The rim. I always end up there anyway. Starting in the core can be very frustrating. The rim, ah, much slower, safer, can be down right boring at times. But you can grow usually quickly there. I have started on a new world 4 times now. I am convinced of course that starting off on day one is still the best, even if you get rimmed because you get a huge advantage over other new joins who are on the rim but don't have a rank 4-6 adviser yet and enough BP to build to city 3 or 4 in no time at all. So, at this point getting rimmed to me is almost a certainty. I've seen too many people try to buy the win in the core on a new world to think that I will finally last there for a long time. You get big and become a target, they find out when you work, and of course take you out before you can even get home. Such is life. You really can't defend yourself well until you get a few cities of your own. The core is "Pay to win" and I have been there 4 times before and I am not going to even begin to think of it as home. Instead, just a place to start to build more long term advantages for myself such as BP, adviser ranks, and finding out which are the best alliances to work towards or move towards. Playing for the long term win by joining the best people, that's what I have come very close too twice before, so, that's my goal. Start early, work towards the best group, do the best that I can. No man is an island, we just all start on one.