Another one of those nostalgic FFXI threads I see.

Difference between FFXI and FFXIV is scale. NA players got FFXI with a full expansion behind it already. Travel options weren't readily available (no teleport, no personal transportation for a long time) so it took longer amounts of time to travel, which made the areas seem much bigger. (even though they are larger in comparsion)

FFXI had a lot of neat areas and so does FFXIV, but there are just as many areas in FFXI that didn't or don't receive much, if any, traffic from players. Many areas were largely ignored simply because there was nothing to do there but grind for xp or farming, and the occasional NM.