Im new to the forum. Not really new to Sim City, but still kind of a n00b. Anyways, I had a few questions i was hopeing some of the experienced builders could help me on....

1) What do you set your taxes at? For Res/Com/Ind (low/med/high).

2) How big of lots do you make? I have been making 4x4 square lots mostly, but now I'm thinking that lots much much bigger are required (in order to get some skyscrapers goin).

3) How many game years does it take for you to get city populations up to 100,000+?


For a refrence. I kinda screwed up my region from the start since I really didnt know what I was doing. I got the default city squares (4 big, several meds, and like 16 small ones), i really wish i knew that you could modify the game to make them all large squares before I started my city.
I currently got 8 cities going (yes I know its too many), all connected together. The cities range from 3000 - 33,000 ppl (2 being 30k plus), all but 2 are in 1920-1927, and the taxes are quite high at around 8.8-10%. Most of the cities are making $100-1500, with my industrial city with all the power plants making about $3000 per month.
I got no cheating goin on, so very limited funds, and a population that isnt growing very rapidly. So many you guys could help me salvage my region into something with some pretty decent skyscrapers. Since I now doubt the possibility of a real dense skyline.

Thanks

First, welcome! Enjoy SkyscraperCity! :)



I keep my taxes at about 9% across the board. You can raise them a little but that usually slows down growth (if you need the money quick and don't want a loan then it works).

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/500/746taxes.jpg

Rush Hour sets them at 9% when you start a city. Regular Sim City 4 has them set at 7% which is much too low to try to create any money for you city. Then, people are scared to raise them much higher and then it just takes time to know how high to set them.

Here is what my overall budget looks like for Winston-Salem:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/500/746budget.jpg



When you say lot, what do you mean?

Each of my lots is three back and one across or however wide it makes it when I press shift and zone the lot. Buildings will fill in sooner or later even if it is one across.

Each of my blocks is 6x6. It is filled with zones with one squre reserved for mass transportation. That could be a bus stop or a subway stop. Other modes of transportation are not included in each individual block because I place them further apart.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/500/746layout.jpg


The amount of time it takes to get your city up to 100,000 people really depends on how long you want it to take.

My current city that I just started I decided to plan much more than I normally do. I am glad that I have gone slow because I have caught some things that I would have normally missed.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/500/746time_population.jpg


I am on year 71 with only 69.569 people. Other cities would have had 150,000 by then.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! :)