However, there are lots of reasons NOT to move your capital right away, and only a few good reasons to do so.  Your capital move has some unique features that make it too valuable to waste:  It is immediate -- no travel time from one location to another.  You can take all city upgrades with you.  And you keep all your original resource fields, so moves to locations that would otherwise be unattractive are possible.

Most vets agree that new players should wait to move their capital until they become more familiar with the game.  This post will begin with arguments against some of the most common reasons cited for moving a capital early and conclude with suggestions about when a capital move is in order.

1)  "I always get bumped when I'm harvesting."  This is the most common reason cited by new players wanting to move their cities.  However, moving your capital won't solve this problem very well, and the problem is not as important as you might think.  

FACT 1: Most players do NOT derive a large proportion of their resources from harvesting in the long term.  Moving your capital to avoid being bumped is a permanent solution to a short-term problem. FACT 2: Moving your capital may not help you harvest more resources.  In outlying areas where fewer people harvest, resources will be re-spawned less frequently.  Also, you are not the only new player with this idea.  Within a day or two, you will find that your previously lonely area is now inhabited by several other new players as well as existing players with far more caravans -- and you will continue to be bumped.

Solution:  Be patient and build up your resource fields.  Harvesting is far less important after about the first week in Illy -- don't jump into a capital move for this reason.

2)  "There's a big, scary player right next to me."  Chances are, your big, scary neighbor will be friendly.  Even if he/she is not, you are unlikely to be attacked militarily while you are new.  If you are attacked, it will be far easier for others to help defend you if you are in the new player ring, close to big players who are friendly and can help.

Solution:  Send the scary, big player a mail and make a friend.  Also, make sure you introduce yourself in global chat so that if you have any problems, people will recognize you as a friendly face.

3) "I joined the game with my friends and they are all in Mal Motsha/ Fremorn/ Wolgast/ Larn"  While proximity to friendly players can be a big plus in Illy, don't jump into a capital move right away.  Your friends may have moved to the area without being aware that it is dominated by a particular alliance, that it has an unfriendly faction, or that the terrain offers little in the way of all-important food bonus.  You don't have to make the same mistake.

Solution:  Stick tight where you are for a little while and learn about the various regions of Illyriad.  You can still hang out with your friends in global and/or alliance chat.  You can make an educated choice about joining your friends when you know a little more about what makes good city site.

4) "I keep being scouted/spied/thieved."  While players in more crowded regions may be somewhat more likely to be diplo attacked, diplo attacks can occur anywhere in Illy.  Moving does not guarantee you will be safe from your attacker.  It does mean that you will be farther away from veteran players who can help replace your losses.  Wherever you go, determined thieves can find you -- so you will need to take the same steps to be prepared.

Solution:  Upgrade your mage tower and cast the strongest slaying rune you can on your city.  Upgrade your consulate and train some diplos, particularly basic thieves, for defense.  Study Interrogation.  If you catch a thief as a new player, please let gc know so they can take steps to make sure the attacker does not continue to thieve new players.

OK, so those are some reasons NOT to move your capital.  What are some good reasons for a capital move?

1)  You have joined an alliance that is geographically concentrated and leadership has ordered/ suggested that you move.  It's advisable to be sure you're comfortable with your new alliance before you move -- unhappiness can result when a player joins an alliance, moves to a hub and then subsequently decides to leave.

2)  You have maxed out or nearly maxed out your resource fields and are ready to claim sovereignty, but your spawn spot does not have attractive sovereignty options.  You have found a new spot for your capital that has options more in line with your long-term goals.  (See the Guide to Sovereignty for more about finding good sov spots.)

3)  Your city is producing adequate supplies to meet your needs, you are comfortable with your ability to defend yourself, and you'd like to carve out a little piece of Illy for your own, perhaps by starting a second city.  You want to locate your capital close to your new city (on an advantageous sovereignty square) in order to better support your second city.

If any or all of the above reasons apply to you, it's time to move your city! Look for an upcoming guide to finding a spot to locate a capital.

Good luck in your new location!

Updated to add:  It is no longer possible to use Tenaril's spell to relocate during the 7 days of newcomers protection.  This doesn't mean players should automatically move at the end of that time.

It's noteworthy that players with only one city will NOT have the option to move that city after the one-time teleport spell under the new rules.  Therefore a new player who moves to an undesirable location will not have the option to move again until they have built up enough population and have actually started a new city.  So I think taking a lot of time to think and to understand the ramifications of the decision is still important, and the choice should not be made hastily.

1: When you see that really nice sovereignty square (+3 cavalry production or whatever) that you want for your very own, do not teleport your city directly on top of it.  You won't get any bonus from it. Do build next to it, and preferably next to several other nice sovereignty bonuses.

2: Your basic resource sites in your capitol move to whatever square you occupy.  Do not move to a 7-food square or a rich iron square thinking you will reap the benefits, because nothing will change.  Do consider the defensive benefits of moving to a site such as a mountain or forest.  This will make your city harder to attack while ultimately costing you nothing in terms of resources.

This thread is directed to new players contemplating their free move.  Since Exodus requires a level 20 warehouse and about 5000 research points I'm guessing that anyone who can use it already knows where and how to place their capitol.

Whether one decides to wait to build that new capitol up or not before moving would be a matter of preference I imagine. However, it may be advisable to exodus the main to cause the shift, but do so to a location not too close - and yet still close by - say, 20 squares - to where one is going to tenaril their 7 food, and exodus it to a 7 food square while considering their SOV possibilities and dolmens, etc to maximum effect for their planned specialization for that city as well as defensive considerations. But from what I understand, failing to consider landing on a high food producing square may be detrimental to someone's long-term strategy.

 Thorulfr Gunnarssen

Will do.  Maybe mention in this planned guide that some jungle squares look nice until you figure out that their resource sum is only 23 instead of 25. 

Any news on that "Where to move" guide?

Many thanks.