I never start my campaigns at level 1, not because I don't think it's possible, but because of the main plot of the campaigns. Lowest I've done was starting at 4. Highest was starting (and staying) at 20.
Characters are usually already equipped with special/magical items adequate for their level and my own take of the world. I tend to deck NPCs in a similar way (so loot is a thing), but NPCs have items useful for *them*, not necessarily for the PCs, so most of the gear they find, although powerful, is either not suited to their profession or comes with a catch, a price they are not ready to pay. This makes the few items they find (or are given) and are willing to use all the more special.
I certainly do not consider Shadow World (the setting for all my RM campaigns) a "low magic" setting. On the other hand, magic is not necessarily commonplace either, and tends to accumulate in the hands of those with means - the nobles and the wealthy hoard magic users, nations try to enroll as many of them as possible to make their armies more powerful, so the common folk does not see magicians every week - magic is not part of everyday life, even though sorcery is part of history and legend - magic exists, but, for your average farm worker, it's something that happens to "the rich folk".
As a general rule, PCs in my campaign are not motivated by loot or riches - it's nothing more than a side effect of what they are doing. I don't have a problem dropping magic items into their hand. On the other hand, I try to make most magic items stand out, have quirks and a bit of history, so that they can remember who had it before they got it, and what the previous owner probably did with it. Additionally, since I don't ascribe to the "boss fight" either, they often encounter opposition that owns magic items that are sidegrades to what they already have.