There are a ton of communities, if one but looks. Participation is key, and it's up to each user to decide their comfort level and how much they want to put into it.
As for Curie abandoning people, I've never felt that way. Curie boosting my post(s) was only part of the sweetness—Curie gave me confidence. And so many of the communities here overlap, that I feel like many curators have become my friends as a natural progression of participating in Steemit and high quality content.
But that first boost from Curie, the one I didn't even know where it came from until I asked a friend 'cause I hadn't heard of Gina yet and didn't have a clue what I was doing? That made Steemit real for me. Thank you for doing what you do! 💖