A Place To Call Mine

Last night, I took the final step to full citizenship. I bought land.

I don't know what got into me, but I had the urge to turn on the yellow dots on the world map, and start looking at what was available. Since the "First Land" program ended way before my time, I expected most things to be out of my price range. (at least things that weren't surrounded by those annoying little rotating ad boards.). I wanted to keep the purchase price below 10kL. But, after the initial purchase price, I figured that I could afford to pay tier for anything 2048sqm and under.

The Holistic Land Guide
Or...how I shopped for my first spot of land

Many guides recommend answering a few questions before starting a land search. I didn't bother with all of the soul searching. I knew how much I could afford, both up front and in tier. Other than that, I went in with no other ideas on what I would like. Only that "I'd know it when I see it".

Finding land for sale is very easy. I'm no expert, but the two methods I know of are:
1. Turn on "Land For Sale" on the world map. This will highlight all lots that are for sale in yellow.
2. Use the Find window to search Land Sales

I used a mix of #1 and #2. First I would pick a property from the search, and then just wander around the map from there.

At first what I saw was a whole bunch of yuck.

Either the lot was in a sea of empty blackness with rotating "For Sale" signs, or near a club, or 'naughty' place. All had horrid skylines with rotating ad signs.

Ok then...maybe a residential zoned island or estate with a covenant. On the bright side, if I do that I will still have the 512sqm available for a tier-free shop if I ever open one.

Then I saw it! The perfect spot!
It even comes with all of the items here! I can afford tier...how much is the asking price? $16,999. :( Ouch. I'd gladly go over budget for this place, but I can't really afford that much. Goodbye dream home...

Flying away from my dream, I spotted some empty lots with 'For Sale' boxes. "That's odd", I thought, "they aren't showing yellow on the map..." I landed and examined the property: "Starter Land - Accounts less than 90 days old, contact ACS for $1024 price". ACS...Anshe Chung....I'm in Dreamland, where I started 3 weeks ago! Well, I know her sims are reliable.

$1024L for a 1024 parcel? That can't be right. I IM'd the contact. Sure enough, the price is valid. Anshe Chung reserves some smaller lots for new citizens at discount prices. There aren't many, and they don't show up on land searches, but I managed to find one still available what wasn't too horrible. At least there were no eyesores. So I closed the deal, and now own property in Ellis Island, part of the Dreamland 2007 expansion. This is a great deal. It is the same price per square meter as the discontinued First Land program. And it is fully deeded, so I can sell later if I wish to. (Dream Beach house...you aren't dead yet!)

Well...here we are. My new little slice of SLife. It isn't perfect. I still wish I could have afforded the beach house. But I have to start somewhere, and I couldn't beat this price. Plus I have a whole new shopping trip to plan for!