 |
| Taking a break outside the cottage in Brown |
Exploring Second Life's mainland continents is one of my guilty pleasures. While there's a lot of abandoned land and some garishly decorated parcels, it's the little gems that makes it all worth the time wandering around.
It's been a little more than a year ago that my SL partner/hubby re-introduced me to the Yavascript pod tours and open-water sailing. Seeing it through his then-newbie eyes ignited in me a renewed appreciation and adoration of the genius of the grid and the gorgeous hodge-podge quilt of contributions from residents (current and long-ago), Moles, and Lindens. One of the tours that fascinates me takes you through the historical regions of Sansara, including the suburban-themed regions of Brown and Boardman.
Though now largely empty, these two regions are well worth wandering around a bit. For SL history hounds, you'll be able to see the foundations of what would become later Linden-built community projects including Shermerville, Bay City, and yes, even Bellisseria. With infrastructure that was placed back in 2003, it predates the vast majority of projects on the grid. While the surrounding regions were left as blank slates for residents to build what they would (including wider terraforming options), Brown and Boardman have a layout of streets surrounding open air markets. At convenient places on the sidewalks, visitors will still find rotating Second Life hand logos or covenant kiosks that supply information about the original rules of the regions (it would appear at some point, these rules were relaxed or ended).
 |
| Rotating Hand Info Kiosk |
 |
| Open-air Market Guidelines Signage |
 |
| Region Zoning Guidelines Info Board |
 |
| Open-air Market Stalls |
 |
| Brown Street Grid |
I need more virtual land like I need another hole in my head--my current holdings include 2+ regions in Caledon, and parcels in New Toulouse, Neufreidstadt, Fantasseria, Artsebarsky and the Snowlands. Yet, there's something that draws me to the early regions. I arrived in SL in 2008 and it has always seemed like I missed out on something from those earlier years. The problem is, it's often hard to find a good spot (roadside and/or protected water) in the historical areas that is up for grabs--and those that are for sale, they're often priced at hundreds or thousands of USD. In today's world, I simply can't defend spending that much on a piece of virtual land when I already have a short laundry list of locales. (It'd be a bit different if I could make the land pay for itself with having a working store...)
But I digress...
At some point while riding the Yavascript pods, I noticed (when I'd think to click on the rental signage) that a surprising number of the parcels that featured a huge sale price could be rented week to week very affordably (like crazy cheap considering the purchase price tag!). I began mentally keeping tabs on parcels that I might be interested in renting to hide out, just for a change of scenery.
I'd repeatedly noted an adorably staged cottage on the northeastern corner plot(s) of the Brown region. It was cute, in a historical color-named region, yet situated privately with open parcels bordering it. Yet, time after time, when I'd tour through, the little cottage sat awaiting a renter. Must be a really expensive rental, right? Wow--was I ever wrong!
Last week, after experiencing a feeble attempt at harassment in the Morris sandbox (another story altogether), I used the inworld search to scan lesser-known mainland sandboxes.
With the land I have, why look for a sandbox elsewhere? The idea is to have somewhere that feels like I'm still connected to others (I can see people come and go and periodically stop and chat) but for the most part, is private for me to organize inventory (I'm working on a visual inventory system using AirTable--yet another story.😉) Ideally, it needs to be without my having estate management God powers that could potentially nuke someone else's property if I click wrong or lag out.
And there it was in the listings--the little corner cottage in Brown, or its side yard anyway. The owner set it aside as a separate tiny sandbox--Puppy's Playground and Dog Park Sandbox. I'm a kitten but I couldn't resist scurrying over to check it out!
 |
| Puppy's Playground Sandbox Front Gate |
It's purrfect! Nestled in a quiet corner with enough room to rez packages to unpack and organize. Auto-return is set at 15 minutes, which is fine if I'm not actually building.
It didn't take long to notice that the cottage was unoccupied, so my curiosity drove me to poke the meter. 180L/wk rent--are you kidding me? Mine! The prim allowance is only around 150 but the entire place is so nicely kitted out with furnishings, it doesn't need much but maybe a few items to personalize the place.
 |
| Footpath to the Cottage |
 |
| Pool Area |
 |
| Pool Fountain |
 |
| Cottage Living Room Area |
 |
| Dining Area |
 |
| Kitchen Area |
 |
| Cottage Lower Level |
 |
| Cottage Upstairs--Bedroom/Office |
Lesson learned. Sometimes it really pays to poke at rental kiosks to see rates. You never know when you'll find a little diamond of a retreat in some of the oldest (and most interesting) places on the grid.
More finds are sure to follow...
Comments
Post a Comment