Linden Homes- My Experiences

[Chronometria]

Well, i am moving on from my Linden home at about the 65ish day of my existence in second life, so i thought i would look back at my experiences of owning one. Others are welcome to post here with their thoughts.

 

Teething problems - The Two Storey Homes and prim counts.

 

When i started second life, i didnt get a linden home right away. I was new to it all and was worrying about small things like opening boxes, where to get money and so on. I didnt upgrade to premium until i decided that second life was one worth "living". Even so, when i upgraded, i still didn't get one, as i was out exploring and meeting people. Only once i had settled a bit did i investigate the idea of getting some sort of land and, as i was entitled to one, i thought i would try it out.

Linden homes are funny things. Back then i was lucky in that i had really worked hard to learn basic building, so i knew what a prim was and how some items have more prims than others. Since then i have helped a lot of friends and newbies to work out just why their 50 prim bed might be a problem in their 117 limited house. I didn't have that worry as i started late, but a lot of newcomers do and there is precious little explanation around as to how they should furnish their house, unless they dedicate some time to self education (there are some good blogs out there to read, but you must go find them).

This raises a serious concern with many of the Linden Home designs. Some, especially the large modern glass ones, boast several spacious floors, which are, frankly, a nightmare for a newbie to furnish well. Even as a reasonable builder it can be costly and difficult to make such a home set up look good on the basic allowance. Commonly, when a newbie calls me out seeking help, i find myself sat in one of those problem homes.

 

Seeking out the neighbours

 

After a time i started to wonder who lived nearby, so i guess the second significant issue to raise it that of "community". Now, i`ve been to mainland and know that, quite often, it is fairly empty and disjointed. Linden homes, however, are in an even more desolate set up. Many stand empty, despite being owned and are not used at all. Some show the evidence of an attempt to furnish them that quickly went sour (see above) and just contain one or two overly primmy pieces of furniture. Others are creepy lovenests, with thrones and whipping posts in fact, walking around and peering into them can become quite a fascinating hobby, just to see what is in there.

So i went out in search of green dots and the few people i did meet were friendly. Of course, being GMT timezone, i struggled even to meet the active ones. A feature for grouping people by their timezone would go a long way to building any sort of community with these homes.

As i wondered about i found some random parks and strange little features that popped up every so often between the homes. There was nothing like that near mine, so i guess some linden homes are luckier in placement than others. Mainly, though, it was the same houses, with a few variations, for miles and miles. If you look at it too much, it's like something out of a horror film and it makes you crave company even more. I would say that these park type places need to be fewer in number and much more significant. As it was they were more by accident in their placement than by design.

 

My overall thoughts.

 

So, my linden home lasted me about about a month or so. It was a good place to practice furnishing and it was nice to have for a little while. As a "starter" i think it was ok, but really, a better system of just getting some mainland would probably be less resources and better for everyone. Maybe a "parcel ticket", a simple system where you can just go out and press a single button to get a 512 lot somewhere, maybe giving land owners some sort of one off bonus or perk instead of a normal auction payment. It seems a lot of fuss and effort for a disconnected, temporary system with limited appeal and functionality. It may even be better to put in a "furnishing tutorial" or some sort of offline sandbox house to practice in.

[Venus Petrov]

My experience is different.  While you have been inworld for about two months, I have been here about 4 1/2 years.  There was no such thing as a Linden Home option when I rezzed but I would have loved to have it offered.  My early weeks were spent exploring, meeting a few new friends, and making my first real purchase -- HAIR.  /me laughs

I had several landing spots on empty sims (usually new Dreamland sims) to change clothes and rez objects but I tired of the nomadic lifestyle and finally plunked down L$ to buy my first parcel (also on a Dreamland sim).  A wonderful, peaceful beach with a forest behind me, an estuary, and no neighbors.  This was a nice change from being around others nearly all of the time.

Eventually, I owned several parcels on the same sim, sold those, and bought a sim.  I had that for nearly two years before I sold it and moved to an island on a well-managed estate.  A close friend encouraged me to rediscover the mainland and I have been happy on Sansara for nearly one year now.

Once Linden Homes became available, I was under the (mis) impression that they were only for new premium residents.   Eventually, I realized that I, too, could get one and I did.  I use it primarily as a 'haven' when my home sim is being restarted or is offline.  Sometimes I go there to take photos.  I never considered it a 'community' because, as you said, there are few people there.  It is an alternate landing spot for me.

[Mayalily]

When I landed on Newbie Island (or whatever it's called, one of those newbie places) there was a helper there and I asked what the difference was between premium and/or if it's worth it.  Her reply was no it's not worth it, I don't want one of those shoe box homes.  She explained a lot to me and her thought was that premium isn't really worth it based on the housing u get.

However, after reading forums here, u get more assistance with premium if problems occur which is great, plus I love Venus' idea of using that home as an alternative landing spot when your home is not currently available due to maintenance times. 

Yet I know it's a bad economy right now and perhaps some people can only afford to own one home.

I rezzed March 26th of this year and haven't needed any ticket support or live chat support or anything, so I'm good with just a rental right now.

If I get a SL job that pays well, then I might upgrade to premium because what Venus said is a very cool idea!  And I will certainly keep that in mind, for sure! 

[Sharayah Munro]

I had a Linden home - an A frame.

 

The advantage of a Linden home, over an empty 512 lot (if you're wanting to put a house on it), is that  you have 117 prims to play with to furnish your LL home.   If  you want to put a home on an empty 512 parcel,  the prims you use to build that house count towards your 117 limit.

 

That being said, I don't believe the parcel size of all the Linden homes are actually 512m or the same (correct me if I'm wrong).  The usuability too of many of the homes, is quite restrictive.  None of the more usable Meadowbrook homes were available when I was looking, so I opted for an A frame (Tahoe) design.    I found my A frame somewhat claustrophobic, due to the angle of the walls.  Essentially only the center of the home was really "useable" movement wise.  Or the outside area. Some of the Elderglen style homes, you can't swing a cat in,  and the Japanese themed homes I found laggy, with blury texturing. 

 

While the Meadowbrook homes are the best, from purely a movement perspective, the spaciousness also means decorating on a prim budget, is more difficult.  Hence why many just have the "basics" and look "sparse". 

 

For what they are, LL homes are great for those Premium members wanting something simple and basic.   Its a place to call home, and if you can find the style of home that really suits your purposes, its a great offer. 

 

My suggestion to LL would be to create more homes like the very popular Meadowbrook designs, not because people find them overly attractive, but because they are the most functional. 

 

 

[Pussycat Catnap]

Got rid of my last one of them a long time ago. For a while I cycled through several of them checking out the designs.

 Linden Homes -do- have the full size of a 512. BUT they're shaped very strangely so most of them appear smaller.

SOME of them do also include a little bit of land outside the home. But we're talking half or less of a square here. I've managed to pop a small tree or bush in there, and that's about it.

Chronometria: If you want to get good use of your 512, you know I've got a lot of land - I know what to look for and if you tell me what kind of area on mainland you're interested in, I could help you locate something.

The buy in cost can be high on mainland if you go for a choice lot - but you pay that once.

Water, cliff, well done road, active neighbors, well skilled landscaper neighbors - those things tend to cost. Road being the cheapest of them, and skilled neighbors the most costly (parts of Bay City and Shermerville - or even Nautilus island for neighbors who just pay a few hundred RL $s to get people to make them whatever they desire - and so end up with nice builds that way).

Active neighbors... won't affect price, but is all about luck of finding them, or curse of finding them if they're bad or into breedables...

 

[Knowl Paine]

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Chronometria wrote:

Seeking out the neighbours

 After a time i started to wonder who lived nearby, so i guess the second significant issue to raise it that of "community". Now, i`ve been to mainland and know that, quite often, it is fairly empty and disjointed. Linden homes, however, are in an even more desolate set up.

Mainly, though, it was the same houses, with a few variations, for miles and miles. If you look at it too much, it's like something out of a horror film and it makes you crave company even more. I would say that these park type places need to be fewer in number and much more significant. As it was they were more by accident in their placement than by design.

 

My overall thoughts.

 

So, my linden home lasted me about about a month or so. It was a good place to practice furnishing and it was nice to have for a little while. As a "starter" i think it was ok, but really, a better system of just getting some mainland would probably be less resources and better for everyone. Maybe a "parcel ticket", a simple system where you can just go out and press a single button to get a 512 lot somewhere

 

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Community

When the Linden Home project was first announced I thought LL was going to build a real community. Homes that were worth living in and reasonably spaced apart to provide for some open space. Stacking people on top of one another has been proven to drive people crazy and create conflict.

People need space to work play and grow.

If I cannot build (sandbox) at my home, it is not home to me.

The area is sterile and void of any real community participation. It is very interesting to see the effects of creating a Covenant completely absorbed in fostering General Acceptance. The dilution of individuality and the shunning of specialities creates a populace of palatable mediocrity.

The Mainland areas suffer greatly from a lack of practical Covenants. The ideal of total freedom appears to abandoned basic principles which encourage development. Longevity can be proven over time but there must first be a declaration to achieve it.  

I apologize if I'm raining on the Parade, I enjoy being a guest here and in SL.

[Deej Kasshiki]

I was very skeptical of the Linden Homes project when it was announced because I felt that it was stepping on the toes of the starter real estate and prefab housing markets. I still feel that the program hurt these people, but I also have to say that the Linden homes do provide a simple "one stop" way for new residents to get a taste of land ownership.

I've been in world nearly 5 years and have lived on everything from mainland 512 m plots (anyone remember the First Land program back before the big land bubble burst? I made a killing on selling mine to a speculator shortly before prices collapsed) to owning a substantial portion of a private island. I swore I'd never return to laggy, chaotic mainland and least of all a tiny 512 m Linden Home. But my decreased time in world lately made me rethink things a bit and I decided to economize. Since I've always been a premium member I thought, "hey, might as well give the free Linden Home a shot".

All of the above observations are very true in my experience. The neighborhoods are mostly deserted, the designs (with the exception of the Meadowbrook, which I fortunately chose) could be more functional and there could be more variation. The biggest adjustment for me was going from having 800+ prims to play with to just 117. But overall it's a decent little place for me to rez items, teleport to and occasionally invite friends over to visit. If you're aware of the limitations and can live with them, or work around them, Linden Homes can be a good deal even for experienced residents.

[Nacy Nightfire]

I dropped my Linden home with my premium membership when I realized I wasn't going to have the time free to be involved in SL as I had in the past.  However, I really enjoyed my LL home while it lasted.  I particularly liked the ability to abandon a home and find a new one if a neighbor moves in that is irritating.   Stylistically the more modern versions aren't my favorite, but they turned out to be the best for decorating and moving around.  Also I turned my draw size way down so I only had a veiw of a few houses and the rest was water....every house can have a waterview!

Because I really enjoy the challenge of fractional sculpty making and texturing,  I had a house filled to the brim with one-prim-wonders, lots of arm chairs, bed, desks, sofas, chandelier and interesting lighting, rugs, decorative 3 panel screens,  artwork, etc., etc.   It amazed me how much I could pack into the place with the prim limit.  Loads of fun.

I was hoping the introduction of mesh would enable even more prim economy and building opportunities, but the cost advantage of mesh over prim and sculpty building isn't panning out.  The good news, however, is the time spent learning about sculpty making and the time spent  building up a sculpty inventory isn't lost.

Yes the place is deserted, but alot of people move to private sims for respite and tranquility..this experience is no different.  Once can always hang out at hubs, clubs and music events, etc. when in a people mode.

[MoiselleErin Teardrop]

With Linden homes, yeah at least the house itself doesn't count towards the 117 prim allowance.

The problem though is that some newbies jump in right away, go premium, get a house, and have NO clue what prim counts even are, let alone how to strip unnecessary prims out of "mod" enabled furniture.

In SL, buying a nice house is not expensive but the land to put it on often is expensive to even rent. L$800 a week for a 2048 sq meter and 468 prims is on the cheaper (yet close to average price)

 

When I signed up I noticed this "go premium" thing but never did it, I wanted to find out what SL even was to being with. Back when *I* was the one asking how to get money and hoping no one noticed I was bald cause my hair vanished somehow.

 

a Linden house, while ugly, is not a bad deal if you need something very basic. Like just a place to change or unpack without being razzed by griefers. If you need something big and fancy though, Linden houses are not a good choice.

 

It is like buying say a car in real life. Do you really need or want the monster SUV with every feature known to man or do you just need an "A to B" car. Linden houses are more-less "A to B".

[Stormy Forsythe]

I for one like having a Linden home they are great if you want a place to call home. They are great for starter homes and  the community aren't active but in the long run I like a place to call home. Yes they are small and have no land to build on but I am so active in SL that it doesn't realy matter to me. The prim count is low but if you take your time and look for low prim furniture and keep track of how many prims are left to play with you can have fun. I do agree that they are good to have for a back up also.  Newbeeies take it slow and learn all you can about owning a home first then  compare the diffrences and find out if it's worth it for you. I myself like being a premium member and having my own home. Have fun and play safe.

 

                          Jaded Night

[Irene Muni]

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Deej Kasshiki wrote:

(anyone remember the First Land program back before the big land bubble burst? I made a killing on selling mine to a speculator shortly before prices collapsed)

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Thanks for remember that. I own my first parcel with the First Land Parcel Program

It was fun to see many residents at the same time browsing the parcels that were offered at that time.