@elulu8 I haven't heard any official news on Sims 5 but I think we'll still have a couple more years at least to go with Sims 4. I'm just guessing on that of course. The sale prices are hard to predict. The most recent sales had Expansion packs at 50% off and Game packs at 25% off. Those have expired but sales like this have been quite frequent lately & I would not be surprised to see another one start soon. The current sale has the Dine Out and Parenthood packs at 50% off.
As for which packs to get, that all depends on how you want to play your game. My first two packs were City Living and Get Together because I wanted more worlds and many lots to build on. I also wanted variety, city life vs country living, urban vs rural, etc., but that's just me. You should research each pack and watch the trailers on Origin to see which ones appeal to you the most. Personally, I love City Living and the Spice Market in San Myshuno is still my favorite neighborhood to live in with all the food vendors, buskers, luchadors and raccoon weirdos (EA's name for them, not mine), protesters, people shooting hoops at the basketball court, there is always something going on there! Some players don't like the noisy neighbors from living in an apartment and that's fine too. For me it just adds to the challenge, like having to get up at 7 am to get ready for work and your neighbor across the hall decides to party till 1 am! xD
Seasons is an awesome pack and it's still my favorite. It does not come with a world (which is why I added it later) but it pretty much multiplies all of the worlds you do have. For example, Willow Creek in the summer feels completely different than Willow Creek in the middle of winter. The seasons change gradually so early spring feels different than late spring. Heck even the days feel different from one to the next-- one day might be sunny and warm and the next cloudy and rainy. I love listening to the rain and wind and blizzards in the winter. Many of the worlds are totally gorgeous in the fall and winter. You also get holidays with Seasons-- four main holidays and lots of random funny holidays like "Talk Like A Pirate Day". You can customize any of the holidays, so if you'd rather have a Sims version of Christmas in your game instead of Winterfest then you can do it. If you prefer to create a Sims version of Kwanzaa or Hanukkah you can do that as well. In my game I created a Sims version of 4th of July called "Simsdependence Day" with fireworks and bbq's. Seasons adds things like ice skating, snowball fights, and building a snowman in the winter or roller skating and water balloon fights in the summer. In my opinion, EA really did an awesome job with this pack.
There are many other great choices and really it's all up to personal preference. I don't think there are any wrong choices here.
I'm just a regular Sims player, I do not work for EA, Sony, or Microsoft.
@elulu8, in addition to @RandomBuzziness 's wonderful advice I want to add that while you can change the Old Salt House to a vet clinic, you don't have to do so as you can still access the one that comes with Brindleton Bay or any other neighborhood in the game like Willow Creek, Oasis Springs , or New Crest if you have built any vet clinics in other neighborhoods.
I have really enjoyed all of the packs you are considering getting. My favorite is Cats & Dogs, but the pack I recommend the most to people is Seasons (it is a close second favorite of mine anyway! ❤️) Like @RandomBuzziness said, Seasons just incorporates into all your existing Sims' lives so well! Different worlds/neighborhoods will get different weather patterns (Oasis Springs will get super hot in the Summer, while Brindleton Bay will get more rain/snow depending on the season).
And not only can you tailor make your own holidays, you can edit existing holidays. For example, if I play a single Sim who I don't want to get into a romantic relationship (usually because I'm testing something in the game and don't want to get sidetracked), I will edit Love Day to consist of only decorating the house and watching Romance TV! That way I can rack up the Aspiration points without having to change the my gameplaying style for that household! 🙌 You can also delete holidays that you don't want, which is what I do whenever the minor holiday called Neighborhood Brawl comes around!
Do keep in mind that certain plants will only produce harvestables in their appropriate seasons, unless you plant them indoors or in a greenhouse.
And if your Sims have children, there are more activities for them to do if you have Seasons, like water balloon fights, snowball fights, building snowpals, the swingset, and seasonal crafts on the drawing table! 🥳
However, both City Living and Get to Work are a lot of fun. I love the Scientist career in Get to Work (there are some powerful items you can create like the Sim Ray , the Satellite dish that can cause or prevent Alien abductions, and the portal to the world of Sixam (the home of those Aliens), and the cloning machine! You can also run your own retail store, be a police officer, or be a doctor! City Living is one of my favorites because of all the different cultures that that pack has, with all the clothing, decorations, and food! My favorite thing to do is similar to @RandomBuzziness , as I love the Spice Market as well, and that area of San Myshuno holds the Spice Festival, which I have most of my Sims attend so they can learn the new recipes! 🙌🥳 My Sims end up fat from this over time, so I either have to make them exercise a lot, or else use the ice cream machine form the Cool Kitchen Stuff Pack so I can make the ice cream flavor that makes them loose weight! 😃 But if you love mingling with other Sims or bright colors, then you will probably love this pack.😉
But if I could only get one pack, it would be Seasons! I can't think of a time that I heard anyone regret getting that pack, and most people have it as their favorite or close to their favorite! ❤️
Update! : I was composing my reply when @suzushka posted! @suzushka brings up excellent points as well! 🙂
One thing I forgot was to add that about a year and a half ago a Sim Guru said that TS4 would have at least 3 more years to go! I would think the earliest date would be 2022, but then again things have changed in the world and some businesses have slowed their release dates on many products, so that should be taken into account as well. But even without that, It still will be several years off . 😉
