Planned communities. It’s what Second Life seems to be all about these days. From the old guard like New Babbage to the new kids on the block like Cedar Creek and of course Linden Lab’s own “Linden Homes” initiative, it seems that as the months progress these planned communities spring up more and more.

In the grand scheme of things, there are three major types of these planned communities, each one has its benefits and drawbacks.

First up is of course the one most people will know about, Linden Homes. They come bundled with Premium and Premium Plus, the homes are decent but the drawback is that “UK Council Estate” feel…yeah, people in the UK will know what I’m talking about. These vast regions of home after home after home all look the same, there’s very little “soul” in it. However, again, it’s cheap (relatively speaking) and the homes are decent.

The second type, and the one that gets all the attention is the “Contemporary” planned communities. These are planned regions that have sprung up over the past 4 to 5 years or less, have made full use of mesh, and are based around a singular theme or more importantly a region of the real world. Cedar Creek and New Haven are two prime examples of this type of planned community. There is a downside though which hangs around these newer communities like a lead weight. Drama. Not just any kind of drama, but some of the worst kinds of drama. We saw it firsthand in our month-long stay at Cedar. These newer communities are essentially run by large families. If you don’t fit in, they accuse you of being alts, or being bots…the list goes on. To see a snapshot of what that drama is, you just need to search for the likes of Cedar Creek SL on google and blog after blog shows up.

The third type, and the type we are looking at today…is the “Old Guard”. Communities like Caledon, New Babbage, Meiville, and a few others sprung up over a decade ago, before mesh, before sculpts, heck, before there was even windlight and they grew with the platform. The one we are looking at today is The Grove Country Club.

Although not as old as New Babbage, The Grove is nearing (or might now be over) the decade-old mark, and you can see this in the way that some of the main infrastructures of the regions are laid out…its mainly prim-based. The road network that covers almost all 19 of its regions, like the base of the road network of New Babbage is prim-based with shine mapping and other windlighty stuff built in. However, unlike New Babbage which has been very slow in updating, mainly due to long-term residents, the bulk of the housing you see at The Grove, along with the landscaping, is mesh, or at least partial mesh. The Grove is one of the older types of planned community where you rent the plot along with the landscaping of that plot, and if you have a house that fits on that plot, and fits the theme of the town, you can use it, or alternatively use one of the available houses they can offer to rez out for you.

The Grove is based on a Tuscany Italian theme for the most part and you can see it in the landscaping and the vast bulk of the houses you see as people’s homes on the estate itself. What sets it apart from practically all of the other new and old-style planned communities is what The Grove has to offer, and it does offer a lot.

Above is the art center which features work from SL artists but is also running photography classes with some well-known SL photographers. Added to that is a myriad of different venues and events which are listed on the main website for The Grove, although we’ve still to see any actual party-style events, mind you, we just moved in 4 days ago.

Along with the events, art and photography classes, first-time free landscaping of your plot when you first move in (yes, they offer that too) is the major events that The Grove runs, right now there seems to be some kind of home expo going on in the second of the two major regions dedicated to sim sized events that The Grove take part in and run.

You can also tell it’s an “Old School” type of planning community because of one other thing. Most people probably have not heard of it. Like New Babbage The Grove essentially now works on word of mouth or taking part in major events to get the word out about the place, but because there are so many long-term renters who have been living there for years, the stability of The Grove is already embedded into its landscape. We have been there for just under a week now, after visiting the place due to the designers region they had teamed up with for this year’s RFL track and we have been made to feel extremely welcomed by the people we have bumped into so far, which is a far cry from the innuendo and back chatter we got at Cedar Creek.

The second, and most telling way you can see it’s an old-school planned community is the landscaping. Especially the theme that The Grove had chosen of Tuscany.

Every single one of its regions, including practically all of its star builds (like the one above, the home of the owner of The Grove) has that hint of a Mediterranean or Tuscan-style theme. From the vast amounts of greenery to the meandering road network, to the terracotta style roofing and colored Stucco wall plastering. Theme-wise, there’s nothing else out there on the grid which can come close to it in size, and in looks.

Is it expensive to rent land there? Yes, it is above “average” of what you would pay to rent a bare empty plot on a cookie-cutter land baron chopped up a blank region where you may end up with a BDSM club moving next door, but this is a case of getting what you are willing to pay for. First and foremost, The Grove is a “Gated Community”, that is what it is primarily themed around, so you can get land at the Grove and not have to worry about what happens when that new neighbor moves in, or if the neighbor is going to open up a new club…cause that just won’t happen.

The Angels moved in there a day after RFL’s Track event ended, and we have been having a lot of fun at The Grove ever since, with not even a hint of any negativity around the place. Something with the new crop of planned communities will never be able to achieve.

I usually link to a SLURL at the end of these articles, but for this one, I’m going to link to their site, so you can read up a little more on the place.

The Grove Country Club Estate.

Written by Liandra Aries
Edited by Fenella Baily
14/06/2023