...might have to say goodbye to Lurkers on Tich :(

[Phoenix]

Then get a character above level 40 on a PvP server.  I think that level 20-40 range is the real hump that one has to get over.  You have neither the power nor the mobility to deal well with attempted gankers, and the world available to explore is small.  But after 40, you're no longer the easy prey that the real assholes go for, you have a mount, and the area to explore is much larger.  You're no longer ganking fodder at that point, and everything you're going to see after that is PvP fighting.

I'm curious why you think that. There is nothing magical about level 40 that suddenly stops the ganking. Horde still swarms me as soon as they see me, and every other level ?? I see gladly chases me for several minutes just to kill me. I don't call it PvP fighting when I'm fighting two-three Horde, all much higher level than me. I call it ganking. Mount is no good, they have mount too. And they frequently have Mithril Spurs, Carrot on a Stick and all that so they can catch me most of the time. No contested area is safe from ganking and it never will be, even at level 60.

I think it would help to have you play as a Horde player, because you wouldn't have the comfy blanket of Redridge, Darkshire, and the Wetlands.

I frequently hear these three areas mentioned as a plus for Alliance, which baffles me. When you're Alliance, once you reach level 20 you're screwed because every area you would want to go to after that is contested and there you're prime meat for any and all Horde gankers who feel like messing up your day. From there on out it only gets worse.

But Horde can stay in Barrens till level 25 without any risk of Alliance gankers, and after that they have Stonetalon and Thousand Needles with is just as "comfy blanket" as Wetlands or Duskwood, and brings you to a higher level than any of those areas.

And if you want to gank, Horde has it easier too. Redridge is filled with level 15s to 18s or so running around, just waiting for a nice Horde-gank. There's plenty of victims in Duskwood too, somewhere around level 22-26.

But for Alliance you have to check Stonetalon or Ashenvale and see if there is any Horde foolish enough to not stay in the Barrens. And as you said, Orgrimmar is so close to both those areas, and reinforcements could be coming at any time.

And slightly off-topic, Horde also has two instance dungeons (Ragefire and Wailing) where they can find some nice drops and quest rewards while Alliance has one (Deadmines).

In short, while I hear so many Horde players going on and on about how Alliance is "easy-mode", it's my opinion that Horde has it a lot better.