Thanks, knowing about this game mode makes me want to play Civ again!
I was wondering if you have any thoughts on how we as individuals might act to acquire useful information effectively. A lot of information out there that we normally consume (social media/news etc) is often eye-catching or interesting but not very useful (it doesn’t change our plans or outlook in life). Personally I would guess that books might be the best bet, but it can be hard to find the right ones.
Immigration issues aside, I second the choice of the United Kingdom. Having lived in several European countries, the UK probably has one of the strongest intellectual cultures I’ve seen. The population is roughly that of California and Texas combined, and yet its combined cultural and scientific outputs is on par with the US as a whole (it has received the second largest number of Nobel prizes in the world, and in terms of Nobel prizes per capita it outperforms the US by a factor ~2).
However, I would say that Oxford wouldn’t be my first choice:
Most great things about Oxford are behind the walls of the colleges—if you are not a member of the university, you feel quite cut off from the intellectual life there. (Even as a member of the university, things are only active during term times, which are much shorter than elsewhere)
Living outside Oxford and commuting in is a pain—the roads are always clogged, even for buses. Commuting by train is possibly only from a few places.
I would recommend living near London:
London is a really fun city. Whatever your interests might be, it is quite likely that you will find groups with the same interests as you. Also the food scene is amazing—you could probably find both great restaurants and grocery shops specializing in any cuisine you want.
Public transport is pretty great, much better than what I have seen in e.g. NY. It is common to live >1 hr outside the city and commute in, so there are lots of places in the countryside which are affordable but with a direct train to central London.
The job market is very active, and it shouldn’t be a problem for two people to find a job here.