I strongly think that it’s better to be near the river because then you can cool off if the day is really hot. Also, crops need water almost every day to keep it going. If you live far then it can take time and like you may get hungry by walking while holding a very heavy thing of water. What I basically mean is transportation. If one day you didn’t have a bit of good luck getting food then you can get many fishes easily if you live near the river. Someday it will rain and then rainwater can be used for food. It’ll make food go off easily. One of the reasons I would not live far is that if u suddenly run out of water and you’re really thirsty then u have to walk quite a lot to get what you want. Most importantly your life will be easier.