Neighborhood

A neighborhood in The Sims series is a place that consists of lots. Initially, neighborhoods were small (10 lots in The Sims base game) and consisted of only residential lots, but later expansions for The Sims allowed community lots. This pattern was continued into The Sims 2; with Open for Business, Sims could buy community lots and establish businesses there. Residential lots could also be rezoned as dormitories (with The Sims 2: University), hotels (The Sims 2: Bon Voyage), and apartments (The Sims 2: Apartment Life).

The Sims 3 introduced a new alternate term for neighbourhoods, 'worlds'. Neighbourhoods now consist of more than just lots, they include accessible terrain. The Sims 3 also introduced rabbit holes, public buildings where Sims work, shop, attend class, eat, or attend events, that the user cannot see into.

The Sims

 * In The Sims, the first and only neighborhood is Sim Lane.


 * In Livin' Large and The Sims Deluxe Edition, the multiple neighborhood feature is introduced. Every neighborhood is the same as Neighborhood 1, except that in the next neighborhoods (after Neighborhood 2) Sim Lane will be empty. The neighborhoods added are neighborhoods 2, 3, 4 and 5.


 * Hot Date introduces Downtown, which is also the same for every neighborhood.


 * Vacation introduces Vacation Island, and yet again, it is also the same for every neighborhood.


 * Unleashed introduces Old Town, a bigger and much wider version of Sim Lane, and is also the same as above.


 * Superstar introduces Studio Town.


 * Makin' Magic introduces Magic Town, the only other neighborhood that Sims can live in, but its lots must be bought with MagiCoins.

The Sims 2

 * The three neighborhoods that ship with The Sims 2 are Pleasantview, Strangetown, and Veronaville.


 * University allows you to add a university sub-neighborhood, Sim State University, La Fiesta Tech, and Académie Le Tour onto one of your base neighborhoods.


 * Nightlife allows you to add a Downtown sub-neighborhood.


 * Open for Business allows you to add a shopping district sub-neighborhood, Bluewater Village.


 * Seasons added a new neighborhood, Riverblossom Hills, which was added to help the player explore Seasons.


 * Bon Voyage allows you to add the vacation sub-neighborhoods, Twikkii Island, Three Lakes and Takemizu Village.


 * Freetime added a new neighborhood, Desiderata Valley, created so the player can learn more about hobbies.


 * Apartment Life added a new neighborhood, Belladonna Cove, with many apartments.


 * The Sims 2 allows for players to create all-new neighborhoods from scratch, coming with neighborhood terrain templates that can be used by players. Also, SimCity 4 can be used to create custom terrains.

The Sims 3

 * Neighbourhoods are now being officially referred to as 'worlds', possibly due to Electronic Arts' use of the Create a World tool.


 * Neighbourhoods are now 'seamless', open to exploration between lots.


 * Neighbourhoods are now affected by a new game mechanic called story progression.


 * Sunset Valley is the only neighborhood shipped with The Sims 3.


 * Riverview is a free downloadable town offered from The Sims 3 store.


 * World Adventures allows players to add exotic sub-neighborhoods, Al Simhara, Champs Les Sims and Shang Simla.


 * The Sims 3: Ambitions allows players to manipulate premade neighbourhoods to a limited degree, such as adding and removing lots.


 * Create a World tool allows you to make your own neighborhoods with custom terrains similar to SimCity 4.

The Sims Stories

 * In The Sims Stories series, only one Sim is playable in the neighborhood until that Sim's storyline is completed. After that, every family in said neighborhood becomes playable.


 * In The Sims Life Stories, the neighborhoods are Four Corners and Bitville.


 * In The Sims Pet Stories, the storyline neighborhoods are Garden Heights and Mesa Flats, and the free-play neighborhood is Arbor Falls.