First off, can someone tell me why this isn't in the House of Burgess.
Second, Plymouth has consistently had less players active over the last week than both Roanoke and Jamestown so I would say that Plymouth is more like the Field Museum in Chicago, full of dead dinosaurs, and Roanoke's more like Disneyland, with a little bit of everything. Roanoke has many more accounts and is much more balanced. If you just want to join the tribe, then by all means start chopping wood for them. If you want excitement and actually game balance then stay in Roanoke. The Russians will only really attack you if you are near them or you mess with their allies.
Third, from what I gather the dev's have characters on all the servers, but yes their active mains are in plymouth.
Finally, if you're looking to join someone then check the Recruitment section of the Forum. You'll probably find some decent towns to join as an equal, not as a beginner. Also the server's may eventually open up, then you can play wherever you want with the character you've built.