The beauty of Rimworld is analogous to what the New World was to the American settlers, a place you could just run off to and never be seen again. It's barren land, yet it's not empty. There's always a place for you to settle and things to see. Regardless of who you were, once you arrived, life became what you made of it, not what you did before.
Of course, bad things can happen, and so can good things, that's life for you. And in large part, the fact that it's so life-like is what makes the game so great.