Thinking about living in Second Life - I suppose it can be overwhelming for new residents - all the options! Since I have been buying and selling real estate on the Mainland, I have been spending more time there and learning about it. Hey, more than 9 years in SL and still so much new to learn!

I visited the Mainland in my early days but found it jarring and unpleasant - and didn't go back for, well, 8 years! Now it is either a completely different place or has just grown and changed for the better. There are many protected areas where you can take the road for miles and miles or be on the river for many river miles! :-) Hop in your car or sailboat and freely cross many regions to enjoy a nice, long ride.

Why live on the Mainland? You can find any kind of parcel - snow, beach, roadside, mountaintop, flat prairie... just about anything. BUT terraforming rights are limited and you have no control over your neighbors. SO, it can be great - you find the perfect location, you like the land the way it is, and your neighbors are nice!  OR your neighbors are horrible or the land was cheap but you don't really like it on the ground at all - in this case you can live in a skybox and never see any of that. Some people prefer this. I prefer to be on the ground, to be able to see the view and walk around. It all depends on what you are looking for. (I sell Mainland - see my website for parcels!)

Why live on a private region? Most of the time, these are themed and controlled by someone who enforces the covenant. So, if you like the way it is, chances are it will STAY that way and you will continue to be happy there. Private regions also come in an infinite variety of settings and themes - beach, mountain, rivers and lakes, forests, fantasy, modern, role play, group-owned, etc. You may or may not have terraform rights, be sure to read any covenant carefully for details.

You can buy or rent - there are benefits to both. You may buy the land AND pay monthly tier to the landlord or to Linden Lab or the land may be free, but you pay monthly tier, or you buy the land and pay no monthly tier. Check details. To consider: If you buy, can you re-sell it? If you rent, what is the refund policy?  (Usually no refunds are given.) Note: You must have a Premium account to be able to BUY land on Mainland, but you can rent there from a landlord. IF you have a Premium account, you have an allowance for free tier for a 1024 square meter plot - this means you still have to buy the land but there is no monthly tier to Linden Lab.

Once you have your perfect land, you can landscape and decorate to your heart's content :-) But that is a whole 'nother story!

Skyspinner Soulstar
July 2018
http://www.skyspinnersoulstar.com/

a mainland water parcel

a private region area

Happy Springtime! I have been busy in SL with land management and working - and chatting with friends, of course! I got the bug for Mainland land and have acquired new property. It is such fun to landscape it! I am deciding what to do with a nice parcel that is a small peninsula with water on 3 sides - maybe a sweet shop? or a coffee shop?   Unlike some people who insist on putting up those ugly ban lines, I don't mind having a space to share with others. If you want privacy, there are always sky boxes, I say.