To those who stepped up from Ancestor to Citizen

Any regrets? What's the upside of a Villiage lot vs. a Row?

I'm considering making the move over the next month based on my perception that I might be happier permantly in a Village over a Row. My 4 story Row with 5 level basement gives me a ton of space from top to bottom...but still feels a little "blah".

Yet the Village homes I've toured don't seem very spacious at all, which concerns me. Still, they seem a bit more "homey".

Just looking for some advice so I can make a better informed decision.

 

Well...
Why not try it out in game first? Feel it out for yourself.
One can get village deeds in Owls Head for 60k gold (this will go away in beta+)

What I do is to place the max 4story row house on the village lot and expand with a village basement.
The combo is huge.

Let me know if you need gold or deed before wipe.

 

Hi Mastese. Well to me the biggest upside is the ability to have land to garden. Row lots don't have land mostly. So my answer is land. If you don't care about that aspect. I think the row lots are lovely. With a 5 story basement or even 2 or 3 there is tons of space, well for me.

 

You can put a row house on a village lot if you like and use a village basement still. Or consider a store home or a pledge home (the knight home is quite a biggie). If you like the game and it's in your budget and you like the village lot (which you can try out in-game, borrowing a deed from someone and sticking your row house on it for comparison) then there would be no reason to regret going to citizen - come on look at that piano

Bear in mind that every time you go up a tier you'll be eyeing the next one of course.

 

It depends why you want a home in the first place, if you just want to put down a few storage chests then the row house is fine.. for avid decorators nothing ever seems large enough.

 

In a way, I share your "problem". I already have a village lot (which I love), but I love the row lots, too, so I am thinking of buying one in the add-on store. Keep that option in mind if you are an active player. Purchasing a taxable village lot in the add-on store is a lot less expensive than upgrading your pledge, and you would end up with two lots instead of just one.

Pros of a village lot:
1. Currently there are more village lots in-game, so you can always find an available one, whereas row lots are scarce. This is just a temporary situation, however.

2. Yard space. If you enjoy having a back yard to decorate, your only choice is village or above. You are correct when you say that the village homes that come with pledges are very small. However, they look great and offer a lot of opportunity for yard decorating. And as others have already suggested, row houses, which have more room inside, look fine on a village lot. There are larger village homes available for purchase, but my personal preference is a home with a small footprint in order to have more yard space. I purchased the Adobe 2-story with 3-level terrace home, and it has a lot of room (and opportunity for decorating) inside, but I will be trading it back in simply because it takes up too much of the village lot. When the game releases, I plan on having a small village home to maximize my yard space. I did buy the 5-story stone village basement just in case I need more inside space at some future date. Currently, however, I have all my crafting stations set up in the huge one-story village basement, and I will probably never need a larger basement.

Pros of a row lot:
1. The main advantage of a row lot is that they are situated near city centers. There are always people around, so the game seems more alive. In the current stage of the game, it is a great advantage to be able to zone to your row lot and jog a few yards to the blacksmith, market or skills trainer. It is hard to estimate how valuable this convenience will be when the economy kicks in and skills trainers are specialized. Unless you have amazing luck or a very high pledge level, there is little chance of your being able to place a village lot in a thriving NPC town.

2. Currently, you can keep the default house which is already on an available row lot, so you needn't buy one or place the stone row house that comes with the pledge if you don't like it. As with other game mechanics, it is impossible to know if this will still be the case when the game is released.

If you plan to place your home in a player-owned-town, other considerations may apply.

Good luck - I hope you make the decision that is right for you!

 

Alway an upside to having a larger lot. Rent Free vendor is a massive upside

 

Yes indeed, I forgot about that when I replied to this thread. However, location probably plays a great role in the usefulness of the vendor. If your village lot is in the furthest corner of a backwater village, you may not get many customers passing by. Or am I missing something?

 

Location is always important as it can make life a lot easier. However in saying that if you have a decent shop at good prices and are able to create a reputation, then people will always go.

The rent free vendor will ultimately give a huge advantage as you could always set the price naturally cheaper than competitors whilst maintaining the same income. They also potentially open doors (depending on mechanics) to renting the vendor to another player. If a player wanted to sell very expensive items it might prove better to rent a rent free vendor off another player for a fixed amount.

 

Thank you Kara (and all). This is exactly what I was looking for. Honestly, the vendor+yard are the most intriguing aspects.

Location (location, location...) is my greatest concern once we get into release. I have little concept of which lots hold the highest "virtual property value", as I can appreciate having the fear of ending up somewhere that doesn't feel alive due to low pop or consistent inactivity. I'll give it some serious thought.

Take care all and I'll see you in the game!

 

Any NPC town with a skill trainer is a safe bet, player owned towns will depend entirely on what owners and citizens do with them.