(This is part 2 of an essay I started last week, on the subject of buying one's first largish plot of land [1,500 square meters or so], and the various options one has for such a purchase. Click here for part 1, if you haven't gotten to read it yet.)

So, as mentioned last time, so far in the ten months I've been a resident in Second Life, anytime I've gone shopping for land it's been in the mainland -- that is, the three very, very huge sections of connected land in SL's "grid" universe, that were originally constructed by Linden Lab (owners and puppetmasters of SL) for the purpose of selling into smaller chunks to the playing public. At the very beginning of the grid's history, the mainland was all there was (and it was only what is now known as the 'north continent,' too, with the other two sections of the mainland created much later); it is where many of the veterans still are, the place that's considered "public ground," definitely the thing for people who believe in walking around and checking out neighbors, following roads or train lines to see what's around, and other ways of "immersing" oneself in the grid. (These people, not so coincidentally, are referred to often as "Immersionalists.") And I admit, I'm more of an Immersionalist myself than the opposite, what's known as an "Augmentalist" (where SL for them is more like the coolest chat environment ever invented, but not an entirely separate world), which is why I've tended to shop on the mainland for new parcels all this time.

Ah, but in our modern times, there is another option readily available for those seeking to purchase a larger personal estate; for about US$4,000 a year (2000 pounds, 3200 euros), a person or group can own their own private island in the grid (also known there as a 'sim'), a full 64,000 square meters out in the middle of the ocean somewhere, and then resell that land bit by bit to the general public. Here's just one island above, for example, that I picked completely at random; if I'm counting right, you can see there maybe five or six very large structures on that particular island, which in this case would give each re-purchaser something like 10,000 square meters apiece; with of course the owners of the island also having the right if they want to chop it all the way down to 64 parcels of 512 square meters apiece, and to sell them all to new players looking for a nice little beginning parcel.

And indeed, there are some private sims there that do just that; and then there are places like the sim I found on my last shopping trip, a new sim called Land of Opportunity (also known as just Opportunity), which has a Classical/Greek theme to the entire 64,000 square meters, and whose owners sell off almost all of it as nicely-sized 1,400 to 1,600 m2 plots, perfect for your first largish personal estate. What you're looking at above, for example, is the same 1,536 square meters I was looking at on the mainland the other day; but with this being a private island, of course, it butts up on two sides to open water, has a lovely semi-abandoned terrain around it, and is controlled by an overseer concerning what can be built there and what it can look like. This of course is both the blessing and the curse of owning land on a private sim; that unlike the mainland, now there is a higher authority who will likely have at least some say over what goes on in your plot. Think of it as SL's self-governing zoning committees, or condo boards, or neighborhood associations, or even sovereign nations; hell, there are certainly some groups of private islands out there that could easily qualify, based on population alone.

That's what the owners of Opportunity are doing with the entire sim, in fact; along all four sides where beachfront property lays, they are selling it all off as mid-sized parcels to the general public. This in effect creates a ring of residential zoning on the island; here above, for example, are some shots of other parcels further down the beach that have already been sold and residences built.

The original owners of the sim, then, have held onto the ownership of the center of the island; what they've created there is an agora of sorts, a nicely landscaped commercial area and social gathering place, to entice both people to buy plots around it and for visitors to come back regularly. Why, they even have a lasertag stadium in the middle of it, as you can see in the above photos, their virtual version of a colosseum, where the public can both rent out time and special weapons that work within the pit. And to be truthful, the idea of a large commercial space is not that uncommon among owners of private sims; there is a real mixed-zoning element to almost all the private sims out there meant for the public to visit, as is usually the case in capitalist societies.

In the very middle of the island, then, the owners of Opportunity have erected a giant mountain that is also group public land; a way to shield off neighbors, a nice piece of landscaping to look at, and fitting in well with the entire Classical/Greek theme they have going on there. And again, this is not unusual among private sims that are looking to resell among the public; that's a big part of what drives people away from the mainland and to these islands in the first place, is a chance for more beautiful and unsoiled surroundings. Yes, as always, I know that sounds weird if you've never actually been in the grid before; and as always, chalk it up to part of the "mystique" of Second Life, the part of the gameplay that you can't exactly describe to others but must be experienced, which of course is what drew so many people to it to begin with.

Here, though, was the parcel at Opportunity that I found most appealing; and that's because, due to a glitch that came with splitting the parcels, this one ended up with a slender face of the mountain in its border as well as flatland. (I've added the boundaries of the parcel as yellow lines in the above photos; as in part 1, these were done by hand and after the fact, and shouldn't be construed as the technical boundaries of the actual parcel.) And I admit it, I love the idea of building a residence and place to conduct interviews/throw parties, that consisted of Greek porticos and gazebos hanging off the face of that mountain, connected by little stone walkways with ivy hanging off them; yeah, just like Rivendell, you f***ing nerd! Plus, ooh, it's hard not to be tempted by such easy access to the open sea; ever since I made it the feature of ITG last fall one month, I've really had sailing fever while in the grid.

Now, as I mentioned, Opportunity is just one random private sim I ended up checking out on my last shopping trip; there are lots and lots of other private islands and island chains just like it out there, frankly, that sport a whole world full of specialized themes, from all nudist sims to all cyberpunk ones, furries, Swedes, vampires, professors, just about anything you can name. As always, it's definitely worth doing a lot of walking and a lot of shopping before settling on a final choice. So what will I do? Bite the bullet and take on the larger parcel, so that my arts center and SL blog can peacefully co-exist there? If so, on the mainland? Or on a private sim? Ooh, so many questions! As always, dear readers, you'll know the answers as soon as I do, probably by the middle of next month.