in the first place vs to begin with

in the first place and to begin with both are adverbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
in the first place	No	No	No	Yes
to begin with	No	No	No	Yes

As adverbs, in the first place and to begin with are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of in the first place include earlier, in the beginning, originally.

in the first place (adverb)	to begin with (adverb)
of primary import	before now
before now