Does Limsa actually have any connections to Othard? Or is that just sort of implied (ie. "it's a naval city, it would make SENSE for it to trade with other cities")?

If that's a legitimate connection, that might honestly make the decision for me! I honestly don't really know where all the nations are in relation to each other, outside of the main three plus Ishgard. I always kind of assumed, if Lady Yugiri wound up near Ul'dah first, then Limsa was probably hell-and-gone from any happenings to do with them (in fact, maybe it's just me, but through ARR as a whole, Limsa felt like it had zero to do with much of anything).

Also, I know Ul'dah was kind of a primary focus throughout almost all of ARR's storyline. Does that trend continue on afterward? Or does it eventually get put on the backburner? Do Limsa or Gridania get any special focus later on, particularly in relation to stuff going on in Stormblood? (also; is Othard the nation the Xaela come from, too, or just the Raen?)