There live only very poor people. Better: There only very poor people live.

It's not wrong but the emphasis would then be on "there", making it clear that only very poor people live "there", as opposed to another area (where nobody lives or where there are other people living).

Only very poor people live there.

Here the emphasis is on "only very poor people", emphasizing the fact that no rich people (or "normal" people) live there.

Sorry, but I disagree
The first version is not correct, and if the emphasis is to lie on there, then that would be emphasised in spoken speech by saying the word there betont!
Correct English is
Only very poor people live there.

"There live only very poor people. Better: There only very poor people live."
Agree with Mark - both of these sound wrong to me.

"Only very poor people live THERE"

Agree w/ Mark and Marianne.

(...and just noticed that all four responders have names starting with "Mar...")

What about: "very poor people only live there" ?
Das hätte eine etwas andere Bedeutung, aber wäre doch von der word-order auch richtig.

"The first version is not correct, and if the emphasis is to lie on there, then that would be emphasised in spoken speech by saying the word there betont!"

Sorry, Mark, but I disagree. I can well imagine someone saying "Here in this area rich people reside but there (pointing to another area) only very poor people live."

In this context "there" HAS to stand first.

Still sounds a bit funny to me, as if I were talking to Yoda or sth...

Who's Yoda?

Maybe the Indians have rubbed off and my English has become weird.

You know, Yoda, the wise mentor of Luke Skywalker and others in the fight against the evil empire in Star Wars. He spoke in Chaucerian English.

@yedi knight:
what is "Chaucerian English"?

English as written by Geoffrey Chaucer, ie 'The Canterbury Tales'. 13th century, I think.

Ful wel she sange the service devine,
Entuned in hire nose ful swetely;
And Frenche she spake ful fayre and fetisly,
After the scole of Stratford atte bowe,
For Frenche of Paris was to hire unknowe.
Canterbury Tales. Prologue. Line 122.

http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/chaucer.htm for some more info.

There live only very poor people is not grammatically incorrect, but it is difficult to think of examples of when to use that construction. It's clumsiness is less obvious when emphasising the 'there' by adding another 'there' and making the first 'there'an 'impersonal?' pronoun as in there is/there are. There live there only very poor people. If this sounds awkward , change the verb 'there are there only very poor people'