Don't chop, don't whip until you reach happiness cap. no hills means short term production is coming from those forests or from a whip. 1N is a possibility but I would move the non-settler unit diagonal NW to see if there is anything to the north. You said it was all ice... the edge of the visible north looks a bit grey, so I would have guessed tundra or ice too (the pine trees mean you are getting close either way). My next cities would have gone due south or SE, depending on terrain.
Anything past that needs exploration. I would only chop the forests when I want to improve a tile, so the ones next to the river are it, if i decide this is a commerce city. GP farm is more likely, with all that food.
