New to Null: Settling down

Getting set up in Null Sec is expensive. Not only are things like ships and fittings scarce up here, it costs money to have the things you need shipped out to where you are. Our corporation has an arrangement with a shipping company so that's fine, but it can still be pricey. I was told I'd make money when I came out here, yet I ended up spending more to get set up. I think I just need to spend more time mining, or start skilling to be able to rat up here, but my income is very slow right now.

It's been over a month since I moved and I do like it up here. I can see how people say it's safer than low sec because of intel channels and open comms. The only mandatory rules are to be in fleet and on voice comms which makes total sense to me. The people up here are great and friendly, however, neutral pilots coming and going tend to disrupt activities in our systems.

If you were ever thinking of coming out here, here are the pro's and cons' that I have seen so far in my opinion:

Pros:

- Rocks are huge. I think I mined one out so far, the rest I've only dented. The asteroids are several times bigger than your ship.
- Mine in anomalies. I've never been to a belt as our Industrial Index is such that large asteroid anomalies are always present and sometimes offer upgraded ores.
- All ores are present. You can build anything you want without buying from market if you want to mine yourself.
- Always a fleet. Most of the time there are Rorqual boosts. They put max Orca boosts to shame.
- Bigger rat bounties. If they do show up, you get a little coin for killing them. Their loot is also upgraded somewhat.
- PI is amazing. Get your PI set up and manage frequently. Way better than low or high sec. All POCO's are owned my your corp/alliance with low export fees.
- Intel channels offer notice to dock up if hostiles are incoming.
- Stations/Outposts are privately owned and great manufacturing facilities/ reprocessing.
- Jump bridge network at POS'
- Can fly any ship you want. Not limited to Dreadnought and below like in High Sec.
- Warp Bubbles!

Cons:

- Activities can be disrupted for long periods of time due to neutral/hostile activity.
- High corporation tax to help pay for rental fees of space, (Still not bad as it's more profitable to be there)
- Rats are a lot bigger. Battleship sized pirates show up, maybe six at a time. Need good defense and drone skills to survive.
- There are Corporation/Alliance rules you need to follow depending on the one you join. These may vary from mandatory CTA's (Call to Arms), restricted activities in certain systems, and asset use like jump bridge, ship types allowed, etc.
- Market is smaller than empire space. Things may not be available or overpriced compared to High Sec. Will need to use shipping corporations to bring things in. No BPO's or skill books on Market, (or very few).
- Activities may be disrupted or relocation needed should Sovereignty of the system change.
- Higher Skill Points are needed to survive. May be limiting for new capsuleers. It is possible, but risky.
- Warp Bubbles!

I'm probably missing a bunch but as I said, I'm only out here a little more than a month. I picked up a Skiff because I was told the rats were big and it worked fine for a while, but I found I was filling it up way too fast and I was annoyed with all the warping to the corp's compression array. So, I ended up getting a Mackinaw and it was a lot better, but I was worried about the tank on it to survive the rats. The first time they showed up, I started to warp out but as their missiles started hitting, I realized I would be fine. It took a little longer for the drones to take them down because of the bonus on the Skiff to drone damage that the Mackinaw didn't have. I also find it best to mine with other people so there are more targets for them to shoot at and even out the damage between us all.

Null sec seems like a place where you need to work and build everything you need, rather than having it all available to you from the start. It's now a game of survival, rather than trying to be the best. It was a refreshing change and one that I needed to break the monotony of it all.

Osiph had sent a message to me, saying she finally sold off most of my things. One of them being my Charon for quite a bit. She asked if she could send up the ISK, but I told her to wait for now until I needed it. She ended up buying a PLEX but is holding on to it. She bought it just because the price had dipped a bit just to hold on to, but had offered it to one of the Nao sisters to come and join me if I wanted. Right now, I think it would be best to build up my wallet a bit first before I start expanding again. For now at least....