The 10 Best Reasons To Rent Land In Second Life 

Many people are unsure, or have a hard time to comprehend why they would want to own, and have a presence, or rent land in Second Life.

In this article I want to cover some of the many benefits why you might find it interesting to establish your presence in Second Life, by having your very own piece of virtual land.

A large majority of the Second Life userbase are in doubt to embrace the idea of having their own home or presence inside of the virtual world. After all it isn’t free, you have to pay rent or tier when you own land so why should one bother?

“Is Second Life not about dressing up your avatar and chatting with your friends and using it as a social space?”

We think that Second Life residents who don’t have their own property in world are missing out on plenty of opportunities, which the virtual world has to offer them. In order to help you better understand the value of land, we’ve came up with 10 important reasons to rent land in Second Life that you can benefit from. By having your very own personal piece of real estate on the grid you will be able to drastically improve your overall Second Life experience.

1. Build Or Rez Your Own House

The primary and most common reason why people acquire their own land, is to build their very own home in world. When you are a resident inside of a virtual world it is just part of the overall experience to have your own spot. A place where you can spend time alone, or together with your family and friends. While some avatars will entirely build their home from the ground up, others will make the more obvious choice to place a prefab house of their choice on their land.

Skilled builders however can use either prims, or mesh and entirely construct their home to their own preference and specification. These builders can completely customize their property to their own liking. This is possible since one of Second Life’s core traits is to provide people with the incredible freedom to build whatever they envision.

Houses can range from modern houses; brick homes; cottages or a beach hut, to even more eccentric types of properties such as a castle or mansion. The beauty of having property in Second Life is that you are able to live like a king and it doesn’t even have to cost a fortune.

Whatever type of residency you choose as your location is completely under your control. Count Burks always recommends to live in a habitation you can truly enjoy as it will have a significant impact on your virtual life in world.

2. Set Your Own Rules

Your land, you pay so you are the boss. There is a lot of truth in this statement, nothing beats being independent when it comes to having your own place. Sure you might think you can save a couple of Linden $ by living with a friend, sharing a house with a partner or living on the land of the roleplay group in which you participate.

Having your own land at Dreamworld in Second Life is a place to come home in the virtual world.

This might seem ideal at first, but you will always be forced to respect their rules and abide. Very often these types of agreements between residents escalate into drama and disappointment, wrecking friendships and even entire communities.

This is also the main reason why residents in Second Life have their own property. When you purchase your own island with Count Burks real estate you will receive “the key” of ownership for your virtual land. You will be able to decide for yourself on the following points:

• You decide what you build on your land.
• You’re able to choose what your surroundings and environment look like.
• You manage the access list for your land and select who’s able to access your property.
• You can pick the type of music or media you wish to watch or listen to.
• You select your own furniture, nobody dictates what your home should look like.
• You choose type of house you live in on your land (no forced theme to follow).

In certain cases you will even be able to write your own custom Covenant for your piece of real estate when you rent land in Second Life. Having this ability removes a large amount of hassle and frustration you otherwise might encounter while trying to establish your virtual presence.

There is nothing wrong with buying land and participating within a certain group or community. But I strongly advise you to choose your own personal piece of land. When you participate in another person’s project or within a group such as a Roleplay community, you will quickly find out that there are a lot of rules and regulations that you have to follow and abide to within that particular community.

This hinders your freedom and creativity. Soon you will not feel like an owner of your house and your land, but rather a tourist or visitor of someone else’s project or creation. By having your own piece of land in world you eliminate all the above issues and having land will become a much more pleasurable experience to you.

3. Having Privacy On Your Land

Second Life is a highly populated world. Every single day there are around 40.000 avatars in world at any given time. As you can imagine finding privacy can often be a daunting task with so many people around. When you have your own piece of property all to yourself, it can be the place where you go if you feel like spending some time alone and need some privacy.

Perhaps you have a close friend or lover you would like to retreat with. When you have your own property you will be able to find that solitude you crave for.

Let me explain exactly why privacy can be so hard to obtain in world. You might be wondering, can I not just hide in a skybox or an apartment? Is it not enough to close the curtains of my virtual home and then I am all to myself?

Well no, in Second Life there exists such a thing as “camming”. It is possible for anyone to use their camera tool and zoom hundreds of meters into the distance. So while you are thinking you’re all alone relaxing in your bathtub in your house, someone else might be enjoying to spy upon you without your knowledge.

To avoid prying eyes, having your very own property will allow you to have true privacy and intimacy in Second Life. There’s a land setting named Parcel Privacy available. This specific parcel option allows you to block strangers who are outside of your property and are using their camera to spy upon you and your visitors. The privacy option also keeps any of the Voice Chat conversations you might be having within the borders of your parcel so nobody can eavesdrop on you.

Should you find this not enough Count Burks Estates can also provide you with a free security system for your land which will take care of any unwanted guests on your land or in your home. At Count Burks Estates we do not underestimate the importance of having privacy on your land.

You can just ask Count Burks about the privacy aspects of your parcel and he will guide you with the best setup to protect your privacy while living on your land.

4. Your Personal Dressing Room

Favorite occupation for the ladies in Second Life (and perhaps some of the men) is shopping. Just like in real life women, and some men, can’t get enough of shopping, it is in their nature.

In Second Life female residents enjoy the massive amounts of new apparel that is released every single week to outfit their avatar with all the latest fashion trends. Once your inventory is full with goodies you received from the Marketplace or bought in world, it is time to try them out.

However, one thing that Second Life doesn’t have are public dressing rooms to try out your new wardrobe. Standing nude in a sandbox listening to all the comments about your nude avatar shape by your fellow male players might be humorous for the first 5 minutes but after that it will become a pest.

To avoid all these issues you can just Teleport Home and try on your newly obtained garments in the comfort of your own house, so you can fit these on your avatar and look all trendy like the fashion doll you are. Again another good reason to rent land in Second Life and enjoy the luxury of having your own estate in the metaverse.

5. No Premium Membership Required

When you wish to purchase land in Second Life, Linden Lab (the company that develops Second Life) has the following requirement.

In order to buy and own land in Second Life you must have a Second Life Premium Membership plan. This Premium Membership plan comes with a minimum expense of 100 US$ per year to 250 US$ per year. This rather steep rate will also take a bite out of your spending budget.

Just for being able to purchase a piece of land, you’re required to become a Premium Member. When you rent land in Second Life and purchase it from Count Burks Estates, you can do this as a Free Member. So you don’t have to pay 100 or 250 USD to Linden Lab first in order to obtain your property.

As a Second Life Free Member you can perfectly become the owner of your very own piece of land, or even a full sim without any requirements to have Premium Membership.

For example, when you have your own parcel that you are renting in Second Life, you save yourself at least 1000 US$ and up to 2500 US$ over a 10 year time period by renting your land instead of buying it as no Premium Membership is demanded from you.

Premium Membership in Second Life comes at a hefty cost. When you rent land in Second Life there is no need to be a Premium Member

It is also possible to pay your tier or rent weekly instead of monthly. Many people prefer to pay weekly when it suits them rather than to pay a larger amount each month like Linden Lab will charge you.

6. Gardening And Landscaping In The Virtual World

An often neglected component of being a land owner is having the ability to landscape your property as you desire. Let us call it virtual gardening, which is a very enjoyable activity to engage in. Similar like doing yard work in the real world, it can be a pleasant occupation to many.

When you own actual land and not a skybox, you will be able to completely landscape the terrain of your land to your own specifications, and as meticulous as you like. You will be able to plant your own trees, shrubs and flowers, add architectural elements such as pathways or fountains and waterfalls.

Some people even have a gazebo or a greenhouse on their property in which they grow their own plants and vegetables. Yes! in Second Life you can grow plants that you need to water and fertilize on a daily basis, who will then continue to grow each day in your garden.

Like with anything in Second Life you are only limited by your imagination in what you can do and create. This also applies to your yard in world.

To make it easy on you Count Burks has several types of land available. This will allow you to choose the exact type of environment you would like to conceive the surroundings of your domicile. No matter if you like a forested environment or a tropical beach area with sand near the ocean at Count Burks Estates we focus on providing the best possible solution when you rent land in Second Life.

To make it even better, in the Second Life Viewer you will find a Bulldozer tool . This tool will provide you with the power to completely adjust and landscape your terrain. You will have the the impression you’re at a construction zone. You will be able to dig trenches, carve rivers and ponds out of the synthetic earth or even bring a massive mountain into existence, your options are limitless and without any boundaries. We encourage you to let your creativity loose.

Residents who rent land in Second Life at Count Burks Estates are enjoying their garden.

Many people find it extremely enjoyable to cultivate their land. This can range from having a vegetable garden or a farm, to a place for keeping their horse. Other’s create advanced constructions with waterfalls and trees to match their scenery. Providing people with the freedom to landscape their property is of the utmost importance once you have your own property in world, as it greatly enhances your overall experience when you rent land in Second Life.

7. Start A Club Or Store On Commercial Land

In Second Life you have several land types. Count Burks Estates offers different sim types. Besides a place to build your house ,you also have the option to have commercial space or land that is suitable to have breedables (breedables are animals in Second Life you can breed with and then sell your critters at the auction).

In this section I would like to speak about commercial land, this land will allow you to build a store, club or mall or venue or any other type of commercial or public activity you have in mind.

You might be asking yourself why you would need a separate type of land in order to start a business on the grid? When you rent land in Second Life there are several key reasons why a separate land class is needed for commercial rental land in Second Life.

Reason 1: The first reason being is traffic and visitors. Commercial districts tend to attract visitors, being it shoppers or people looking to party, these locations can get crowdy. People who have a home are not likely to welcome 20 people partying next to their home as they prefer calmness.

This is the first argument I would like to bring forward as why it is a better option to place a disco, club or venue on special land suitable for business type activities.

Privacy is essential for many home owners and at Count Burks Estates and we respect that.

Reason 2: Lack of performance, because busy high traffic venues will produce a thing called LAG. Let me commence by explaining what Lag means. You must have heard this word before as it is often used but in case you are not completely familiar with this term this is the explanation what lag is and how it affects you in Second Life.

“In Second Life lag is a delay you encounter between the action of your avatar and the reaction of the simulator you find yourself in. There are various reasons to what causes lag, this might be due to High Latency but various other factors such as a high amounts of avatars within the sim, or possibly certain scripts that are active in the sim which have a high memory load “

I don’t want to get too technical about lag causes or go really in depth on this matter, nobody likes lag or a laggy environments. Very often certain commercial activities are more likely to generate lag on the sim compared to areas where Second Life Residents just have their home. This is yet another reason why it is sensible to keep commercial land apart from other land types.

Most people are well aware that you cannot achieve the same performance on commercial land compared to residential land because of the higher load and enhanced visitor rate from avatars who teleport into the region.

Reason 3: One hand washes the other  this idiom translates itself into the following:, when a commercial venture receives customers and visitors, these same people will be likely to visit other locations in the neighborhood and be willing to consume what they have to offer. This results into the fact that businesses aid each other indirectly by grouping together, while consumers also benefit from this by having a bulk of options combined at their disposal.

As an example, Club Night Dance is located on the sim and receives high traffic every single day of the week. Club Night Dance is surrounded by a shoe store, clothing shop, electronics mall and several other small shops. Visitors from Club Night Dance are very likely to swarm out over the sim visiting the nearby location stores and also purchase goods from these stores or tell their friends if they saw something that might tickle their fancy. This is another case in point to keep commercial activities grouped.

Reason 4: Commercial ventures tend to attract all kinds of residents of the virtual world and not only the most kind spirits. In Second Life there is such a thing named Griefers which is unfortunate but part of the social culture. While both Linden Lab and the many merchants and Estates in Second Life do plenty to get rid of these vicious characters they also tend to show their face again after a while and are ready to repeat their eerie and abhorrent behavior.

Clubs in particular suffer most of this syndrome. In real life clubs have bouncers for a reason. In Second Life it can be harder to control this. By having dedicated commercial space for our merchants and club owners at least Count Burks is able to minimize the possible impact griefers can have.

It is fair to say that having a virtual world business or commercial activity has many similarities compared to setting up shop in the real world. When you feel ready to take the plunge with your commercial land do not hesitate to ask Count Burks for guidance. With years of experience he is the most quintessential option to assist you to set up your profit-making business in world.

Do not let the above mentioned points discourage you, when well prepared and with the right assistance you can succeed just fine with any project that you wish to accomplish in virtual space.

8. Build A Homebase For Your Roleplay Group or Community

Besides having your own home; club or shop in world, there is a plethora of other reasons why you might want to have your own land in Second Life. The reasons I discussed earlier in this article are the most common reasons why someone would want to rent land in Second Life.

However, it is worth delving a little deeper under the surface and learn about the many diverse possibilities that are available when you rent land, or why you might want to have your own place in Second Life.

Avatars are primarily social creatures. Most people in Second Life like to make friends or interact with other people in order to expand their circle of acquaintances. Many people are members of multiple groups in Second Life where they can share their interests and passions with others. This is similar to being a member of a particular association in the real world.

In Second Life some people are a member of a flying-, sailing or golf club. Other avatars are part of a theater group or belong to a particular Roleplay community. There are also religious associations in world, places like churches; schools and universities have a presence in Second Life.

Whatever interest one might have people will be able to find a community they can join. When in world I recommend to take a look at the many thousands of groups so you can  discover for yourself the enormous wealth and diversity that is present in this field. You can also use the web based Second Life Search Engine to assist you with this.

You might also like to start your own group or community in world together with some friends. For example, you can have a real life passion you would like to port over to Second Life. This can allow you to reach a much wider audience and expand your circle of like minded individuals.

Someone with artistic talent such as a painter or designer can use Second Life to display his or her real-life art in the virtual world. These days people have grown more accustomed to virtual online worlds so displaying real life projects and art in a 3D environment is not that strange anymore.

There are people who build their own museum or gallery in Second Life to show off their work. This is a good way to increase your personal social network and make new contacts with the aim of meeting people who are able to share your passion and show an interest in your project.

When you’re an avid roleplayer, Second Life with its depth and advanced scripting options is an ideal place to develop your own Roleplay theme. While there are thousands of Roleplay Groups already active in world, maybe you have something unique in mind or desire a different environment or certain unique rules when you roleplay.

It’s perfectly possible to rent a sim or a plot of land in Second Life and start your own Roleplay Group with its associated community. Establishing such a project can look overwhelming and intimidating at first, but there are more than enough resources available in Second Life to assist you with this task.

It can also be very rewarding to watch the community you founded grow into a successful project, in which hundreds of people are participating and are enjoying the experience you’ve created.

It’s also possible to set up a project where you are providing a particular service to your fellow avatars in the virtual world. Second Life is a big dynamic world with hundreds of thousands unique visitors per month. This creates a wide range of possibilities to offer a service in world and is also a way to contribute constructively to the development of the virtual world. On top of this you can be rewarded for your efforts which can generate a stream of financial income for you.

Here are some examples of what you can create besides a home; club; venue or store when you rent land in Second Life:

• Religious community such as a church.
• Maternity clinic where you help avatars who wish to give birth to their child.
• Adoption agency where you assist child avatars and parents.
• Provider of wedding ceremonies and celebrations and festivities.
• Offering auctions for breedable animals, as well as being a point of sale for breedables.
• Photo studio, offering services as a photographer.
• Modeling agency, offering models for showing clothes.
• Art gallery, a place where artists in Second Life display their work.
• Shopping center, offering retail properties to creators that fit your vision.
• Gaming center, a place where people gather to play together.
• Nudist beach where like-minded people find each other.
• Airport or marina where people with a passion for flying or sailing meet.
• Healthcare center when you have expertise in a particular field.
• Place where people gather to play a specific game in world, such as hosting fishing games.

When you are in search for a suitable piece of land you wish to rent to realize your project, Count Burks Estates can assist you with this. When you have a particular project in mind, you will often have specific needs and expectations when it comes to choosing your rental land. This stems from the fact that you cannot just build anything anywhere in the virtual world. Very often it is essential to be on the right type of property to realize your building project.

Count Burks Estates specializes in meeting the needs of its clients by ensuring people obtain the right type of land with the correct Land Rating for their project. By guiding our clients through this, people are able to realize their project in the world.

Whether this is a gaming center; roleplay environment; art gallery; shopping center or a larger project such as a shopping mall or community building you can always contact Count Burks directly in Second Life or via our contact page to talk about the specifics of the project you aspire to create.

9. No Upfront Investment Required To Rent Land In Second Life

An economic advantage that should not be underestimated in renting land versus buying a piece of land is that there’s no requirement to invest a large amount upfront into purchasing your plot. When you want to buy a sim in Second Life, it costs hundreds of dollars just to get the land in your possession. Then you need to  pay the monthly maintenance fees for your tier or rent to Linden Lab on top of the purchase price.

When you purchase land on the Linden mainland, you will also need to invest a considerable amount of real cash up front depending on the parcel’s location, and this only to get the land in your possession.

On the Linden Mainland, the land quality is also a lot lower compared to rental land on a “Private Island” which belongs to an Estate in Second Life. When there’s a parcel available on one of the Linden Mainland continents that you would like to acquire at a desired location near the sea, this can quickly add up to 200 or 300 USD$ or more and that is solely for the terrain purchase price.

Also to keep in mind is that there is no certainty your plot will keep its value. When you have bought land on the mainland there’s no Covenant available to protect your investment in the land and its surroundings.

On Linden Mainland anyone can build whatever they wish, wherever they want without any rules or regulations. When someone places a massive tower building right next to your property on which you have spent hundreds of Dollars to acquire. And then puts up a club or venue inside of that building, the value of your land will drop sharply and you will not have any recourse.

Should you want to put your Mainland up for sale one day, you will have a significant reduction in property value. Your land will not be sold for a long period of time while you are obligated continuing to pay monthly tier to Linden Lab because the lot is still yours. Or you will be forced to sell that land with a heavy loss because otherwise you won’t be able to find a buyer for your property.

Another important fact to take into consideration is that you don’t have to participate in bidding wars at the Second Life auction to obtain a piece of terrain. Parcels on the Linden Mainland are often offered for bid via auctions held by Linden Lab.

If you want a certain parcel on which you have set your mind, you’ll need to bid against other avatars and then the purchase price can increase way above what the land is actually worth. It’s not uncommon for certain parcels to be sold for a thousand US$ or more via the Linden Auction system.

On the Dreamworld Islands of Count Burks Estates you can buy your very own island or parcel of land for the amount of 1 Linden Dollar. You pay this amount to buy and own your land in your own name just as you would on the Linden Mainland.

Instead of paying hundreds of Dollars or a thousand USD$ or more for the purchase of your land, you only pay 1 Linden Dollar $ to rent land in Second Life. After this you only pay your tier or rent that is comparable to what you would pay as maintenance costs for your parcel on the Linden Mainland continents.

This provides you with the following advantages:

• Better quality of land with higher FPS (Frames Per Second) which removes lag.
• Protection of your environment and surroundings through the use of a Covenant.
• Terraform and edit your terrain without constraints or restrictions like on the Mainland.
• More flexibility if you wish to expand your property or need more prims on your land.
• Better and faster service and support, direct human interaction and immediate assistance.
• Protected ocean front, no surprises when you log in and find unpleasant objects to look at.
• Better looking high resolution terrain textures for your land.
• Assistance to place your home on your land if needed.
• Support 7 days per week even on holidays and during weekends.
• The sim can be restarted instantly during a technical issue.
• Rollbacks to restore damage on your land when required, which is impossible on land you buy.
• Increased privacy and security, you are protected against griefers and intruders.

These are just some of the advantages to rent land in Second Life instead of buying a plot. Please keep in mind that not on every private Estate where you can rent, you will be able to obtain your island or parcel for 1 Linden.

At certain places, a setup fee is charged or the rental prices will be a lot higher. At Count Burks Estates you receive your land for 1 Linden and you pay a base rate in order to rent land.

The slogan of Count Burks Estates is not without reason: “Excellent Land For A Modest Price”. We try to honor this by providing tenants with good quality land at a normal basic rate when they rent land in Second Life.

10. Stop Being A Visitor And Become A Resident

Visiting and discovering new places is exciting and one of the best aspects of Second Life. Many people love to explore the virtual world of Second Life as it is always in a state of constant change and renewal. New objects are created daily by the many thousands of content creators. There is also always a new sim to visit when you log into the virtual world.

However, the exploration and visitor aspect is only one facet of the virtual world. Having your own place and also belonging to the world by participating in it is still totally different. When you own your own piece of property, it will become your personal place that belongs to you inside of the virtual world, this will give your Second Life a completely different dimension and enhance your experience by a lot.

Being homeless in the virtual world is in fact similar to being homeless in real life. Not really pleasant for most of us. When you have your own residency or shop in the virtual world it always feels a bit like coming home when you log in. You can think of it as your home away from home. For many people, their virtual land and home is comparable to  having a holiday home in the real world.

Many people log into Second Life and are spending their time in the world solely on their land. It’s a great place to relax and take a break from the daily worries. People love decorating their homes or to adapt their landscape and surroundings for the seasons, or to spend time on their island with their partner and friends.

It should not be forgotten that Second Life can exist because each resident has his or her own role within the virtual world. Instead of just being a visitor in world. With your own land, where you construct your home; club; store; build project or Roleplay community, you will contribute to the development of the largest virtual world in existence.

While visiting the world you will undoubtedly be inspired by the many creations of other residents. When you rent land yourself in Second Life you will be able to to express your own vision and creativity or be able to set up your community with likeminded individuals.

Whatever the project is you would like to realize, you are always welcome to contact Count Burks Estates and I will personally look at delivering you a suitable terrain location in Second Life which will enable you to create what you have in mind.

In this article, we’ve discussed the top10 reasons why you might want to rent land in Second Life virtual world. Hopefully by reading this article you have gained a deeper insight and understanding to why it is interesting to rent your own piece of land in Second Life and what the advantages are that come with it.

Tags: Count Burks EstatesDreamworldlandland for rentrentrentalsrentingSecond LifeSecondLifeSLterrain

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