Buying Land/House

Ok been looking at more places etc.

I dont really understand the world as such.. does it matter where you live?

I done land search for 512 - Mature on the mainland is that really all I need to do

It only matters if somethings bother you. If you find a place Teleport to it, have a look around the land plot and see what else is there, visually you should know if you would be happy there or not.

The dimensions of a 512 are normally 16mts x 32 mts, although some may come in odd shapes.
When purchasing a pre-made house, you should check prim count for it. You need to budget the 117 prims allocated by a 512 carefully. Maybe use 30-40 prims for the house, but absolutely no more than 60. That would leave you just enough prims for furniture and landscaping.

if land is "Group Owned" does that matter?

If your buying land that says it's group owned, that's all it means, it's owned by a group rather than one person. If you buy this on mainland, full title will go to you. If you buy this on an island, your not actually buying at all, but paying a lease fee upfront.

So, not to complicate things, make sure you buy on mainland.

Another tip, when you TP to a parcel click on the land and choose 'about land' a yellow line will appear showing you the area for sale.

when you land in a place you like, do a little FPS check too. sometimes nice little spots have huge lag from surrounding builds. nothing is more irritating than not being able to move or chat or build because the lag is interfering with your experience.

anything next to a club will bring lag at unexpected times. malls can be laggy, but i actually don't find them to be too bad as long as there are no campers at ground level.

if you see a lot of green dots on the map near the place you are thinking of buying, i suggest you go investigate them. it might make you change your mind for that whole sim.

you can check your frames per second by hitting ctrl-shft-1

also, before making a purchase, check out grassy lands, granite lands, flat ones and mountainous ones, and waterfronts. see which makes you feel more 'comfy'. making the purchase is easy. changing your mind and selling is a lot more frustrating, so you'll want to buy a spot you really like.

it took me months to find my perfect land, and then i sold it because i could not expand in that arae, and i totally regret that decision in retrospect.

Check the wiki:
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Land_Buying_FAQ

The main thing is don't jump into anything. Take your time looking at lots of places.

There is no reason to buy a house that is 50 prims in and of itself if all you have is a 512. Sure, you could decorate the rest with 67 prims but then you have this elaborate house that is almost empty or with very non-elaborate furniture.

Shoot for 30 prims, tops. And that's pushing it. I built a 10-prim house that is a freebie - the house is actually 8 prims, but you need the teleporters to go up and down.

You can enjoy a 512 if you are smart with the house - both in size and prims.

Yes, a 512 parcel is a great starter plot.

As others have said, look for low prim houses and furniture. Also, don't spend a lot...you may decide after a little practice to have a go at building your own.

You can find a ton of both on SL Exchange, and it will save you from teleporting all over the grid to different stores. One you ought to check out, though, is Grendel's Children. They are known for their nonhuman avatars, especially dragons...but they have a new display of affordable, low prim furniture that's worth a look.

Don't limit yourself to conventional thinking. What if you bought a water parcel, and built an undersea house? Or lived on a boat, or a submarine? (Note: The water will actually come inside an underwater structure, but you can mostly disguise this with lighting).

How about a house on stilts? Or one high in the sky? You could live in an airship...the gasbag makes for tremendous extra interior living space. But your airborn structure does not have to actually be an aircraft. A brick house or a stone cavern will stay aloft every bit as well.