If you dont use the default LongFast meshtastic is really empty. I switched my node to MediumSlow, since it’s like 86% faster than LongFast. I knew there would not be any in my area, so I subscribed to the msh/US MQTT topic and theres still nobody else. I’m going to leave it like that for a while and see if I hear anything during any kind of band openings or catch any other MQTT nodes trying out that topic. And yes, both uplink and downlink are enabled. I do know that there are some nodes in the Bay Area on msh/US/mqtt-bayme-sh, but I am not near their.
When I got a node, I learned there are actually quite a few more people in my area than meshmap suggests, because there is a state based MQTT server that most people in this area use. It also means I’m still chatting somewhat locally, but hitting a much wider net than a purely local radio could.