The following guide was put together to hopefully give you an idea of which cities are good to start in, regardless of the consideration of race and class and religion.
It is possible (in fact suggested) that you reach 4th or 5th level within the city itself. This also has one of the handiest tough critter zones on all of Faydwer, roughly 8th-10th level critters walking all over the place. Plus, minotaur caves and axes... Need I say more?
City is somewhat confusing and slow to get around. Newbie mines are a maze and it isn't easy to run for help if caught and in trouble. I lost my first character by swimming up between a walkway and a building and getting wedged there, and being unable to escape. Don't do that. Have to leave your zone entirely to fight higher than 5th level critters.
The city of the Iksar.
There are four separate zones that you can choose to fight in as a newbie, each with merchants that sell food and weapons. There are also a number of newbie quests that, if you pursue, make the game quite fun and challenging early on.
The city itself is two zones wide, and you really need to learn how to get in and out of the water efficiently or it can be frustrating to move around within it. Merchants tend to be scattered around. Secret areas within city are deadly to newbies.
The city of High Man...
The newbie fighting area in front of Erudin is well-protected from the tougher zones by a river and a bridge, so you can't get too lost. There are also merchants who sell stuff outside of the city. This keeps you from having to zone to buy necessary items.
If you want to travel outside the zone it is a 10 minute boat ride to Qeynos, plus all the zoning in between. Get used to begging to be bound. There is a slight jump in difficulty when going across the bridge for the first time, and you can be wiped by roaming skeletons quickly. Not many people play here, it can get lonely...
The city of the High Elves...
Any city on the island of Faydwer has access to the other cities and their zones, which means if it's too crowded here, go elsewhere. It also isn't far to recover your body in any of the other zones. By roaming to the other zones, you can easily find creatures your level to battle. There are also plenty of other adventurers to join with.
The newbie area is extremely crowded, due to Kelethin being nearby and these two races being very popular. Greater Faydark itself is very confusing, especially after you wander off the paths. Getting lost in orc town is a problem. Access to Antonica is limited by the eternal boat ride from Kaladim to Freeport.
One of the cities of Man.
Good newbie areas. Access to boat to Faydwer. Heading south to the Desert of Ro leads you to an area well-populated with 1st-5th level creatures. Easy access to food and drink, as well as the Commonlands nearby. Lots of good creatures to group against. Many quests and merchants in the area to keep it interesting. Also there are a good number of nearby zones for higher level characters to adventure in, including the croc killing grounds in the Oasis of Marr and Befallen, a tough dungeon for levels 7-27. Best area to work on blacksmithing.
Occasional wandering madmen in Northern Ro are aggressive and very tough, and guards won't save you from them. With the city split up into three separate zones with two newbie areas, it can be confusing at first to find your way around.
The troll city attached to the swamps...
There is a great deal of newbie material in Innothule Swamp and nearby Feerrott. Of note, the frogloks are rich and often swathed in magical cloth armor. I've never had richer characters than my troll.
You only have two zones to travel around in when starting out. You can really get stir crazy after a while and want to move on. Although there are zones nearby, the next 5th to 6th level zone is on the other side of the Feerrott, which is a very long walk if you get killed. For that reason, many stay and kill frogloks for weeks, but that can get tiresome. No bear pelts for patchwork. Very difficult to work on any trade skills down here.
My most fun beta character was a Shaman from Halas, who I acquired after some bug turned my 1st level Warrior into a 4th level Shaman. I didn't complain.
This has one of the two best newbie areas for sheer number of critters and wealth attainable. Just kill everything in sight. Also has pelts available to make patchwork for yourself and your smaller neighbors to the south. Once you map out the zone, it's pretty easy to find your way around in and small enough to manage.
You are *way* in the boondocks. If you don't like your barbarian friends, you had better get used to running through Blackburrow in the pitch black to retrieve your body. Doesn't sound like fun? Also, some of the "low level" quests involve some really dangerous areas.
The dwarven mine turned city...
Butcherblock Mountains have to be the best hunting grounds in terms of having creatures available for every level imaginable. I didn't leave there until 6th level, and then not because I had to. Easiest access to the boat to Freeport.
City itself gets some taking used to walking around. Lots of instances of some random huge monster walking by and swatting everyone ("where did that undead pawn come from?"). Need to go elsewhere to get pelts.
Tree city (makes me more scared of heights).
Very easy access to the city (no zoning needed). Once you know your way around, easy to get to anywhere. Many small creatures to kill, with the orcs providing the occasional exp boost. Provides a great deal of goods if you know where to look.
Tends to be a very busy area, along with Felwithe. Also, orcs tend to be overwhelming and group so much that even my high-level characters would occasionally die from their swarms. Makes my palms sweat cuz I'm scared of heights.
The dark elven city below...
A world unto itself, you could adventure down here for weeks on end. Creatures are tough, but you advance quickly because of it. Newbie area has many areas of different difficulty to hunt in, as well as many quests to enjoy.
City itself is very large and confusing.
The ogres smelly city...
Very small city that is easy to get around in. Lots of good regions between here and by Grobb for newbies on up, and you can smash all day long. Not too many random wandering evil monsters.
No bear pelts for patchwork. The best mid-level hunting around is probably frogloks, and they are almost two long zones away. Easy to get lost in this large zone. Most creatures are aggressive around here.
Home of the Heretics on Odus.
Great newbie ground with tons of easy monsters in low-levels. Tons of quests. Finally a home for the evil Erudites.
Newbie zone is a ways away from trainers. Isolated on Odus, and difficult to get off island safely because you have to go through Erudin, unless you travel via Nexus.
The other human port city... It's also Muse's hometown.
Very well fleshed out city. Really gives you the feel of being in a port town. Readily accessible to many different zones, including the starting zone for rangers and druids and Blackburrow. You could adventure for weeks and never leave the area. Easy access to a lot of other zones, really feels like a melting pot with barbarians, Erudites, humans and half-elves all around.
Newbie area can sometimes get very crowded, and the only 2nd level critters (fire beetles and Klikniks) are groupers.
Home of the Halflings.
Great newbie ground with lots of fire-beatles and spiderlings everywhere. After that is easy cross a big wall to the harder creatures. Lots of pelts from wolves here. Also good fishing with a pond inside the town. Probably the most even graduation to higher levels from levels 1-12 around.
Isolated except from Freeport. Confusing city with a lot of things looking the same.
Home of the Vah Shir.
Compact main city. Newbie area can support levels 1-10, and adjacent zones provide for levels much higher than that.
Long way to any nearby city. City can be quite laggy. Nearby Hollowshade Moor is strangely quite high levelled given the roaming monsters.