merchant questionn

[Nico Alzara]

Hey! I'm Alessio and just joined but i'm pretty excited because this looks like a fun site.

I was just wondering if this situation I've thought of for my character is realistic:

I imagined that the whole family was of a sort of wealthy middle class family on the mainland but they decided to move their business to the island because of all of the unrest... would this be realistic at all in this universe/how do you think they would/would not be accepted among other middle/upper-middle class people in Escova?

Thank you

[Dun]

Hi, Alessio! Welcome to Escova.

It's totally reasonable for a bunch of merchants to relocate to Escova and continue their business there due to conflict on the Mainland, so long as they're able to continue having access to what they usually sell or start with new wares in Escova. They would probably be most successful if they previously had connections on the islands or if they continue to have connections on the Mainland that can get them Mainland goods to sell on the islands.

Opinions of refugees vary, so it's tough to say how well-off/middle class merchants would be treated by any social class without generalization. Typically citizens of lower classes probably tend to be more tolerant of refugees whereas the wealthier citizens would be less interested in tolerating them. However, refugees and Mainlanders have a more significant impact on the middle class citizens, causing the refugee quarter to expand into their residential areas and competing for their jobs/resources. So, while nobles and the wealthy might look down on refugees for being dirty or foreign or just generally not one of them, some of the middle class citizens may take a more serious issue with them because of how refugees are impacting their daily lives. With all that said, it is important to note that not all citizens are bothered by refugees or will treat them like a problem.

Bottom line: Merchants from the Mainland can definitely start up business in Escova, but there will be challenges due to some prejudice, and it's important to consider where the things they're selling are coming from.

If you have any more questions, feel free to toss 'em at us!

[Andrezi Damask]

Hi there Alessio! I'm Jeff, and I'm sort of an admin here (I have to bring this up because people forget ). So, first of all, welcome to Escova!

Now onto your question: the main thing to take into account in this case would be how much money it costs to move from the mainland to Escova--its a lot. Typically, if one is not upper class, then they will probably end up pretty poor or, in most cases, really poor. While they could certainly continue their merchant business, though it would likely be considerably smaller and less successful, especially since Escovans don't like buying things from gross refugees. Most refugee merchants have to stick to the ref quarter to operate.

I mean, it would really depend on their status/position back on the Mainland, but most refugees do not keep their wealth or standing while in Escova.

I hope that helped. If you have any further questions, feel free to drop them in here as well. Hope to see your app soon!


Edit: Oh i'm slow... >_>

[Nico Alzara]

ah wow thank you that was very helpful! I was actually kind of thinking that maybe they had a horse-breeding kind of shindig back on the mainland but the more I think about it the more it seems like it would be to A.) move something such as that and B.) keep a business like that going on an island...

so now I guess I'm debating between the possibility that maybe part of the family remains on the mainland or that they simply sold most of their stock before coming to Escova...

thanks again! still workin on the app!