is there a city builder game that doesn't require you to fight off invaders, or wage war? I just want a simple city... I have tried pocket city but it is too simple
Try any of the anno games. They are set in a time period either in the past or future based on the year in the name. In addition to building a city you can 'fight' other settlers and pirates in some versions but it's not really a big part of the game. They also have tasks and missions/story but you can just focus on building your city if you want.
Cities: Skyline (2 is coming out soon I believe)
Banished
Against the Storm (Not as much a standard city builder as it is a 'gather and use resources to build a village and survive various events' game but it's pretty great)
Anno is good for this. Not my genre though. I had a decent setup going, it was well balanced with taxes and stuff so I didn't want to expand and mess the equilibrium I had going.