Where do you take your Sims (except Newcrest)

"catmando830;c-17678723" wrote:

"stilljustme2;c-17678720" wrote:
I have an Arts Center I built in, you guessed it, Newcrest. :) (Though in a few saves I've moved it to Del Sol Valley because the views from the hills are spectacular; I've had some of my favorite proposals there.) I have pretty much all the skill-building items there; computers, observatories, art studio, crafting stations (woodworking, pumpkin carving, candlemaking), chess tables, a rocket ship, etc. I also have a kids' playroom with puppet theater, science table, toys, Don't Wake The Llama, etc. I'll take the whole family there so they can all work on skills and I don't have to clutter up the house or try to fit in items that don't fit, and since they're all on the same lot it's easy to switch from one Sim to the next. Mom might be in the observatory working on Logic, while Dad's working on the rocket ship, the teen is developing their painting, and the kids are giving puppet shows while the toddlers watch.

I also send my painters out to different places once they reach the level to Paint from Reference and have enough money for the Digitalistic Sketchpad. Reminds me that I want to send my current Sim to Glimmerbrook to paint the gateway to the Magic Realm, then maybe go through to sketch some of the scenery, and Try for Baby with one of the spellcasters to see if she can get a spellcaster baby...

Question - do your Sims do these activities on their own, or do you have to set them up to do them?

Some of them do on their own -- the painting, for example, or playing chess depending on their traits (Creative Sims get drawn to the art studio, and Genius Sims to the chess tables or observatory). Others do need a little prodding but once you get them started they'll keep going, like working on the rocket. The point is it's easy to switch back and forth between Sims so they'll always be doing something to build skills, rather than leaving them at home like a lump or having the toddlers whisked away to daycare. And you don't have to find room for all that stuff on your home lot, especially things like a rocket ship or the observatory that take up a lot of land mass.