how far should I be from other players?

[Trick2G]

I just started playing and I dont know where to make my home, there are just so many bases

[borka]

Either you try to contact the people in the active bases and ask or you better move

Always have a good distance to claim borders when starting to build your settlement (min. 100 tiles)

turn "show claims" on

[epicless]

You may also want to start from an abandoned settlement that isn't too close to water or other active players.

This late in the game, there are a number of places you can fix up and claim for yourself.

[simimi]

At the curent stage of the game, if your claim cant be seen from a boat you should be OK.