This is what I did on my last character. Do the first few Outland quests and you will have gear far superior to anything in Azeroth outside of the old endgame. Then go back and get the last two levels in Azeroth. With the increased XP from 2.3 you can get to 60 just as fast as you would in outland and you end up with more quests left over at 70 to make gold.

Agreed - the first few quests in HFP can be brutal (at least on my not-so-well-geared warrior), so I did a couple of the easier quests, got some loot, got some help on the harder quests, then went back to work on the rest of the grind to 60 on Azeroth content.

That, in my opinion, is the best way, because you can sometimes, with luck, hit 61 or 62 before having to head back into Outland, leaving you plenty of quests there after hitting 70 to just reap the gold from without needing to bother with dailies.

"Do both IMO. Go to Outlands at 58, pick up some quest greens, then go back to Azeroth and slaughter the remaining quests with superior gear."

This is full of win imho. My last 2 70s did this and it was perfect. My favorite "finisher" zone is Silithus--no one around, and a bunch of "kill x number of y" quests. Also, if you are trying to get to 300 cooking before Outlands, you can do the desert dumplings quest from the Cenarion Innkeeper.

Make sure to train up your professions in Honor Hold/Thrallmar as well. Most of the stuff you can gather/mine/skin/make from Azeroth won't go grey until at least 320.

You can train professions at level 50 if you already have the requisite skill level. I always hitch a summon or portal to get that done immediately at 50 so you can level it while still in Azeroth. All of my professions have been able to gain nearly 25 points (sometimes more, go go gadget herbalism) in Az.

What's wrong with Nagrand and Terrokar? They are quite good looking and not at all "alien-homeworld-and-space-crystals" -- unless you count Shatt. I also think Zangarmarsh has its own charm.

The leveling changes they made to Azeroth in 2.3 were to bring the 20 to 60 leveling up to par with Outlands leveling. I doubt they'll increase the leveling speed for outlands when wrath drops.

It drops from a few specific mobs, most notably the Dire Maul arena bosses.

It's also a world drop, and Azeroth is the world. About the only items I can think of that drop in both Outland and Azeroth is runecloth and a few herbs.

AMG! dire maul arena.. i totally forgot this existed, im goinna go back a check it daily like i used too, hes prolly much easier to solo now

"Isn't the Orb of Deception a world drop? Hardly a reason to stay in Azeroth...."

It's an Old World drop. Until they radically change something in a future patch (and doubtful they will) Orb of Deception does not drop in Outland, like Eye of Shadow doesn't drop in Outland.

Speaking of which, WTB Benediction upgrade quest.

... but it's not necessarily about the loot or the travel times. It's about having fun, like the CyanRose said in her original LJ post.