If you don't intend to spend money - and you only proceed with 2 builders - it will go very slowly. Very. It's also good to note early in the game that expansions are also a big deal. I have 2 working cities - one where I spent money and one where I didn't. The no-pay city has 14 available epansions that I won't purchase...and so my game is slow slow. Compared to the pay game, it's awful. I really admire the people who have patience to persevere, but many of them wish they'd known how slow it was going to be before they got started.
So, noticing your question, I'd just like to point out that builders, epansions, and the Magic Academy upgrade - these will make a huge difference in the progress of your game. If you're finding it slow now, wait until you have hundreds of upgrades to make with only 2 builders, and the upgrades take 10+ hours each!