I spent the first 50 days (~10 irl hrs) working at a grocery store. No apartment, just sleeping in the breakroom chairs to avoid rent costs. Made a crisp $181 after food casts per day. Enough for a business education and some savings for an apartment!
But that was mind-numbing, so decided to work smarter-not-harder. Tried my hand at food and package deliveries (this allows you to set your own hours, and sleep in the delivery vans or park benches if you have to). But thanks to the Better Fines and Better Pedestrian mods, I actually lost money my first night... Apparently NYC is not a fan of running red lights and running into smartphone-addicted pedestrians. Gradually learned to drive carefully and dug my way out of debt.
At last, after day 60 (~18 IRL hours) I earned enough to start my own florist shop next to my cheap apartment. I have to mop my floors, run my register, and supply my own shelves. And I earn less than my daily wage as a grocery store clerk. But feel so much pride in my own business. I have $5,000 in my account; much less than I would have earned as a grocery clerk or taking loans. But this money is MINE. And soon I will own the city! Only a billion or so dollars left to go.
10/10 this is the best single-player economy sim I've tried and I'm not even past the initial honeymoon phase. I often worry about lasting appeal (games like this tend to get too easy, too quickly). But the modding support is crazy good, so I know I can enhance the difficulty whenever I need. Might even vibe-code my own improvements to the game, although this will probably be unnecessary due to the presence of an already-fantastic modding community. As one example, the Google Maps ("Voogle Routes") mod was so impressive I felt compelled to donate a few bucks to the author, something I've never done.
I don't know many people IRL who are into this kind of game. So I hope the internet listens to me -- buy this game! But perhaps only if you're into a little massochism.
EDITS
18 hours: My employees man the shop Mon thru Fri. So what the hell do I do during the week? wow, it's such a strange feeling being boss. Neat!
