(NOTE: When appropriate, I've added approximate estate boundaries in today's images, via Photoshop; the red lines you see were added by hand and from memory, so should not be considered "exact" measurements by any means. For those who don't know, such marking is unnecessary while actually in the grid; one can simply choose to have property lines appear automatically instead, although they unfortunately don't show up in the resulting screenshots.)

Yeah, I hear what you're saying; that for a guy who endlessly bitches these days about the quality of his connection to Second Life, it seems odd that I might be out there shopping for more land! The truth of the matter, though, is that I have a real-life project that's getting re-activated this month, an arts organization I run called the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography; and part of the overhaul I'm doing there is to add for the first time a Flash-based "virtual photography gallery," which of course is something I'd like to recreate in a 3D way in the grid as well.

Now, it's no secret that I believe in buying small when it comes to land, and that there are actually lots of things that can be done with a small parcel that people might not give it credit for at first; the in-grid headquarters for this blog, for example, has been sitting on a tiny little 512-square-meter plot off the south continent for months now, and for the most part has been exactly what I've needed. But I'll admit as well, that the tiny amount of prims one is allowed to erect on such a parcel (117 total) can be quite frustrating; given the deceptively large amount of prims needed for such everyday things as landscaping and furniture, I find myself most of the time at my plot lacking the resources I need to build the things I really want to.

So, instead of purchasing a separate minimal plot for CCLaP and its virtual presence, I've been thinking of combining both projects into one multi-floor building, and to up the amount of space that building is sitting on to maybe twice the size I now have (or 1024 square meters) or perhaps even triple (1536 m2), which would then give me permission to erect 234 prims or 351 prims respectively. Of course, this would come at a literal cost as well; it would mean that for the first time, I would own enough land that I'd have to pay "property tax" on it (or "tier fees" as they're known in the grid), not a lot but still an extra US$96 a year if I were to buy a 1536-m2 plot. (For those who don't know, part of your benefits for upgrading to a Premium account is that you get to own up to 512 square meters of land essentially tax-free; you don't start paying tier fees in Second Life until you own 513 square meters of land or more.)

I haven't made a final decision yet as to whether I'll be increasing the amount of land I own; I've gotten serious enough about it, though, to at least go out and do a little lookey-loo shopping during my idle moments. Here above, for example, is a 1536-m2 plot that immediately appealed to me when I first came across it; half of it above water, half of it below, in a picturesque section of the mainland and with plenty of access to the open sea. If I were to get a new plot on the mainland, these are the things that would be important for me.

And then here is another "1536er" I came across on the mainland, this time in the middle of the so-called "Linden Lakes" section of the metaverse. (That is, it's not officially called Linden Lakes; it's just the name I've given to the interesting landmass between the north and south continents.) And what's interesting about this plot, I think, is that it's situated on the side of a steep hill, and gives one access to two major unchanging landscape elements; at the bottom, the mouth of a lake that Linden has established (and thus will never disappear), then at the top, a public road that Linden also owns, and that will also never disappear because of resident whims. This is an extremely important detail about the grid, I think, to keep in mind when landshopping; that even when an area seems tasteful and pleasant when first visiting, the situation can quickly change over weeks and months because of changing tastes or changing owners. If you really want to gauge the potential long-term stability of a piece of land, it's important I think to note how much of the surrounding land is in control of the Linden "game gods," and hence will never change in their general makeup.

Of course, I still haven't given up the idea of owning land in the "permanent winter" section of the grid either; it's something I seriously considered as well when buying my original 512 m2, and something that I still think would be pretty damn cool. Check out this 1536er I discovered in the area accidentally one night; again a mix of abovewater and underwater space, again with good access to the open sea, and this time even with a natural land shelf built into the terraforming, to mark my space off from my neighbors even more. It's tempting, I tells ya!

And then as another example, here's a pleasantly hidden 1024-square-meter plot I found in the winter section as well -- that is, it's about two-thirds of the size of the other plots you've been looking at, but twice the size of the plot I currently own. It's an oddly-shaped parcel, to be sure, and situated in an odd location; but there's something about it that just appeals to me, I don't know, and the way that a building there would literally hang off the edge of a cliff and into the water. This is something else that I can't emphasize enough, when it comes to shopping for land in Second Life -- that each parcel out there, each estate for sale, is slightly different than the next, and that you're doing yourself a real favor by looking at a lot of them before deciding what to purchase. There are all kinds of deals to be found on great land out there, and all kinds of quirky, perfect-for-you estates to be discovered; but much like shopping for a house or apartment in real life, it all starts with some serious hitting of the pavement, and with scheduling the free time necessary to go randomly look at a bunch of plots in the first place.

And then finally, I also did something on this latest shopping trip that I've never done before; on top of the usual mainland visits, I also started checking out plots on private sims for the first time. (Here above, for example, is a shot from a new Greek-themed sim called "Land of Opportunity" -- that entire foreground there is a 1536-square-meter plot on sale this second.) Hey, what can I say? Of the two major types of players in Second Life, I consider myself more of an Immersionalist than an Augmentalist; and part of that means that I usually prefer spending time on the mainland, where the "unregulated action" is (so to speak), and where I feel more like part of a large, very real community. It's impossible to deny, though, that opportunities for cool terraforming literally skyrocket when switching from the mainland to private islands, as does one's ability to control one's surroundings; and hey, now that there's a shortage of parcels on the mainland and prices have subsequently shot up through the roof, it doesn't even usually cost extra anymore to buy a plot on a private island, a factor that used to weigh heavily on the purchasing decisions of most residents.

As regular players know, though, there are hidden costs to owning an estate on a private island, versus the mainland; restrictions on architectural styles, restrictions on what you can and cannot do with your land, not to mention a pretty sticky situation if that private island owner suddenly goes out of business. There are lots of things to discuss, when it comes to the relative advantages and disadvantages of mainland living versus island living; that's why I'm saving my thoughts, as well as more photos, for part 2 of this report, coming tomorrow. Anyway, you know what this means; that I might have a very cool 512 square meters of land for sale soon, in the water and right off the coast of the south continent, amid one of the more tasteful neighborhoods you're liable to find in the entire mainland. (And seriously, the neighborhood is so tasteful and upscale that I jokingly refer to it as "Linden's Vineyard.") Based on the rates I've seen elsewhere, I'll probably sell it for L$20,000 if I end up getting rid of it; any early takers? Just drop me a line at inthegrid [at] gmail.com if you're interested in talking more.