Some questions about land.

I'm planning on upgrading to a premium account and getting a small plot of land but there are some things I don't know.

I've heard that first (main?) land is no longer available. If I can teleport to wherever I want does this matter or does not having land on the main continent mean I couldn't teleport to it?
If it doesn't matter, all I'd really want is some place I can build and learn.

With that in mind I wouldn't really care where I bought it but where would I look that's very cheap or free to get land? I really don't want to spend $50 US dollars for some plot of land.

Last, once I build on this land do I need to purchase a security system of some kind to keep people out whom I don't invite?

Thanks for helping a newb out.

First Land is no longer available. this was land only available to people who had never owned land which was sold by LL for $512 for a 512m plot.

Mainland is still available and new mainland is coming online. But you either have to buy large amounts from LL at auction or deal with a reseller.

You can TP anywhere, doesn't matter where your land is. Mainland is land you own directly, and only pay tier fees to LL, if its above 512m. Islands land you rent from the landowner and have much less security of tenure. You may have to "buy" the land by making a largish upfront payment and will also have to pay a weekly/monthly fee to the island owner. I've never had land on an island so there may be more complexities I don't know about.

The price of land varies. Use the land search to find something at your price. But you may have to shop around a lot to get something cheap. If you are on the mainland look at the rest of the sim, you don't want land next door to a club that always has 40 poeple in it.

Whether you have a security system is up to you. You have some powers as a landowner that will deal with people you don't want - eg you can ban anyone or evryone except those you choose to allow on. But some people, including me, don't like banlines.

For what its worth Ive owned land for the last 2 months. Ive banned one person because he launched an atttack on the whole sim. I have had no trouble from anyone on my own land. I like my land being open, I like people wandering in to see it. If I want privacy, I've got a skybox. Many other people take the opposite view and don't let anyone in unless they know them. Its your land, your choice.

It doesn't matter where on the grid you own land, be it mainland or island, you can still teleport anywhere.

Island land is cheaper to buy but you never really own it and comes with a covenant which you need to read before buying to make sure you can do what you want to do on it. Mainland is more expensive but you can do what you want on it, though that also means so can your neighbours on theirs which you might not like right next door to you.

To buy on an island you don't need to pay for a premium account, your monthly tier payments are paid to the island owner.

You can use a security system, though they are very annoying for those flying over or right next to you building and the edges of their land. If you have griefers visit you, you can eject them anyway without putting up ban lines.

One other thing, you dont need to be preium to rent on an island. A lot of people recommend renting for a while, just to check out whether you really do want your own place. Be a bit of a bummer to buy something, and then find you just never did anything on it, because you were too busy having fun elsewhere.

The first land program still cost you US$6.00 to US$10.00 a month - for your premium account for your "free" land.

Since LL has terminated it... that just means you will have to pay market price for that parcel, which is about US$20.

This means after 2-3 months you've paid as much on your premium account as the "first land" sized parcel cost. And you can't get any of that back if you decide to sell the parcel.

On the flip side, you get L$1200 a month from the premium stipend, so that offsets a few dollars in the tier.

On the third hand, that's only within the game. You're still spending that much RL money on the game.

On the fourth hand, you can cash out, I guess... but you're also likely to want to spend some money on stuff for your land.

On the fifth hand (and I must be a centipede today) there's some great rental deals on islands.

On the sixth hand, look into the possibilities of getting together with friends and doing a group build and taking advantage of the group bonus.

I own now around 9728m2 without going to 75 tier because of the group land bonuses.
It is convient.
Tier is cheap part.
Hard part ts finding the land that is cheap and if you want to expand in cheaper area often people buy it before you can and you're stuck with higher prices.
One hassles of mainland is you really can't control what others are going to build or do.
I have friend who own majority of sim but there is sex club and casino who are very popular and it shuts down her ablity to come into her land or have vistors.
I prefer the ablity to control who comes and visits but anyone who finds my land if they want to visit or fly through all they need to do is ask before hand.
I know people hate banlines, yes they are annoying but truthfully its easiest way to control who comes in.
I had the land open for brief period and he was walking around with his prim penis out.
Sometimes I prefer to only deal with who I want on the land or not at all.
I figure for amount I pay for it I have that right even though there are people who argue with me and tell me I am wrong.

Thanks to everyone's posts, I've got some idea now about buying property but it generates another question as well as one I forgot to ask.

Where do I look to buy property? Secondlife.com lists some auctions but there is now way I'm paying $100 to $2500 USD for virtual land. Surely there is some place in game or elsewhere that I can buy for cheaper?

Also suppose I rent land and I decide to move am I able to pick up my house and furniture and move them or do I lose them?

Thanks again.

in game you can search for land. Use the drop downs to narrow your search. You must be careful though............many rentals are listed as land for sale. TP to the place of your choice and look it over. You can right click on the ground of the land and choose the "about land" pie slice to view the details and read the covennant if any is there. You also can see who the seller is and IM him/her with questions..........and that is probably as important as anything.

Anything you put on the land such as a house and landscaping that you own can be taken with you. In fact if you don't it will likely be returned to you anyway by the new owner of the land you vacated.

If you choose "mainland" in your land searches (dropdown box at top left) you can eliminate places that make you think you are buying land when you are really renting.