For some of the worst 100-years I’d avoid China between the Taiping Rebellion and the Cultural Revolution. As bad as the Black Death and the Mongol invasions of the 1300’s, with killing products of the industrial revolution thrown in.
A positive epoch would require the place and time to be interesting as well as peaceful, which doesn’t always happen simultaneously. For that I’d pick the Gupta Empire in India.
I gotta go with this time being both. Best in many ways, worst in some. I guess it depends on your yardstick and where you are.
The best? The standard of living for Americans is great. We have weath and power. We are in the forefront (for the most part), of technological and sociological changes, most for the better. The best for many countries also, as they are gaining industrialization and coming out of 3rd world status.
The worst? Rampant change, being present when something changes can be tramatic. Old ways are tossed aside and the new ways push themselves into our lives, sometimes forcibly, and often not welcomed. People don’t like change sometimes, and those that don’t, are in the worst times in history. It only looks to get worse. Worst for other countries as well: Many countries are rich and prosperous, Americans appear to be fat on wealth and priviledge, and many other countries are ravaged by disease, famine and poverty. These countries are often ignored or invisible to the majority of people, and being poor knowing your neighbor has so much money is worse than knowing you are poor but being on equal footing with others.
I would say my 100 years would go from 2000-2100. Unfortunately for me, I was born in 1977.
British India or Hong Kong (provided one was white and wealthy, of course).
Servants, tea on the lawn, IPA Bitter, white linen, warm climate, a sense of adventure and exotica, an innocent sense of technology and progress being all good (and cool technology like steam locomotives and grand ocean liners), and the innocent times meaning you could do all this thinking you were doing the utmost good in the world, and not realising you were being an arrogant, imperialist fuckoff.