beanstalk_sims | Prosperity: Spring

Who's ready for the last little bit of spring in Riverside?

And I truly mean little - after all of the drama Jace was causing, Lola and her family were seriously tame and finished in under twenty pictures. Nice to have some contrast, I guess - from the chaos to the calm!

Here we go!

This map is from the middle of the summer rotation, and things are slightly different to where they were in the spring.

On the left, we have Riverside's business district, which contains bars and cafes and hangouts and whatever. All residential properties are on the right. Lola walked out on Jace, leaving him with the big house in residential Riverside.

Only because I have the no 20K Handouts hack - which I totally forgot about when I had Lola walk out - she left with little over £3000. That's not enough for any residential properties in Riverside.

So I had to install some apartment buildings around the edges of Riverside's business district.

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Riverside Trailer Park!

Once the first week's rent and furniture were paid for, the Lagoons had nothing left. Jace really has ruined a family with his actions.

Still, it's not all bad. They have each other!

Rhode has two grandparents to keep her busy, so Lola can work and earn some money. And since I moved them in here, it's become a personal mini-challenge to raise Rhode here until she is old enough to go to university. Sort of like a nickel-and-dimed challenge, without as many rules.

The only issue I have with the trailer park is that Rita and William will quite often just disappear - they'll go on the play park, follow neighbours around, and just generally not be in the trailer, where Rhode is on her own.

It's a little annoying sometimes, having to track everyone down.

However, outside is really pretty to take shots of.

Lola, however, is trying her best to raise Rhode here.

And Rhode's father, Jace, is never around once. It's your stereotypical struggling single mother! Riverside is definitely becoming a soap opera...

"Lola...you're not really going to try and raise Rhode like this, are you?"

"What do you mean?" Lola demanded, defensively.

"With no money! On a trailer park! Maybe she should have stayed with Jace, he does have plenty of money to-"

"You're saying I can't give her the best in life because of the size of my wallet?"

"I'm just saying she's not going to get the same headstart in life as other children," William said, "We don't have toys that can build up her skills for later life. Rhode won't even have a room of her own when she grows up,"

"We'll cope, Dad," Lola replied, sternly, "We'll make the best of it."

And it was true, Rhode's only toy was the toilet. By her age, most kids in Riverside had a skillpoint or two, whereas she had none. Because of the circumstances, Rhode was at a disadvantage in comparison to the others her age.

Not that she knew about it. It probably wouldn't come into play until she's much older - I don't force my children and teens to skill, unless it's for a job promotion when they are teens.

Rhode will most likely enter university with minimal skills.

"Awh, check it out! I'm all grown up!"

With it being late at night, Lola wouldn't let her daughter go out to play and run around, so Rhode had to make her own fun inside.

"I'm finally big enough to jump on the bed!"

She looks a lot like Jace, if you ask me.

Dear Diary,

Where is my Dad? In all of the books on the shelf, Mums and Dads live together with their kids...so where's mine? I haven't seen him for ages...

Rhode's a lot of fun. She's quite playful, if I remember rightly, and spends a lot of time running around outside - regardless of how late it is.

"Rhode, sweetie, you should be in bed! You have school tomorrow."

"So? Why is it important Grandma?"

"You need to work hard! To make sure you don't end up working as an elder like me."

"I don't understand."

"You will one day, sweetie."

School absolutely drains Rhode's fun meter. It's next to impossible to get her to 'work hard'!

And despite only having 4 outgoing points, Rhode is quite sociable. She'd rather be hanging out with her classmates than studying.

That evening, Rita unexpectedly died of old age. I guess I hadn't checked her age bar or something.

I only realised when her grave was blocking the stairs into the trailer :( Her grave was then moved to the graveyard, so that it didn't take up anymore room that the Lagoons didn't have.

I think William took it the hardest. He wouldn't stop following his family members around after Rita passed away.

It does make me wonder how much longer the other elders have left...

* * * * *

That's it for this time, and for the season!

Next up, the Summer rotation!!