This is counter-intuitive, imho. They add seamless zoning to the game, and people assume that these large areas are one zone? Every single Aether is surrounded by an area that is its own respective zone - if you run with a group, you can even see people depop and repop across the borders.

As for ranking 1-50 in one zone - there's no reason to grind on open-field mobs at all. Ever. They're for farming. Properly linked levequests will send your SP pull far beyond even the /feeling/ of "grinding" (something I absolutely love about FFXIV) and you can move right on from zone to zone to zone. You're literally playing through just enough parties between two ranks to learn to efficiently use the abilities that come with them and that's all you need (again, imho).

There are many more zones coming to the game, but these are the main bases of operations. If FFXIV were FFXIII, these areas would be the Central Plains.

The only flaw in these zones is the lack of distinctness to each. I don't mind if they all share a similar theme, but dear Twelve, PLEASE, some unique plants or landscape features or something. Too much copypasta. As for the rest of your concerns, I think some will be addressed in time, and some just require being looked at from a different vantage point.