Desirable neighborhoods?

I'm new and at the stage of thinking about renting a place to live. I figure TP ability means where you live is incredibly less important than in RL as time/distance from other places doesn't figure in the equation. I further suppose that leaves traditional things like views of water and the very immediate surrounds the most important features. I realise this is subjective as some will prefer a dance club next door and others a nearby dungeon etc ! But is there any documented hierachy of neighborhoods by desirability in SL? I've done some preliminary searching for places but the offerings seem very fragmented and frankly the names of areas/suburbs just don't mean anything to me. Thx! Tasha

I am afraid the only way is to go and look. There is nothing as fast changing as land in SL (meaning owners and the way the land is used).

And yes, it is what you like as person...

*is happy with her little spot in Maia*

Morwen.

Well, if you don't like the ambiance, you can always build a skyhouse.

The one thing you definitely don't want in the same sim is a camping outfit/club/casino with lots of people in it! This will slow down things and may even prevent you from entering your land (if the sim server is maxed out on avs supported).

Hello Tasha and welcome.
Land is a huge question, lots of things to consider. SL changes a lot. Mainland probably much more than Islands. Also a lot less controllably too!
I would point out that if you were after a 'fixed' landscape view, a Private Estate would be the most logical place to head for. The only name I can constantly remember as an example is Caledon but there are many others with different themes.
These are 'governed' by the sim owner and covenants to regulate the 'taste' of buildings etc whereas mainland by its being owned plot by plot by individuals can get messy. Some can live with the changes and the risk of course.

When I started, I rented a small plot with a house first. This gave me a base to settle down while I learnt what I really wanted without being tied to anything and giving time to find a spot to buy. It gives you an idea about how many prims you will need as well as space.

For a residential spot where you can take a few friends, or enjoy time alone while scripting and building, my advice would be to find a boring spot in a boring sim on the mainland with no traffic at all. The rest is decided by taste -- snow or mountains or water if you can afford it. Anything with a view costs more, but if you buy, you can edit the terrain within certain limits, so you might be able to landscape yourself a small hill.

When looking for land I prefer sims with many small parcels and no large plots for sale. I believe this makes it less likely that a laggy clubcasinomall will be thrown on the parcel next to me within the next few days But then, sims change very quickly, there's no guarantee that you wont have a wall in your face the day after you bought your land.

If you want chic, or themed, or nice, or just beautiful landscape, check under the "Estate" category in land sales. These private sims, as you might already know, follow different rules and can create a somewhat consistent look that you won't find on the mainland.

So, to your original question, no, there isn't. It's all up to you. I'm happy on the mainland, I love the trashy mixture of for-sale cubes, pompous houses and ugly post-industrial 3d nightmare buildings as long as the sim isn't laggy. For peace and quiet, I build in the sky. I'm a loner anyway.

you never know who will neighbors may be, even if you find a nice place with nice neighbors, they could sell their plot someday to an unwelcme neighbor.
Specially on mainland, where anybody can do whatever they want, it's messy and you can't do anything to avoid an unwelcome club which will cause lag, or disturbing neighbors.
For a nice living place I would search into some private estates, there are a lot trusted ones, where landscape is thousands times better and zone ruling (as on covenants) makes the living much better.
Of course be sure you search the good estates, not all the estate owners are good ones,, but most are
And read well covenant, some zones restricts what you can do on your land (yes restrictions could not fit your needs, but make the whole place worth to live in if they suit you, as same restrictions will apply to all neighbors).

I would recommend checking out the Azure Islands sims ...

100% agreed. I was looking at some seriously overpriced land last week and was working myself round to paying for it because of the view and the surrounding area.
Went to take a look last night, and it's become one of the ugliest places around. Houses that don't fit the land, ad plots, big black box clubs, particle spitters all over the place. Another nice spot ruined.

thank you so much everyone for your quick and informative replies to date - I really appreciate these insights and experiences and it just grows my feelings of attachment to SL and the SL 'community' Tasha

Well many little plots means many different owners who all run many different scripts, many will run security scripts and stuff, have guests over and so on - lagwise this can be as bad as a casino filled with campers. Add red ban lines and parcel border crossing talking and shouting - no, sorry, don't want to live there.

For living I think a sim with enforced rules and only a few big parcels (8k and up) is best.

How very true. I tried...repeat....tried to visit the Incubus SIM a few weeks back and ran into ban lines everywhere.
The Sim was covered in small plots of land and everyone seemd to have their ban lines up. I found myself flying along ban lines looking for the breaks only to find myself in the next SIM over.
TPed home in disgust.

Not all sims are like that. Far from that.

There enough very nice and enjoyable sims on the mainland. Maia as one of them. And on my land goes what I want... Goddess below Linden. No landlord, no covenant. Just me.

Renting on private sims is not always heaven as well (just look up the stories here of landlords/ladies who sudden pulled the plug for whatever reason).

Morwen.

I started building a community in the sim I purchased, Vyacheslav. There are plots for sale in it. It's nice, quiet - developing quite nicely. Unfortunately, most of the available lots are being resold, but the prices are not terrible. Give it a look.

I have a place in the Azure Islands group. Nicely upkept, fast-easy admin. dialog, low lag, and by the beach! They also have a volcano and desert SIM as well.