so im thinking of starting up again...
but idk what the community is like. any good still or mostly just elitists left?

It's a bit of both. CCP has been trying to invite new players lately so there is a lot of tutorials and other things to get people started quick.

Honestly, it just friends where you find yourself in a Corp or if you play with friends.

Its never too late. If you want to catch up to some other players, spend a couple hundred $ and you will be okay. But, you can still have fun without doing so. But, as happidude said, doing it with a group of friends/corpmates makes it that much better.