Okay guys, I know I said my next city was going to be I-HT oriented... but to be honest, I wasn't really feeling it yet. I'm going to build that metropolis on a large city tile, and that requires a lot more planning. I want the city to be cohesive and flow together, and not act like several separate cities on the same tile. For a moment, I'm going to take a detour in the exact opposite direction!

Meet Eatstown. A rural, ocean side, farming community. It's built on a small city tile.

This place was going to be simple and quiet, so I also gave it a simple transportation system. I am so happy for those dirt streets, it REALLY just ties the whole rural atmosphere together. It would look horrible being concrete, ugh. I don't even want to think about it.

Of course, it really wouldn't be a city of mine without tons of trees, and at least two random parks unnecessarily right next to each other. That may actually end up being my signature style as I grow into being a better city builder, which I find kinda funny.

I've gotta say, building this town was so much fun! It popped up nearly instantly, and immediately I had a surplus. I could sit back and simply mess around with all the details for once. I spent a decent amount of time just trying to get all the farms to look natural, and not like some half thrown together jigsaw puzzle. What a difference! It was awesome.

I also loved the new diggs! I went on a STEX binge to find some good rural style stuff, and found this awesome thing of a mayors mansion. Complete with mini-golf, pool, and random orange orchard. This is the life! Just look at all my adoring fans.

I couldn't completely neglect my major duties, though. After much research, I found what seemed like the perfect educational institution for a community like this. It blends in perfectly as a horse-riding stable, and teaches my elementary age students. I also tried looking around for a good rural high school, but couldn't find one I liked. I'm fine without one though, as it really matches the simple atmosphere of the place. I can't always build a utopia.

... though I can sure try! This cool looking building here is a SkyFarm from the PEG Productions Utopia Project. It provides a small amount of I-HT to all my $$$ who refused to get their hands dirty and claimed there were no jobs available. Take that, lazy sims. $$$ jobs that still involve getting your hands dirty somehow!

Jokes aside, I really am enjoying this place. It's so peaceful and relaxing compared to the hustle and bustle of Asheville. Despite some oddly angled driveways.

A look at the road leading out of town, and the row of houses lined up along it. The land seems to be a little more stable here, thankfully. The region I rendered from the stex has tons of hidden hills and mountains, I've come to realize.

Believe it or not, this single wind powerplant provides energy to the entire city by itself, at 88% capacity. Perfect for my needs, and cheap! I was so happy.

You know, if I weren't mayor, I could see this switchgrass farm as my house. I had so much fun building this little farm community, that I simply must create another one, on a bigger tile next time. But not to worry friends, I'll get to your I-HT city next. Maybe.

Thanks everyone who voted in my poll! It seems .jpg wins, 9-4. Which is pretty mixed actually, but it's still clear the majority of you guys prefer .jpg. I can barely tell the difference unless I squint, so I hope the change doesn't run off any fans. It certainly loads much quicker.

@dubaidude303: Agreed! I've gotta keep a real close eye on them from now on. Don't want them messing up the crime in my favorite city, it's got enough problems lol.

@Forthwall: Hah, I hadn't thought of that before! Hmm. Converting the images to .jpg isn't actually very difficult. I use Caesium for that, and it compresses them all in one go. While I'm a bit of a perfectionist and like the best quality, I also don't want my CJ's to run people off by being difficult to load. It's a weird line... but a 100% .jpg still seems good enough for the majority of people.