Need land store help

I'm considering buying my first island. I have a premium account and currently rent 9200 sq. m of land off-mainland. Obviously I'm going to wait to buy after the price decrease but I've been doing some prep and need some help with the land store.

1. Why can't you buy land that isn't next to land you already own? I don't own any land, how can I buy something next to nothing?

2. Other islands I've visited seem to be their own world, you can't fly off it or see another from the one you're on (unless they are connected). If I bought an island next to another on the land map would it be private or would I see or be able to fly to the one next to it?

3. What's with the terrain maps? Couldn't I just buy a big flat square and do with it what I will? If I get one of their 4 starter islands can I change the terrain including the shoreline? It comes on water right?

1. Why can't you buy land that isn't next to land you already own? I don't own any land, how can I buy something next to nothing?

Islands are just that, islands in the middle of the sea (void).

2. Other islands I've visited seem to be their own world, you can't fly off it or see another from the one you're on (unless they are connected). If I bought an island next to another on the land map would it be private or would I see or be able to fly to the one next to it?

Yes your correct. Islands are 'private'. You can not buy an island and have it connect with another one, unless 1. it's your own island or 2. it's bought as part of an Estate and arrangements are made to have the islands join.

3. What's with the terrain maps? Couldn't I just buy a big flat square and do with it what I will? If I get one of their 4 starter islands can I change the terrain including the shoreline? It comes on water right?

Yes.

Thanks Dekka.

So if I decide to become a big-deal-land-baroness some day I could buy adjoining islands to make an "estate" but only if there's space available next to mine on the grid, right?

I still don't understand why I can't just pick any blue square on the map. Or why they don't just color code what's available. I click square after square that says not available because it's not next to land I own.

I believe someone said the land store (in it's current incarnation) is not completely updated, so the squares you are clicking are either next to somone else's current island or reserved space (spaces next to current islands are reserved for the island owner).

And yes, you can expand later... LL will move your island to more space if you want to purchase more islands and have no room left to expand to.

Don't buy anything until the price change takes affect.

Also you can't buy the "four starter sims" right away you must first own a full 15,000 prim sim then you can buy the low prim sims after. Unless you meant buying 4 x 15,000 prim sims at $4000 U.S. then I just misunderstood you.

The land store is visually not updated but if you click a box it will tell you if available or not so if it says available that means it is open above, to each side and below that square

Actually what it is telling you is that the square your choosing would put your island next to someone elses. Hopefully the 'new' land store will be simpler.

Thanks everyone. I understand this much better now. I'm just planning on one island. Just one more question - what is a low prim island? Are they cheaper?

Referred to as OpenSIMs or VoidSIMs, until recently you had to buy 4 together, now you can buy one, but you must have a 'normal' full island SIM to start with. Yes cheaper.

So this would be used for common space? Parks and the like? If you buy and island could you buy a low-prim island at the same time & have them combined?

It can be used for common space, parks, and the like... but it can be used for whatever you want, remembering it has 1/4 the prims available (and 1/4 the processing power, I believe) than a full island.

You can have them combined physically, but you can't share prims between the two. I am not sure anyone but the lindens know if you can purchase a full island and an openspace island at the same time on the new land store when it comes out.

Many "blue squares" on the map actually have islands built on them because the Land Store's map is at least 9 months out-of-date, and don't even get me started on the yellow squares. I wrote an island-ordering guide specifically targeted toward prospective Openspace sim purchasers (and you must already own a full island before you can buy one of those), but I do speak to some of the general limitations of the current Land Store, and offer some workarounds:
http://wildefirewalcott.blogspot.com/2008/03/openspace-survival-guide.html

Note, however, that if you buy an island today I think you still get hit with the $1700 price instead of the $1000 price that will debut in a couple weeks with Land Store 2.0.