...I can't be the only one?
... you don't because i try to do the same
I work on a Open World Sandbox MMO with one big map (outworld) and a housing system (player can build and own) and even more. It works with a lot of workarounds. For example: to simulate the houses i open for each house a new tab in browser, the player on the outworld get disconnected from it and auto join the new created room. If no one is in the room after some minutes the "room" - tab close automatically to save server ressources. I have a dedicated Windows Server (2008R2) with Google Chrome and a master host for all rooms so that should be no problem.