Oh gosh, I’m like the worst person to ask ahahah :X There’s really no rhyme or reason to my neighborhood layout! I don’t have my game open at the moment, but if I did, I’d show you some views from the less scenic angles lmao (there are so many bald spots right now because I’m trying to redecorate with all the cool new deco that’s out!). 

My neighborhood terrain is roughly divided into a “downtown” area, a suburban/residential area, and a more rural area. This kind of helps me plan where I want the lots to go – for example, I wanted the nightclub downtown (since it has an abandoned-factory vibe), I wanted the cafe and the diner in the heart of town, I have the church, school, and park in the residential area, etc. I build all the lots in my test hood, save a clean copy in the lot bin, and then I’m free to play around with it in my main hood. So usually what I’ll do is pick a place I think it’ll work, enter the lot, and see how the surroundings look from lot view. If I don’t like it, I’ll move the lot. 😛 Took me a couple of tries to get the placement of the park right! 

I kind of follow the same “method” (if it can even be referred to as such) when placing hood deco. I basically just haphazardly place buildings wherever they’ll fit, then I’ll enter a lot and see how everything looks from lot view. If a building is too low-res or obtrusive or doesn’t really enhance the ~atmosphere~ I’m looking for, I’ll swap it out for something else. 🙂 Once I’m happy with the deco in the surrounding lot view, I basically play Tetris to fill in the gaps with whatever will fit! 😛 

Then there’s trees. Boy, I hate placing trees. Luckily, my neighborhood terrain came with a pre-decorated version with plenty of trees, compliments of Voleste! ❤ But, of course, I always wind up adding a few more once I have lots in place. I tend to use the tall pine-y trees (I had quite a bit of Baileys tonight and I’m blanking on the name) because I like the way they look and give the neighborhood a ~mountainous foresty~ atmosphere, but ever since Criquette released such high-quality seasonal trees, I’ve been liberally scattering them through the hood. 🙂 After that, I just add little details where I see fit. A carousel here, a billboard there, and STRING LIGHTS! STRING LIGHTS EVERYWHERE! 

That’s really it, I’m sorry I couldn’t be more useful. D: It’s really just a bunch of moving things around until I’m happy with how it looks (or until I inevitably change my mind again :P). Other people are loads better at decorating hoods – some people have the patience to place roads, and embankment pieces, and railroads, and gaaaaah. *____* (as an example, see this hood by @speakinginsimlish! It’s one of my favorites :D) 

Have fun, and don’t get discouraged! Some people (i.e. me) find neighborhood decorating to be a bit tedious, but with a bit of fiddling around I’m sure you’ll find a setup you like! ❤