Hi there Karon...I would agree that having a set rotation is good ..right now... in my neighborhood I can loosely follow a routine ...however I can see that in time that will need to be more concrete..i plan to use a notebook to keep track of things.
I plan to use NewCrest the same way as you do..for commercial venues to enrich the town of WillowCreek. To play this way requires a bit of time be spent getting set up and i like to build so that in itself is entertaining. Do you usually save commercial builds to your library? I didn't use to however I am now beginning to.
I don't think that my rotation play will branch out of WillowCreek but I don't abide by rules generally not even my own haha so we shall see.
I thought your tip regarding the relationships from like WillowCreek to say Oasis Springs is interesting ..and it makes sense because of the weather difference ..it is quite a stretch ..but from Willow Creek to (the town that came with Dogs and Cats, my mind is blank..ugh!) that one could be doable ..i live in the mid-west where i can cross three states just going to work...South Dakota..Nebraska..and Iowa. I doubt that is going to happen in my lets play but it is an interesting thing to consider. oh! lol also your sim could be military that opens up lots of doors for meeting a potential spouse from anywhere i suppose.
I think however ...topics like that ..the way you manage your towns...is what makes this interesting because of our diversity ..we are not all going to set things up the same way. Thanks so much for posting!