I finally finished both of my Settlements, one in each city. Going into the unknown with a countdown timer running was a bit unnerving at the beginning, but I was pleasantly surprised that I had several days leftover in each of them without using diamonds.
I could have finished them hours ago, but with the extra time, I decided to buy one last expansion, and build them a second Mead Hall. Turns out those Vikings are a thirsty bunch. I left each Settlement fully functioning, all tiles filled, all goods and diplomacy buildings running, 1,200+ diplomacy, and copper coins in the bank. If they can't make it on their own now, it's not my fault.
As frustrating as Impediments are, I like that they made it impossible to build them identical.
I thought I'd wait until I got through the Event quests and caught up with the dailies before starting my next ones, but I did that today as well. I'm not quite ready to jump onto the next set, so a day or two break is in order.
With the increasing goods amounts to unlock later Embassy Advancements, there seems to be a flurry of quick activity in the first few days of a new Settlement, quickly tapering down to more relaxed pace as you wait for necessary goods to be produced. Instead of starting the next two simultaneously, I'm going to try staggering them instead. Start one, let it get a few days in then start the other one once the pace on the first slows a bit.
While I like the 'Event on Demand' nature of Settlements, I still don't know how I feel about having to build 15 of just the Vikings alone. If we only see a couple of new cultures a year Settlements might be a fun side activity to do when things get boring in my city, but 1 per quarter or more, they'll quickly overwhelm.