New Plot

Corsica… It’s not Nautilus

It seems to me that we, mere residents of SL, don’t fare that well when it comes to owning land directly from the Lab. That’s particularly true if you’re a mainland latecomer (or newcomer, depending on personal’s perspective) interested in a sliver of coast, either for the creamy sands and plastic palm trees that trademark a prefab tropical paradise, or for the depths of the continuous sea and the challenges of the kraken-like sim borders. SL sailors looking for an ideal place, with mixed land and water with secured access to the sea –a perfect solution for anyone belonging to that group– fare the worst because there aren’t enough areas classified as protected waterfronts, bordering all-water regions belonging to the Linden Department of Public Works, that the members of the sailing community could settle in and be able to keep their favorite boats permanently rezzed and ready to go whenever a chance calls for it. That’s actually the best and probably the only guarantee that your sacred getaway won’t be accidentally blocked by a nice and caring neighbor, the sort of which loves to hide behind bulky walls that fake a privacy that doesn’t derive from such abominations (disabling the “Avatars on other parcels can see and chat with avatars on this parcel” –under the Options tab in About Land– offers a better solution, fyi), or feel the need to raise ban lines to control some local pest.

The real issue, though, is not the shortage of supply; it’s actually a matter of time. Huh? Yes: the time you have to notice a parcel has become available before one of those individuals or group of individuals –that takes exulting pleasure in monitoring the grid in search of every plot they can either exploit or sell for four times the price they pay for them– takes that chance away from you. Because they live for that, you know. And you, instead, have to go away all day to earn your living, and come back 14 hours after the map has graphically updated only to find the spoils of the day’s land exchange. By that time anything interesting has already been sold, and what is left is probably not worth what the seller is asking for.

Plane and boat house

I guess there’s no way to beat the real estate agents on that race because I’ve been unsuccessful in finding a plot that my limited economy could afford around Nautilus for three long months now. I’m beginning to think I will never have that chance (yes, I’m kind of pessimistic sometimes). Hence, I have had no other choice but to exile myself farther off the northern Nautilus reaches, in Corsica, where estate hunters become dehydrated like tiny maggots under a full midday sun. It’s either that, or they aren’t interested in that less romantic of continents. And that’s good, because it allows for parcels to become available for a fraction of Nautilus’ average prices, albeit only occasionally.

Here are a few shots of what I have managed to do on a recently acquired parcel lot in southern Corsica. The place has no name yet, but I will eventually come up with something, for sure (suggestions accepted too). It may be too cramped, I know. I’m still working on it.

LoonettaDock houseHumble dwelling

Little I know of Corsica, I admit. I don’t even know if there’s a yacht club somewhere up there. Somehow it doesn’t have the appeal or the abundant waterways of Nautilus, but at least my plot is “within reach” of the Blake Sea. I still have to time how long it takes to get there, but it’s doable on a reasonable time frame. As long as there is an open way between the two continents, I may be comfortable there. Or it will also give me more time to find a resting place in Nautilus (as I hope) in the not so distant future.