There are absolutely some dangers to living in Whatever Bay.
But the risks are well worth the opportunity to explore everything the game has to offer, which is incredibly difficult as a new player without any guidance or assistance. There is a fully functioning economy within Whatever Bay, allowing you to largely focus on certain aspects of the game and still get a leg up in others. You can also rest assured there are enough players that you will not get left behind or have an important part of your village quit, which may leave you without anywhere to turn.
Whatever Bay is great for people discovering the game for the first time, or left in the unfortunate situation where their village mates have become inactive and they can't easily progress as some cogs in their machinery have vanished.
There's also opportunity to learn the extremely arcane PvP system.