Quote Originally Posted by Greyhawk View Post
Neighborhoods are quite honestly worthless in FFXIV. Yes, they are nice, but no one uses it as such - there's not any, or hardly any, interaction between neighbors. FCs are about the only interaction in neighborhoods, and that's done on their plot or in their FC house.
That actually hasn't been my experience with my house, but I admit I may be an outlier.

When I got my house back in October, two of my neighbors saw me setting up my yard and came by to say hello. (One brought furniture as a housewarming gift.) I ended up friending them, and I've run roulettes with one. There are others I see around the neighborhood—practicing with dummies in their yard, doing gardening, whatever—and wave to. (And then who I see at other hubs like Gridania or Eulmore and wave to there as well.) Some of my neighbors like the sort of zen-garden yard I've set up and come to chill there.

This isn't to say there aren't houses where I've never met the tenants as well. I'd say of the closest eight houses to me, I've only met five of my neighbors, which isn't a great percentage considering I've been there for six months. But I do like the neighborhood feel; it makes me more likely to go visit my house just to chill in the yard than I ever was back in WildStar or SWTOR.

But non-instanced housing has drawbacks, too. No system is perfect; there are pros and cons to both.

The biggest problem, honestly, is gardening. Housing glamour is wholly optional content, but gardening can be darn near vital if you want to be a self-sufficient crafter. And you cannot garden without a house. That is a huge problem, and one they need to address. Because that makes having housing (or access to your FC's garden plots, or those of a friend) non-optional.