Optimistic attitude further from civilisation in US? (7)
I believe the answer is:
upstate
'further from civilisation in us?' is the definition.
(in US states, upstate can mean further from a city)
I don't understand the remainder of the clue.
(Other definitions for upstate that I've seen before include "north of New York, for example" , "away from large cities" , "north of the city?" , "away from the big city" , "At set up (anag)" .)