As someone jumping over to GW2 as I cannot currently raid in WoW (which is forever my main game), I can say that "Zones are deserted, so if you don't get a group, some events are impossible" is demonstrably false as of Covid-19 times.
As for the opinions, meh. Different strokes. I'm having more fun leveling and pursuing mounts in GW2 right now than I've had in WoW for years. It's not gonna last though, I should be done and start getting bored by the time SL rolls out, if it ever does.