How many other levels are there you can claim to have been living on during you Dome absences? Unfinished territories would seem perfect for In Character (context) excuses. Maybe you fell in love with a visitor from the third level(?) and followed them home to start a family that caught the plague and died prompting your return. Maybe you got lost in the death realm and wandered around trying to find your way out.
None of that deals with the other problems but it at least gives you a platform to find the type of role play you are looking for.
That's all fine and good but when was the last time you dropped off the face of the world in RL and told your friends, "I just moved to another country for awhile?"
While you may pull that off a few times, I've already done it more than makes sense for my characters. Most of them aren't the kind to just travel that far. But as for finding the kind of RP I like... that is harder than just getting in I'm afraid and it's kinda hard to get up the enthusiasm to start the search again so for now I let it go.
Give it a break.
Sure, when the forum goes down.
Go to the events today and tomorrow, make some friends and just get into it.
While events help, in the now 8 years I have been around the game I've found that just jumping in only means I'll be around for at most a few months and most of that time will be spent doing everything but RPing.
But for everyone else, please have fun and build connections. It's how the community grows. Hmm this does make me think though... maybe someone should organize a newbie event. Hold info sessions, RP lessons, and get people in touch with what guilds are active since most people seem to want to join a guild the instant they hit a game. A Welcome Festival I guess. Something a little more simple than Jilata's Ierefal.
And as a side note: Illysia(the character, my first) has now existed for 8 RL years... she was created Aug 25, 2005... time flies. 
When I was a newbie I was too scared to ask for help so I just mucked around Oja for a year killing rats... XD
