After you've spent a little time in Second Life you may find that you want to have a permanent home - a place where you can put out furniture, change clothes in private, keep a virtual pet, or have friends over, for example.
You have many options.
Squatting:
For the truly broke, you might be able to persuade someone to let you squat on their land and give you permission to rezz articles. It is also possible to squat on someone's land without permission, but this is not ethical and the only people who will think you are being clever to do this are other scum.
Renting:
You can rent many nice plots and parcels for less than the cost of a fast-food meal. Some landlords will even offer you a choice of free houses. Renting is probably a good choice for someone who is just learning the ropes. A good landlord can also answer questions and help with problems like "I bought this house and took it out of the box but now it is upside down!"*
The downside of renting is that sometimes landlords go "poof" and you may come back and find that your 'home' is no longer there and all of your personal property has been returned to inventory.
Being a landlord in Second Life is a hard job and many people try it and give up. Look for a landlord who has been in the business for a while and who has a wide variety of properties.
Buying Land:
See my article on "
How Not to Buy Land in Second Life".
You have to be a Premium Member to buy land.
Buying a Parcel directly:
When you see a spot on the map for sale, you can buy the land by going to the 'World' tab and pulling up "Parcel Details" which has a spot where you can buy the land. Do not click on a cube marked "Buy this Land". When you buy land by using the 'Parcel Details' option you will also get a message that tells you how much your monthly tier will be. (Remember that Premium Members are allowed to have a 1024 plot without tier, and Premium Members in a group may have a higher allotment).
Buying Abandoned Land:
If you see a nice plot of land that has been abandoned you can request that Linden Lab put the land for sale to you. They have the option of setting the land to sell to you directly (There is a greater chance of this option if the land is next to land you already own.) or to set the land for auction.
Buying Land at Auction:
Go to the Second Life Land Auction Page to get more information and see what is currently on offer.
Getting a free home by becoming a Premium Member:
When you are a Premium Member you have the option of holding a 1024 parcel tier-free, or getting one of the new Bellisserean homes. Right now there are four types of home: Houseboat, Camper**, Traditional, or Victorian and each type has four variations. Other styles and variations are expected to be offered in future.
More on this in future articles.
*Do not ask how I know this.
**Campers are on a 512 parcel, so you could also have a 512 parcel on Mainland. The others are on a 1024 plot.
