That's correct. There is no stat penalty for dying, though you will lose gold for renewing your insurance and a bit of fame... both very easily replaceable. Gold isn't quite as easy to get as it once was, since you can't send it with a bag of sending anymore, but it still drops in the same quantities... You just can't be as lazy. Heck, if you've half a mind to do it there are ussually piles of gold laying around various dungeons that are a pain to get in and out of because of that, and I imagine it could be a great way to get started. I saw about 300k on the ground in that one dungeon with all the spiders in ilsh.
You'll find, however, that your character will reach a playable level much much faster here (I piddled with seige for a bit a few years back), and that if you shop around a bit you CAN find good gear (relatively) inexpensively... You just have to completely avoid luna, which adds a lot of time to your shopping trips.
I think that about does it. The main PvP spot is Yew in Fel, or one of the dungeons.
Welcome to Atlantic!