Anyone mind helping me find my first 512 parcel?

I'm new (as of yesterday), not trying to jump into anything, but I'm looking to purchase my first 512 m2 parcel (that's allowed with the premium account).
Anyone want to help a newbie find a "well established" area?

Welcome! Consider a moment ... if you buy it and don't like it (a particular risk with mainland property, which is what you're talking about), you will then want to sell it before moving on. How about you just hang out for a couple of months before buying?

There is no weather here, you don't really NEED shelter at all! Even if you want to build, you can use public sandboxes. I hung out for 6 months, and then I rented.

But with the whole rent thing, it defeats the purpose of the free 512 M2 tier with SL premium account. I have a small business idea and wanted to get a store front opened up.

Only problem, I'm so new that I don't know the best areas for a business.

Welcome Sheldon, and well done on finding the forum page too. Most people don't bother, but you made the right choice.

Personally though, if you can afford it, I'd advise finding a larger plot than the 512sqm if you can afford it. There's suprisingly little you can do with 512. Or consider the idea of renting in a mall for a few weeks first.

I guess I shouldn't argue with experience! Everyone keeps saying to rent for a while first. I guess I'll look around for a good place to do that.

But where should I look. Again, I'm looking for established nice areas. I've been to a few places that are just cluttered with forsale towers, and other junk and it really looks bad (IMO).

By the way, where do I find those public "sandboxes" ?

The public ones are best avoided, unless you enjoy having giant Cartman's from South Park getting in the way.

use the search function to find a place called "New Creations", in a sim called Kaemi. It's run by Anna Adamant. She doesn't allow weapons, so if that's what you were going to build then it won't be any good for you. Otherwise, it is the best sandbox in SL.

Use the search button, click places, type sandbox....

Basically, use search like Google to find whatever you're looking for in Second Life.

As you're new, I'd recommend the sandbox at New Citizens Plaza. Lots of volunteers around to give help when required, and you'll also find details of courses, and a wealth of other information -- about things like buying land for example. Heh. Two birds/one stone!

The mainland is basically the wild west due to the lack of zoning.
Buying in PG sims is a good idea if you want to avoid the worst cases of crass commercialism (pornographic ad plots).
But if your business plan involves mature content (or you plan on doing mature things on your land) then you'd be wise to avoid PG.

Traffic is highest near welcome areas and infohubs, so those parts of the mainland are good for business.

Unfortunately, parcels cost a lot more at those locations.

HTH & good luck Sheldon!

Edit: PS. Don't forget to visit The Ivory Tower Library of Primitives in Natoma if you're new to building.

I haven't had any problems at Obscure Sandbox. Of course, now I've said that in the forums it will probably no longer be Obscure

If you just type "sandbox" into Search/Places, it'll show you a lot of them. Use one with relatively low traffic, no weapons allowed, and frequented by people who are not in your time zone, and you'll be all set. If the ground is cluttered, you can go up into the sky above and build. I have my own sandbox, and still occasionally use public ones.

Oh and re: a store. Where you rent depends on the kind of business you will have. For example, there is more than one mall devoted to hair alone!

Similarly, some of the bigger stores have vendor booths that they rent to people selling related products, and I think those are a great deal for people who need visibility. I always check them out.

So what sort of thing are you selling?

Well, I'm not selling it yet - just have an idea right now. seeing if I can find a place to get it started.

If you need free textures I suggest you visit Harbinger's and Dreams sandboxes. They have lots of all types. In addition, I have never had any problem with griefing at either.

Maybe I'm just being contrary, but... if one were to come upon an appealing, well-priced 512 and buy it, what's the worst that could happen? With a Premium account, no tier fees are incurred. Especially in light of the recent blog post, it seems unlikely that Mainland prices will fall completely through the floor, so if the parcel is sold-off later, most of the purchase price is likely to be recouped--and even a small profit isn't inconceivable. I guess I think that I learned a lot from my first 512 that I could never have learned in a sandbox... not about *how* to build, but more like *what* to build, and *why*. (And of course, for scripters, some things just require parcel perms to test.)

I do agree that there's no rush... but I wouldn't feel too afraid of taking the step, either.