Advantages of mainland

I was thinking of moving out of mainland, because of the griefings and stuff (Bush signs). Though there are many residential areas for rent on private sims, since I have a shop and event place (also a work platform), that wouldn't cut it. I needed commercial.

I looked around in Ansheland first, I found 4 sims that are commercial zoned. The prices are okay, however, the terrain didn't have much appeal (too crowded and too much sand, too flat).

Then I checked my own place on the mainland, and thought about why it isn't crowded... In fact, the sim I am in, has about 20 000 sqm of Linden water in it! Wow! That's about 1/3rd of the sim. While Ansheland has (understandably) less water, since every sqm not given out for rent means a potential profit loss. Now, I'm not blaming Anshe, and I certainly have not looked at all sims (only the 4 commercial ones plus a few residentials), but I got the feeling that the Linden lands (at least SOME ones) have a BIG BIG advantage to private sims.

If I am in a sim with 1/3rd part water, I kinda get the 'clear view' free. Of course, it's not really free, as it is in the land price at the time I buy that parcel from someone. But I dunno how private sims can compete with that, I am sure they mostly can't afford 1/3rd protected land, or if they can, you'll have to pay the price, meaning much higher rates than mainland.

Well... and the bush sign... as griefing it is, I have no option. Maybe the overall cheapest move is to buy it for L$ 5000.

Hm .... I cannot completely follow you.

What we do on our residential sims of Cosy Island is to offer water lots or landscape lots for sale that are not meant to be built on. We have a beautiful landscape, not just flat sand.

So, if I already had a 2000 m2 parcel with a nice house but ran out of prims, why should I not want to buy an extra lot somewhere on the sim in order to increase my prim allowance?

This way nobody would have to pay for any protected area indirectly whether he wants to or not.

On Cosy Island I am still able to sell land for very reasonable prices. But I have to admit that this sims are not interesting for you as we only have a small shopping area.

So, where is the advantage of the mainland and why should I not be able to compete with mainland prices? I can speak only for Cosy Island, but you can buy parcels for something around 6.5 L$ / m2 .... waterfront, beautiful landscape, no ugly signs in the air, no scryscrapers, no malls.

Maybe I have just not understood the point.

Mel

My point: at first glance, it seemed to me that the private (to-be-rented) sim parcels are very crowded.
Crowded, because the private sim owner has to efficiently space out parcels, leaving less 'buffer' land.

But you're right, one solution is selling water land, with the rule that one should not build in water (with maybe minor exceptions, like a boat deck, etc.).



That's true, but there needs to be a balance between fees and what you get. If you have to buy all water in front of you, that possibly means larger fees.

Hiro Queso Rentals all the way!

Great landlord

The biggest advantage of mainland as far as I see it, is the fly-by traffic. On private isles your are pretty much dependant on classifieds or find places to get customers. On the mainland you can get customers out of nowhere just because they happened to pass by.

We also have a nice beach club with bar and pool and a wonderful little event area ... thanks to our great community!

The size of the parcel does not matter as I don't have a quantity scale model. The price is calculated on USD base and then transformed into L$. So the monthly fee / rent will change every month (the USD will NOT). It is something around 1.5 L$ per m2.

Yes, maybe! All the parcels on Cosy Island are priced the same, no exceptions, even not for the most interesting waterfront parcels with beautiful sunset.

The only issue that me and my community have is the theme "cosy". We will not allow buildings or landscaping that would not go with the overall spirit of the island. This also includes that we do not subdivide the island in millions of 512 m2 lots and have one house close to the other. Our island is only worthwile for people that want to have a peaceful environment with a great community.

But anyway, just go there and check it out.



I have heard about that!

I agree, a residential private sim is not meant to generate high commercial traffic ... but wasn't crowded sim something that should be avoided?

Mel

This is why I think the new high value land will be roadside land, replacing hub land. People fly over the roads to avoid buildings rezzing on them. And businesses naturally tend to gravitate to street fronts, to avoid being blocked in on all 4 sides.

Roads are okay although not necessary. But this could be fun for the people that own cars.

On the other hand channels and rivers would serve the same purpose.

Mel

This is an interesting concept that I have thought a little about. I do use the roads fairly extensively for just the reason you note. I enjoy the travel experience when I have the time, however, I'm not sure how many others do given the P2P option.

Either way, seems like a strategy worth using for store placement.

Since the sim you mention is residential and he needs commercial .. Im not sure the comparisons are altogether workable.

I find myself wondering if there is some vestige of the RL requirements/attributes of commercially zoned property at work here ... that is, less attractive; closer to some services, farther from others; less concern with aesthetics and more with efficient use of space.

In any event ... I love the land I own on the mainland ... and I love not having to deal with any intermediaries ... . In fact, Im so happy with my current holdings, I've had them for going on a year, with the largest chunks purchased directly from LL at auction, back in the day.

And I'd have to agree that linden-held land contributes to the mix and is an advantage.

Agreed, but the land price can be higher.

The Azure Islands continent has two water sims separating the commercial from the residential zoned land, and there used to be an empty snow sim in the residential part (which is currently housing some kind of work-in progress?). That, the road infrastructure and the non-flat landscaping of the northern residential part got me to leave the mainland, though indeed I sometimes miss some kind of mixed-zoned arrangement.

Private islands have a lot of advantages, but here's why I like my parcel on the main grid:

Protected land
Linden river and waterfall
Linden road and bridge
Taking off from my runway and flying to the Aerodrome & other places (fly places when tp is wonky, too!)
Fly-by traffic
Direct contact with LL for support (as opposed to renting on an island)
Easy to document tax deduction for land tier (USD as opposed to renting with L$)
Snow sims all around me
Proximity to places I like
Mixed use is interesting (just found a new gorgeous little park in my sim last night!)
I need to be in a mixed-use area myself

I could keep listing advantages, but those are plenty for me already. I know that most avatars don't use vehicles to get places very often, or worry about SL as a business tool or expense, or maybe even go for walks (not flying, but you know, on the ground!) in their sim to be surprised by new builds and chat with the neighbors, etc. I also know I have been very, very fortunate . . . lots of great neighbors! Maybe a lot of spinny box ads would change my mind if my fake plastic snow mountains and a bunch of KX tree screens wouldn't take care of the view.

I don't think there are mainland advantages you can't get on a well planned private sim from a reputable sim owner. I rent my commercial space from Hiro Queso, and the sim was so nice and spacious and well laid out that I put my home there as well - both a house and store with fabulous waterfront views on a small island. Rock on, New Caledonia.

When i needed more prims for the store, I moved my home from NC to another private sim owned by a different land owner. I have a lovely waterfront plot including a bunch of water I actually use, and my property adjoins protected land reserved by the sim owner to keep the island from getting overly built up.

Both of these sim owners have struck the right balance on their residential and commercial sims, respectively. There is the right property out there, it just takes a lot of looking and what I think is a reasonable amount of lindens. I don't think there are advantages to the mainland that can't be met on a private sim that is well managed and well setup.