Nation change?

[Alhanelem]

I'm talking about legacy though, not new characters

edit: that is to say, simply by virtue of logging in with my main class, my nation (part of the identity of the character) was switched on me.

I know what you were talking about, I'm just trying to tell you that in ARR, your starting city has essentially no meaning. Your grand company is the true representation of which nation you have allegance to. Your starting city is just that- where your character initially entered the game for A Realm Reborn. It means nothing else. It doesnt' mean you're sworn to that city or you were born there (because none of us were, all adventurers came to Eorzea from other lands).

In short, your grand company, which you choose during the game, should be what you identify yourself with.

The change to tying starting city with starting class was specifically made to ensure that whichever class you entered the game as, you would have easy access to that class's guild- especially since one of the first quests you do (whether you're a new character or not) has you visit that classes' guild as one of the objectives.