The problem with this game is that it's hard to play casually unless you already have an "established" character. Getting to 75 is literally the hardest part. It's not a one-way shot either. You have to get to 18, level your sub-job, then level to 50, then get Limit 1 done, level to 55, get Limit 2 done, then level to 60, finish your AF gear (You need help for that and for some jobs you don't need it, but for a first timer it's very hard to have enough money to AH replacement gear), do Limit 3, level to 65, Limit 4, level to 70, Limit 5 and then level to 75. All that is stuff you HAVE to do for your first toon and that's assuming you want to level to 75 with any of the starter jobs.
If you want to do it with advanced jobs, you have to hit 30 with a starter job, do quests to unlock the advanced jobs and THEN start from level 1 with an advanced job.
And also, as you hit mid-levels, people begin to want to XP at areas you don't have access too. So you have to do missions just to get access to places where people want to XP.
So there's definitely an initial investment of time that, as much as any FFXI die hard player will try to deny, isn't very fun and isn't a very easy experience, that you HAVE to get out of the way. It's possible to be mediocre at your job with AH gear, but you'll get raised eyebrows. People treat people like dirt who don't have Ra/EX gear.
I won't lie though - FFXI is definitely > to WoW when it comes to good community. Friends in FFXI are DIE-hard friends. I've come back three times, and every time I come back, the gear I'm being given gets better and better. The first time I came back, I got 500k and rank 5 when I was level 20. The second time I came back, I was in an HNM LS when I wasn't even level 60 yet, had all my AF in my MH when I was level 50 and by the time I was level 60 I was given 20 million gil from a Kraken club sale split and had enough money to buy gear for three jobs to 75.
Third time I'm back? I'm wearing Scorpion Harness +1 and I have a haubergeon +1 sitting in my safe. My friends never left, and whenever I come back they're always there to give me stuff. In WoW? My friends will always take me on runs, but they change guilds, realms, classes. People come and go so fast in WoW.
In all honesty, if you can't dedicate at least 2-3 weekends where you're putting in 6-10 hours a day just to level, don't pick this game up. It will chew you up and spit you out. It's not a casual game AT ALL. If you KNOW you can make the hump to 75, it's worth considering. S-E definitely added a LOT of casual aspects for a 75 to do. Campaigns, Besieged, BCNM's, level sync, meriting, lower HP mobs for XP'ing. The first time to 75 is an absolute nightmare, even after all the buffs, XP nerfs, level syncing and "newb gear", it's STILL a nightmare.