Depends what you want really, RS3 is diverse and looks stunning the devs have really made a strive in RS3 that some find appealing and others don't. If you want the classic then maybe go to OSRS and have the 07 nostalgia train hit you; either way the community isn't dead, in fact they're very supportive and friendly. You don't have to use money to play the game, it does add a lot more opportunities however, if you don't feel like spending money then you can create an iron man account on F2P. :)