How should I pick a province to colonize?

[Krum]

From Maps-->Provinces you can see what provinces your empire has. When the name is in red it means you have already settled this one. All players start on province 8 with planes terrain so it is fair for everybody.

In the beginning it is best to settle plains or plains with forests, this is so you can get a bigger villager population early on. After that you can think of the other terrains. The armies move horizontally or vertically. Chose provinces that border your first one (if you can)so you can form a cross. If your middle province is walled from all four sides any enemy attacking there will fight with 20 point morale penalty.