The paintings were all off the walls. I carefully put away the last of the china and used a wrinkled lace handkerchief to wipe the sweat from my brow. The Victrola - a gift from the Aether Salon - was carefully stowed away. Only the furniture remained in place, and the movers were scheduled to cart everything away tomorrow.
As residents of the Steamlands well know, the entire area - and especially Caledon and its nearby environs - is subject to wide-scale tectonic changes. Most of those occur very quickly and unexpectedly, as the revelers on Mondserrat (or, more recently, the residents of Cala Mondrago) can attest. Fortunately, we residents of Caledon Downs had ample warning of the impending change and could pack and move in an orderly manner.
Still, as I locked the house door behind me, I felt a pang of nostalgia. This was my first home in the Steamlands - and, until this point, my only home. Were I selling it to a happy newcomer, or perhaps a couple expecting their first child, any regrets would be tempered with the happiness of seeing someone else take pleasure in the house. Neighbors came and went with regularity, but all were good people.
For the moment, I was homeless. However, the Guvnah takes care of his people, and kindly helped me negotiate for a property on Aether Isle, in the shadow of Steam Sky City. I engaged my trusty airship, the Hangover Two, placed the china, Victrola, and other mementos in the cargo hold, and set a course due west.
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In another possible telling of this story, the Guv has decided that the weak land market and low occupancy rate in the Downs requires him to close Caledon Downs. I will indeed be residing on Aether Isle. Mrs. Volare has kindly suggested a metal roof to better repel debris falling from Steam Sky City; given the mischief that goes on up there, I might need something even stronger.
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In all seriousness, I'd like to thank Des for how incredibly easy he made the process. I know shrinking Caledon's size can't be easy for him, the decision being made palatable only because the alternative - continuing to lose money on a sim that's not close to being full - is even worse. While he has every right to be grumpy about the situation, he was his usual incredible going-out-of-his-way self in getting me (and the others) out of the Downs and settled elsewhere.
5 comments:
Always glad to help when I can.
It is painful to make changes, but I see a lot of these changes like 'voting' ~ if people want certain things, or don't, I make adjustments.
As it is, the time of the small parcel holder is diminishing... most go to 'Linden Homes' rather than get a chance to experience the complexity of life in a small micronation. Here, we raise our own houses and know our neighbours. Linden Homes, not so much, but it's the "easy option" for everyone coming in new.
There are advantages and disadvantages... Caledon is not so vibrant without the many people with small parcels. On the other hand, the larger parcels generally are held by those who are experienced, who can set up a nice place easily and who are a lot more stable.
I finally mentioned the transition on the chat channel last night; two people still haven't logged in to see the note I've sent, but it's been over a week and the cat's out of the bag already.
Thank you and all the other residents of Caledon Downs for being so understanding, it's meant a lot to me.
Des
I was debating when to schedule the post, wanting to give folks enough time to log in and get the message firsthand. I'm glad to hear it's now pubic knowledge.
OMG. I've missed so much keeping regular hours!
Very sad to hear you've lost your first/only parcel. I know that would touch me deeply, as I too have only ever been in one location.
Gladly you are now closer to Port Caledon and we will cross paths more often than Aether Salon.
Caledon Downs is in the middle of things... does this mean we will be flying around a 'hole' now?
Or does it become something else like a Homestead?
Miss Ember, you've had an excellent excuse for not keeping regular hours - I look forward to seeing Caledon's RFL build tomorrow.
In some ways, it's quite liberating. I had two non-contiguous parcels, with two houses, and had always meant to figure out a way of consolidating them, or using one as a prim farm. I never got around to it. Now I have the same size parcel, so things worked out nicely. And I'll spend more time in a slightly different part of Caledon, which is always fun.
I certainly hope we cross paths more frequently - particularly because the Aether Salon is soon to be no more!
I don't know what the plans are for how Caledon will be configured going forward. Des indicated that the Downs was unlikely to become a homestead but, as you note, it would be a little awkward if that sim simply disappeared and nothing else changed. We'll have to wait and see. Life in the Steamlands always brings surprises!
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