Where are the best house locations in Skyrim?
I'm looking for the best house location, for two different types of characters.
Craftsman:
The house must be very near to, or include:
- Alchemy Lab
- Arcane Enchanter
- Forge and/or Anvil
- Grindstone
- Workbench
- Smelter
- Tanning Rack
For the Craftsman, the house in Whiterun is great except it lacks close access to an Arcane Enchanter. The same applies for Riften, but it's missing a Smelter instead. So far, these are the only two houses I have. Are there any that cover them all, either purchasable or inheritable through marriage?
Merchant:
The house must be very near to, or include:
- Apothecary
- Blacksmith
- Inn
- Jeweler
- Spells Shop
- Fence (optional)
- General Store (optional)
Most of the places I've considered have fairly good coverage for all of the above, except for the Spells Shop and/or Fence. Also, some places have the marketplace (complete as it may or may not be) positioned relatively far away from the general residential area.
A few clarifications:
By "include", I mean to presume that the house has been fully upgraded. So, the house in Riften can be considered to "include" an Alchemy Lab, Arcane Enchanter, and Tanning Rack.
Houses which can be bought directly by the player are preferable, though I'd also be interested in high-value locations which can be acquired through marriage.
I do expect to get two separate listings, as outlined above, since I really doubt there is one property that has ideal access to all of these resources. Still, if there is such a house (or one that comes very close), I'd like to hear of it too.
Solution 1:
Windhelm probably offers the highest convenience factor. The market neighborhood, directly to the South, offers access to a full set of outdoor smithing equipment, as well as an Arcane Enchanter, at least three 'high-value' merchants (two general goods, including Niranye who is a Fence, and a Blacksmith), all without a loading screen. The house itself offers both Alchemy and Enchanting facilities, as well as the highest number of display racks for equipment of any home, and Windhelm offers an additional battery of merchants over in the Grey Quarter on the eastern edge of town.
Downsides include the somewhat high price, long distance from Windhelms fast-travel point, the prolonged string of quests required to buy the house (you basically must resolve the civil war), and the potential for significant bugs related to the Blood on the Ice quest, in which the house is involved.
Riften deserves an honorable mention for Thieves Guild members. While it lacks smelting services, the upgraded Ratway, with it's 4 additional merchants, puts somewhere in the neighborhood of 12,000 Merchant Gold in close proximity - easily the most of any city. Those who choose to take the moral high-ground may find the mercantile climate of Whiterun to be more hospitable however.
Solution 2:
I would say Whiterun, as it is the first house availble, and has almost everything close-by.
The only vendor not availble inside Whiterun is the fence, which is located in the Honningbrew Meadery.
The Arcane Enchanter and Spells Shop are located slightly away from your house inside Dragonsreach, but there's also an alchemy station located in that place.
Solution 3:
I've found the house in Markarth is really good. It has an enchanting table. It has a satchel on the stool near the alchemy table. It has a really close general store and a somewhat close blacksmithy. The smelter is between the smith and a nearby mine.
The downsides are the political unrest in the city (situation is usually sorted out by the time you get the house) and a lot of vertical navigation (dwemer love their stairs).
Here's how I navigate those locations in Markarth.
Enter main gate: Here's the general store on the right and Inn across the bridge.
Go to the right of the general store and up the stairs. Go up and up and up to get to your house. If you didn't get to your house, you didn't go up enough.
Go back to the main gate, cross the bridge and go to the left of the Inn. Follow that and you end up at the blacksmith with the smelter below outside the mine.
Places to cure disease: The temple of Dibella and shrine of Talos are in the middle pillar of the city.
My normal loot sell-off/drop-off route is: Fast Travel to the keep. Walk to the smith, then the general store, then my house.
By comparison, WhiteRun is Fast Travel to the gate. Walk to the smith, then the general store, then the enchanting table in the keep (yuck), then my house (far away).
Solution 4:
I like the riften house. It is very close to the main entrance to riften (just take a right). It has an enchanting table and an alchemy table and you have the close traders too. THe general store is pretty close. The downside is that there's no smelter. Damn bethesda needs to add smelters near every blacksmith. In all I like riften and i plan on buying the Markarth house to see what it's all about.
Solution 5:
After checking out most (but not all) of the others, my vote is for Breezehome in Whiterun. It's main advantage is that it's central, and it's rarely subject to the dragon attacks that plague other locations such as Winterhold. It has pretty good storage, and because it is small, all of the storage is easy to reach from wherever you usually work in it.
One really nice feature is am ingredient satchel right on the Alchemy table. Why don't all of them have that?
The Smith and most merchants are right near by (although the sundries merchant has little gold unless you upgrade him).
The main disadvantage is that the Enchanting table and magic merchant are on the other side of town.