NorderNey

Writing about NorderNey, a sim by Jacky Macpherson, has been on my to-do list for a long time — the sim opened around the end of May, and I've stopped by more than once to wander and investigate. Subtitled "There is always hope," the region offers a splendid combination of pastoral waterways, scenic beaches (especially toward the northwest), and homes and gardens (including the northeast corner, where the parcel name changes to "Place of Hope").

Jacky possesses an uncanny ability to landscape regions so that they appear to be larger than they are: such is the case here, where one could easily think the design encompasses two sims. As well, she manages to ensure that nothing seems out of context — every curio, ornament, animal or what have you seems at home precisely where it is.

NorderNey is also the sort of place that takes on strikingly different characteristics with different windlight settings, so I would encourage you to play with options. There is, by the way, a real life island named Norderney, one of the East Frisian islands off the northern coast of Germany, on the edge of the Netherlands. For hundreds of years a remote, sleepy fishing location, it bloomed into a tourist destination — no doubt the same fate that beset NorderNey after its opening.