whatever) aren't so hard to obtain anymore.it used to take quite a while to obtain relics when i've still been active.

Another important question,
are there active EU/German groups playing on Valefor or should i switch the server?
I was missing FFXI quite a bit, and seeing how much FFXIV 2.0 has turned me off, and other online games beside Destiny not being of my taste, i was thinking about casually getting back into FFXI.
But it would be huge bonus if i had a group i could stick with, to hang around with and of course to play with, so i can get back into the game faster.
i think if i had to find out everything by myself, it would take me quite a while ^^.

PS.:

how do i activate that cool new smaller UI chat box i've seen in some videos?
I like the look of it ^^