Is it easier to balance a long rod with a mass attached to it when the mass is closer to your hand or when the mass is farther away?

Yes, It is easier to balance a long rod with a mass attached to it when the mass is farther from your hand.

Explanation:

There it is illustrated how we can hold a long rod while the hand is further away from the surface.

Rotational inertia depends on whether the mass is closer to or further to the rotation point.

The more the mass is, the greater the acceleration of the rotation.

The explanation for this is that the mass variance is directly proportional to the roational inertia height.