The Greener Grass Paradox

[Baroque]

I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon about, well, myself, in this case.

By all accounts, I have a pretty nice island. Most everyone who’s been to my island has nothing but good feedback about it and that’s always nice to hear. However, whenever I go to someone else’s island… I almost always, always end up thinking I should try to make my island more like theirs. Even islands that are pretty barren, I find myself thinking ‘The minimalism of it is so sweet, no clutter or excessive decoration, gives me room to breathe’. Sometimes I try to integrate what I see into my island but it’s already quite the strew over here: I’ve got a pretty big Japanese-style market place, a pretty big zen garden, a pretty big Chinese restaurant area and like two-three smaller food stall relaxation spaces. Trying to add any more would make it worse and trying to remove anything would just make me miss it. And yet. Every time I visit another island, it makes me wish mine was more like theirs.

I’ve dubbed this phenomenon the ‘Greener Grass Paradox’ based on the idea that your neighbor’s grass will always appear greener than yours. The obvious explanation to this feeling is that I see my own island so goddamn often that it doesn’t seem special to me anymore: what I thought was really cool and unique at first isn’t really all that interesting anymore because I’ve just been living with this reality for so long. With that in mind, is there a way to counter this? Should I just make my themed areas interchangeable so that I can swiftly switch into a different theme on the fly? Do any of you also feel the same way about your islands? Have you found a way to keep things fresh and interesting on your own terf? I’m curious to know!

 

[Hilbunny]

Sounds like animal crossing fomo.

I appreciate other people’s islands and love exploring the really awesome dream addresses!

However, I love my island because I made it I don’t wish it was like anyone else’s.

 

[Nooblord]

I love visiting other islands that are extravagant and heavily decorated/busy, but I love having my island to go home to.

If anything, seeing cool ideas tempts me to get a Switch lite, so that I can experiment with decorating and landscaping, but I love my island too much to take it into a totally different direction.

 

[Baroque]

I love visiting other islands that are extravagant and heavily decorated/busy, but I love having my island to go home to.

If anything, seeing cool ideas tempts me to get a Switch lite, so that I can experiment with decorating and landscaping, but I love my island too much to take it into a totally different direction.

Ohh, that’s interesting. You mean, like, getting a second Switch outright so you can have a second island? That’d be expensive but also useful for multiple reasons XD

 

[saucySheep]

ahh. very nice scientific speculations.
I suppose you're just bored of your island and appreciate other people's art more than your own. Yes, the grass is truly greener on the other side.
Then again, think of all the people who envy your island.
In short I think nobody's ever satisfied with their island. It's just impossible. Though some islands truly do look lovelier than others.

 

[Chibiusa]

That's not really a new phenomenon. Things other people have will always seem more desirable than what you've got - it's just part of human nature. You could make a carbon copy of someone else's island and after a few days you'll be tired of it and envy what another person has done. I'm sure the people who made the islands you wish yours was more like are just as tired of their own creation or think theirs is less than other designs they've come across.

Something you look at every day will eventually get old. I redo small areas of my island every so often so I can combat feeling that way.

 

[Insulaire]

I have never been to an island that I wished was mine (no offense to anyone). I love my island and barely terraformed it and just made it my own. But I do feel this with villagers. I'm always thinking "Maaaaaaaybe I'd rather have this one" and I know that I'd actually never be happy if I kept switching out villagers, so I'm trying to be happy with what I have. It's hard though and the temptation to swap villagers is real and only hampered by me loving all of my lineup and not wanting anyone to leave. Buuuuuut....

 

[DJStarstryker]

I need to get an online account (for trading reasons too) so I can dream and see "normal" islands. All of the islands I've seen videos and pictures of have been those "5* island tours" that you see on YouTube and Instagram a lot. Most of those just seem WAY too busy. It's so busy that it kinda feels noisy and cluttered and stressful to me, even if it looks pretty.

So I've seen individual parts of islands that I like, but whole islands? I have yet to see one that I like overall than mine.

 

[Hypno KK]

I actually like my island! It's nothing special because I just started out but everything I've done with it came out of my effort and what I think would look good. There are islands that look so much better but they're not necessarily "me". For example, I love some of the busy islands I've seen but I'd probably get annoyed by so many items/flowers/cliffs in my game. I really just try to remember that my island should reflect my own playing style and what I think is fun.

 

[Imbri]

I've visited/dreamt of some truly lovely islands, many that are decorated and terraformed extensively.

Ultimately, I think they're nice to visit, but I'm always happy to go back to my island. It might not be the flashiest, but it has charm, and it's a good reflection of who I am.

That being said, freshening areas up, seasonally or otherwise, is always good. It keeps you from feeling stale and gets you to look at things in a new way.

 

[Nooblord]

Ohh, that’s interesting. You mean, like, getting a second Switch outright so you can have a second island? That’d be expensive but also useful for multiple reasons XD

Yes, but I definitely will never buy another Switch just to have a second island, lol. I don’t give into temptation easily. I never even bought a second NL game and I’ve had the same town for 7 years

 

[CrankyCupcake]

The obvious explanation to this feeling is that I see my own island so goddamn often that it doesn’t seem special to me anymore: what I thought was really cool and unique at first isn’t really all that interesting anymore because I’ve just been living with this reality for so long.

Erm, what you wrote, was pretty much the reason why, 30+ years ago, I decided that I didn't want to get married. How boring it would be to wake up next to the same man every morning for the rest of my life!

I like visiting dream islands. I do appreciate a lot of them. But I never feel like I want to live on any of these islands. Because they're not mine. I'm most at ease on my island because I made it to fit me. Everything is where I feel it needs to be. It's not gorgeous by most standards. But it's home. It's familiar and comforting. It's where I started, it's where I built my island up from scratch, it's where I live with my islanders, it's where I anticipate many more hours of discovery and fun. Keeping the game fresh and interesting is a matter of choice. I can terraform any time. I can move residents out or in. Even the simple act of changing my player character's outfit, especially to wear something I've never worn before, makes me feel like I'm living dangerously.

Been married for 30 years. My husband keeps it refreshing for me by making me beverages when I least expect them.

 

[Barney]

I've had the opposite experience, if anything.

I've visited plenty of dream addresses and really enjoyed looking around, but I found that they actually made me appreciate my own island a bit more than I did.

I'm not sure why, as some of these islands were gorgeous. I think maybe it's just that none of them are my designs, so there's always something that doesn't quite sit right with me, whereas my island makes more sense to me because I (well, me and my 3 year old son) designed it.

 

[jo_electric]

It’s true what they say, you want what you can’t have. In my case, I often love the minimalism that others have on their island, like having all the houses clustered together because it gives more room to do more with the land. I can’t have that because it would mean me having to redo my entire island and I don’t have the time or mental strength to do it.

I think it also comes down with how much time you’ve been on your island too. Everything becomes a bit mundane because you see your island every time you log on and it’s not as new or exciting as it was when you first created it. New islands are exciting because they’re just that, new. And you might see details you wish you had thought of. There are so many creative ideas out there but we’re really restricted by the size of our islands. That’s my take at least.

TL;DR You want what you can’t have and the excitement of your island diminishes with time because you see it all the time. At the same time, love my island because I worked hard on it and at the end of the day it’s exactly how I want my island to be. It’s late, hopefully that made some sense lol.

 

[Pyoopi]

The only time I felt heavy envy towards another island was because their river mouths. I was granted the double south which made me work harder on island layouts.

As for advice how to curb your envy or stop comparing your island to others, that's a bit hard. Not to parrot what others said, the constant repetition of everything makes me feel like you're experiencing a bit of a burnout.

Like for me, my island is about 30% done? What excites me to push forward is when I invite forum members to play on my island and what custom design will I make next. Maybe savor the simple things will help you out.
It's hard to give good advice on this, lol.

 

[niko@kamogawa]

I interpret your thought as part of human nature. We always strive to get better. We always never reach that point of being satisfied. It's a never ending quest for perfection.

This won't end in a good note though. It will cause burnout. You will also lose your individuality when copying someone's work. You will end up being frustrated and upset. So when does it stop or how do we stop it? Only you can answer.

I am up this point that striving for perfection in this game isn't something really worthwhile. I play Animal Crossing as a form of escapism and not to get more stress. With that being said, I get my energy by seeing someone's success. I enjoy being an observer rather than the main character of my own story.