A Great Home Based Business for the SIMS 2 Open for Business - the Hangout Joint Part 2

In part one of this article I explained how to set up the hang out joint and how to make it work. Part 2 will talk about some of the ups and downs as well as further tips for the ultimate SIMS 2 home business.

When you have a hang out joint on your property you are going to have SIMS coming up to your door to complain at you. No matter how good your lot is, they'll come up with something to nag you about. If you don't want to deal with them, I suggest limiting access to your property through use of hills, fences and other obstructions. Just be careful, you don't want to restrict you own SIM's access to the street or other areas.

If you want SIMS to stay on your lot for a long time, you'll need to provide them with restrooms, and a few twin beds so some of them will spend the night and not complain "You invited me over, then you didn't let me get any sleep!" The bad thing is, your SIMs are going to want to use those toilets and beds. Keep an eye on them for the first few days and make sure you direct them to use their own facilities. After a while, they'll get the idea and only try to use the others once in a while.

You want to provide your guests with as many amenities as possible to keep them on your lot and paying out the Simoleans. As I mentioned above, you'll want to give them restrooms and some place to sleep. I have had great success with building a small, multi-story building on a back corner of my lot. Make it about a 10 x 10 square, and make at least 3 stories. I always make the top floor be the bathrooms, with a men's toilet, a women's toilet, a sink and a closed-in shower. The next floor down is just a bunch of twin beds with enough room for the SIMS to walk between. The other rooms can house various forms of entertainment like snack machines with tables and chairs, arcade machines, radio, etc. You can have this building as the only place for customers, or have it in addition to other things on the lot. The more you have, the more they'll pay.

One of the best things that you can provide on your hang out lot is a "Bubble Blower" we all know that's just SIM speak for a big bong, and boy do people love it! I have actually seen fights break out on my lawn over the thing! Radios are great too because people will get together and dance. Don't forget to offer them vending machines and video games. One thing that won't work for your customers: your SIM's aspiration rewards. I've tried them all, and they don't do anything. Other than the money tree, guests won't use any of the rewards, so don't waste space or points trying to get them out for other SIMS to use.

Making your lot look good is important. The better the area looks, the more the SIMs will like being there. Take your own SIM out and see what their environment score does. If it goes down or stays the same, try to decorate better. It's also important that the area be easy to navigate. Take your SIM to everything you've put on the lot and make sure it can be used and they don't complain about not being able to get to things.

Another great way to provide entertainment for the SIMS on your lot is to set out instruments or a karaoke machine. They can entertain each other, boost their social meters and they'll hang out for ages taking turns playing or singing. Once they get good at it, it can actually be entertaining for you to watch them have jam sessions on your lawn.

There's another benefit to your hang out joint aside from the fact that it's obviously making your SIM big bucks. That benefit is that it's a great place to have parties. When your SIM invites people over for a party, you already have all this great stuff on your lot for them to do, and you'll get a maxed out party score almost every time.