it's traditional(and profitable) for elvaan to start out in the nation of sandoria. You even get a nice little str+1 mnd+1 ring out of it that you wouldn't get if you started in another city. Also rewards from nation quests often benefit native races/jobs more heavily than others. Like windy has quests oriented towards smn blm rng thf, bastok toward war drk, sandy toward drg pld whm and so forth. While really you can start out whereverthehell you want and get along just fine, i think it's best to start in your home city. there's a lot of advice I could give you, but most of it's been said before, and if it hasn't, ffxi is best learned by jumping in and getting your feet wet. One thing I will mention that nobody ever does it seems, is do your outpost supply quests. The earlier the better. Being able to Outpost Warp is absolutely the most efficient way to get around the main contenent. Other than that just enjoy yourself, and while I agree with others that you should be able to play how you want, listen to other peoples' advice and don't be stubborn and prideful. Learn and better yourself. If you want a game that you can play lazily with no inspiration and no disire to be good at what you do, then stick to a game that doesn't involve interaction with other people like FFVI. You don't have to be a stuck-up prick like some ppl I know, but try to do a good job. Enjoy