"Residential Area" in town development

[toadsworthy]

I've visited quite a lot of villages and I would say most towns have a "residential area" meaning they put all of their villagers in one area and either give each one like a yard, or their is some common theme behind it.

Idk, I've never really liked this idea and tend to spread out my villagers all throughout the island. Yeah it makes it more difficult to visit each one, but more than likely they are in the plaza anyway and I always really liked giving each one their own area and style. For example, Timbra lives in like a 2 acre big estate which doubles as like a park. Aurora lives beside my nova light/rainbow garden. And Erik lives on a third elevation with snow and a christmas theme. Also I feel like if I had all my villagers in one area, idk what I would do with all the other area... and don't know when or why i would go to any of those places lol

I wanted to see how many people have a dedicated residential area vs. who has their villagers spread out throughout their island.

 

[Ananas Dragon]

Marina has to go next to the beach
my villagers are spread out, i only have 3 grouped together and a handful of the others spread out

 

[arboriavillager]

I spread out my villagers at first because I was lazy but now I'm kind of happy that I did it because some residential areas are so cramped and gridlike. Also, some of them make it look like the villagers are living in government funded housing because they have like no space and all the houses look the same other than the design. Others are really nice though so I'm not bashing residential areas as a whole. I like them as long as there are yards made for each villager and enough space, not just a bunch of houses super close together.

 

[Aliya]

I personally prefer my villagers kept together so it's like a little neighborhood, but I could see myself changing it and spreading everyone out. Everyone has a yard dedicated to their interests so it's not completely cookie cutter, but I know it's not everyone's favorite thing.

 

[Envy]

I like having my villagers lined up in a residential area. It looks very clean.

 

[Etown20]

My villagers are spread out, though I guess you could say they are clustered in groups of 2 or 3. It's just what made sense to me with the map I chose, but both ways can look great!

 

[toadsworthy]

I spread out my villagers at first because I was lazy but now I'm kind of happy that I did it because some residential areas are so cramped and gridlike. Also, some of them make it look like the villagers are living in government funded housing because they have like no space and all the houses look the same other than the design. Others are really nice though so I'm not bashing residential areas as a whole.

lol, yeah i feel like thats what those always look like to me...

 

[Believe]

Kindave a mix. I have some in a little area, but others are spread out depending on how inspired I get. Ultimately, I think I just want it to make sense with my pathing.

 

[Jellieyz]

My villagers are together, five up a tier and five below. That way I have more space to do ambitious (non-cost effective) projects.

They don't have backyards though, and I kinda regret not giving them it.

 

[monsieurberry]

I have what amounts to three neighborhoods. One is very fancy, one is more beach vibes, and one is cliff/off the beaten path!

 

[pup]

i initially was THRILLED to be able to put my villagers in a grid without plot resetting. however now that i've played more with terraforming, i find myself drawn to woodsy and natural layouts that are more spacious and play with the terrain. i love visiting an island that is winding and full of surprises. i think it will be fun to design areas for each of my babies. until then it's really easy to hit everyone up when DIY hunting because i plopped them all down in the same areas lol.

 

[BungoTheElf]

Right now my neighborhood is kind of cramped and don't even have space to have their own little yard spaces LOL Honestly I just like them close because its easy to check for diys, I'm planning on spreading them out a little more, but they're still going to be in their little neighborhood cliff space

 

[DJStarstryker]

Mine used to be more spread out, but I hated it. It was inconvenient for me to find them, and it felt like it really limited my options. Once I made a residential area, it made my island seem SO much bigger. I now have a lot more space for all kinds of neat projects. It also makes it easier to find who is making DIYs.

 

[Alicia]

I had them more spread out when I started, they were in groups of two before I couldn't figure out a good place for the last two houses. I ended up not liking what I was doing to my island and started planning out a residential area. All my villagers have small fenced in yards with different things I think they'd like. Static had a bunch of gnomes in his yard, Fauna has gardening stuff and more natural looking items. They also have a little garden between some of the houses.

 

[Applebunny]

I grouped mine in into a neighbourhood loosely based on an area I enjoy walking though in my own neighbourhood. There are narrow paths going between houses to little garden areas.

Originally I didn’t like the idea of grouping the houses together but changed my mind.

 

[Meowria]

At first they were spread out with their houses in the first empty area I could find. But now I put them all close together in a residential area. To me it's easier to find them if they're in their houses and I just prefer it this way overall.

 

[vicutie]

I'm having trouble w/ my residential area too I can't seem to get houses aligned

 

[Fendi]

I preferred to have them all in a neighbourhood area since I felt that was more suitable for the type of island design I was going for. I think my reasoning behind it is that I wanted it to have a more suburban type of feeling, where residents live in one area of the island, and the businesses and other shops will be all in one area. Given the limited space we have to work with, trying to blend in residential areas, with recreational areas mixed in with shops is a hassle to deal with.

I think my struggle with going with the spread apart design is that I feel like I would have a difficult time trying to create a "unique" area layout for each villager. Plus, it would make it much more complicated for me to decide as to which villagers go where.

Either way, each island is unique, so I've always admired how others have designed the areas where villagers lived.

 

[Applebunny]

I'm having trouble w/ my residential area too I can't seem to get houses aligned

I make a grid with paths before placing my houses. It helps a lot.

 

[vicutie]

I make a grid with paths before placing my houses. It helps a lot.

That's a good idea! I should try that
Do you happen to know the grid dimensions?