( Lesson 28 ) Benefits of Neighbors

Of course, you won't be ready to expand your farm for a while, but there are other reasons it's good to have neighbors. One simple one is that going and looking at the ways other people set up their farms can help you get ideas about what you want to do with your own little plot of land. Since your neighbors will likely all be at different stages of game play, you can learn a lot just by looking at what they've done.

There are other, more practical reasons to want to have a lot of neighbors as well. When you're short on cash, it's great to have the option to go and help out on your neighbors' farms to earn some money fast. You can help out each of your neighbors once a day. For the first 20 neighbors you help in a day, you'll earn 20 coins and 5 experience points each. Once you get up over 20, you'll only be earning 5 coins and 1 experience point each, but that can still add up to a lot of cash if you make a habit out of it.

Having a lot of neighbors also means getting a lot of gifts. Sending gifts doesn't cost you anything, and it can be a great way to build up your collection of farm animals and trees early in the game. The more gifts you send to your neighbors, the more they'll be inclined to send to you (assuming they're good neighbors).

The more neighbors you have, then, the more gifts you'll get. This is really the best way to get ahead in the game fast. There are also quite a few items that you can only get if you receive it as a gift. About half of the available types of trees can only be acquired this way. Also several kinds of animals like horses, pigs, rabbits, goats, and ducks can only be gifted. They can’t be bought.

Plus it's just fun to be able to play this game with your friends. It can even prove to be a good way to connect with someone on your friend list that you don't actually talk to all that often. Breaking the ice by talking about your farms or helping each other out in the game is a great and easy way to rekindle an old friendship. You can even leave notes for your neighbors on their farms when you go to visit to let them know how great you think their farming is coming along.