I'm sure this was done on purpose to not overwhelm casuals with too many directions in which to go. I want to change that.
Now, I think that if the map would go a bit further North that would already make it feel a lot more open. This would also make every new playthrough much more interesting as the new area could be accessed immediately.
Please let me know what you guys think!
Send me a PM if you want to help me realize this project. I'm an experienced member of http://www.tamriel-rebuilt.org for TES III: Morrowind and I want to use a similiar claim system to theirs, so that different exterior and interior cells can easily be worked on at the same time.