Teresa Firelight If you have already fallen in love with the Ranch Homes, you probably don’t need this article, but might enjoy it anyhow. But if your initial opinion of them was like mine, please read on….
When I first saw the Ranch Homes regions, I thought to myself, “nicely built, but not my thing.” They had lots of rural countryside with a few farm-like things scattered around (silos, wooden windmills, wheat fields, the occasional farm equipment and bales of hay, etc.). I tend to prefer regions that have a lot of water, such as coastal or lake areas, stilts, houseboats, etc.
I was content to keep my nice houseboat and let others enjoy the Ranch Homes. However, a friend told me, “Up an alt for one month and give it a try. You will be surprised about how nice these houses turn out to be. There is more to them than meets the eye.”
So I took my friends advice and forked out $29 USD. The day I did this, they had just “sold out.” But the next morning they released a bunch more Ranch Homes. The one I landed had some nice features. It had a beautiful big field of purple flowers at the end of the parcel and a pond out front. There were also cute fireflies that came out only at night. And there was a lot of space and scenic plants along one entire side of the parcel. It was semi-secluded, spacious, and had a very pleasant feel. I did not love it, but I liked it.
I started decorating the house, and I was amazed at how nice you can make the interior with double that LI allowance. Then I found another thing that really appealed to me: the covenant said I could have four pet kittycats instead of just two. (You know how kittycats spend ½ of their time sleeping? With four, you can have one pair awake (and keeping each other company) while the other is sleeping. No matter what time you go there, you always have awake kittycats to enjoy.)
People started posting pictures of their yards on the forums. Some were farm-like and some were horse ranch-like. But what really caught my attention were a few who did amazing nature scenes in their yards… small rivers or ponds, beautiful cascading flowers, etc. Those really appealed to me and I thought I would like to make a yard like that.
Suddenly I wanted a Ranch house to keep long-term. But I had a problem. My annual premium plus account owned a houseboat that I did not want to give up; but I needed to get the ranch on that (already paid for) account.
That problem turned out to be easy to solve. I abandoned the houseboat just before LL opened for business, and had my temporary premium plus account put in a ticket to request it. That transfer went smoothly and a few hours later my alt had the houseboat. The plan was to downgrade her to premium and keep the houseboat long term.
That made my annual Premium Plus account free to roll for a Ranch. She got lucky on her 5th roll and landed a location I totally loved.
But my story doesn’t end there. A friend of mine rolled a home by a waterfall, and I fell in love with it. She decided not to keep that spot, and offered it to me. I loved my other Ranch Home and did not want to give it up, but I also really wanted this one…
About the same time my husband bought something really expensive for himself. I decided that if he could spend money on himself, so could I. So I upped another alt to Annual Premium Plus and filed a ticket for the waterfall house.
I was able to create that beautiful scenic yard, which has fields of wildflowers and reminds me a lot of Monet’s house in France. I had enough LI allowance to fill the interior with lots of homey details and create an atmosphere that felt “perfect” for me. I could do all that decoration, put out all four of my perma-pet kittycats, and still have over 50 LI to spare.
And the houseboat that I originally couldn’t part with? Somehow it has lost its appeal. Now I am thinking that when the temporary PP alt expires, I may abandon the houseboat and downgrade her back to basic.
If you are one of those people who, like me, thought the Ranch Homes are not for you – take a closer look at them. My advice is that if you can afford the $29, do it. Up an alt for a month and try them out. My friend’s observation that “There is more to them than meets the eye” may apply to you as well. You might get hooked just like I did.
