Saw a few threads asking this but thought a poll would be a little more organized .

Didn't add Home Plate as it's not really a settlement .

Feel free to post your reasons for your choice below.

(Please select ONE settlement from part one or two and then option "None of these" from the other section so we can try to get accurate results.)

You didn't list my favourite which is 'None'.

Rabbit

"I don't bother with Settlements."

Last option.

But the poll is divided in two, and then you have to answer both, or none.

Fixed.

Thanks for pointing that out.

Weird, 3 people have voted and yet 5 settlements have received the vote?

Anyway my favourite is Greentop Nursery. Its a svcky settlement but it's the first one I invested time in outside of Sanctuary and the first settlement which is fairly restricted yet I was able to push to 80% happiness and 20 settlers.

you can vote 1 in each column if you don't choose none of the above in either...

I'm not spending any time on settlements this playthrough...just giving sanctuary their basic needs, all others I haven't bothered with, and the ones that you have to set up a beacon, I just build it, turn it on to advance the quest, then immediately turn it back off...I'm set up solo (+companions) at Red Rocket, but am looking to move to the slog, and murdering the settlers there so I'm alone...

Thank you. My vote has been cast.

Rabbit

I haven't played long enough so didn't vote. So far only doing Sanctuary Hills and I didn't know I could do the Star Light until a few days ago. Nice seeing there is a lot of options so now I know I have a lot to discover.

I got that far myself

The point is some people are choosing two favourites instead of one. The reason for two polls is cause there is a limit of 10 or so answers per poll, otherwise you should technically be using the two lists as a single poll, and if your favourite settlement is not in one poll you should be ticking 'None of these'. For example at the moment there are 18 voters and yet 19 voted settlements, meaning that at least 1 (possibly more assuming people are answering None on both) is voting two options.

But meh, it doesnt really matter.

Looks like I've been to all except Egret Tours Marina. I'll find it eventually.

My favourite is Red Rocket, with Hangman's Alley a close second.

I like Hangman's Alley a lot because of its proximity to a spot where two factions always slug it out - I actually saw a BoS patrol go down against some Supermutants there, and when I walked in there and cleaned up the survivors I netted four full sets of T60 armor from the corpses. I've looted all sorts of junk from those battles, and they spawn very often.

The main settlement I base everything in is Starlight Drive-In, though, and that's where I spend most of my time. It even has a mannequin I can use to decorate my seamstress' shop, a water source big enough for two industrial purifiers, earth to plant food and plenty of open flat land for you to build to your heart's content. Only regret is I can't assign my food and drink guy to work from the existing diner.... that, and that skeleton on the bed upstairs which cannot be removed or harvested for oil.

Starlight Drive-In so far. Can't stand Sanctuary Hills because you can't tidy the place up (in a way I'd like), but mostly because of Preston and his uber annoying gang of complainers (I don't even talk to him anymore in Concord - let him rot ). I will postpone really settling there until I get late game where I can build the crafting stations. It does have water though, and close by trader(s), which is good if you don't do fast travel (I postpone fast travel until about lvl25, then I really see no other way, sadly).

http://i.imgur.com/JYBaRAM.jpg

I fell in love with Starlight. I originally just threw down a few sleeping bags in the drive-through, but overtime I kept upgrading and upgrading and now it's a fully built up town and trade hub with half a dozen shacks and a marketplace with several vendors in addition to the buildings already on site. It's probably the settlement I'm most proud of.

However, The Castle is still my favorite. Starts out formidable already, but then you rebuild the walls and the five artillery cannons and are practically impenetrable. It also starts out with nearly all the amenities you need already included (everything but a power armor rack, I believe), with a dedicated armory, General's quarters (which I've made my main home after refurbishing it), barracks, and dining hall.


Least favorite, Jamaica Plain. "Oh look, this whole town to build in!... Oh, the settlement area's just two buildings :/.

My first major hub was Starlight Drive In, I spend most of my time there. But now, I have build a huge fortress on Spectacle Island and that is my main settlement now. I'm still working on the interior decor a bit, but it's pretty much completed.

I did build defenses at most of my other settlements and 3 or 4 will remain empty, since the places give me bad vibes and/or are don't really matter to me... Croup Manor, Coastal Cottage, Murkwater Construction site, Boston Airport

The Lighthouse is cool and I also like the Castle, Taffington Boathouse and Outpost Zimonja.

@ Jozgar: My thoughts exactly about Jamiaca Plain!! lol

The best location to free build would be Spectacle Island because of it's size. But I typically use Sanctuary a lot early on. It's the first one you unlock and I drop off my materials and junk there when coming back from trips. I also start building my personal collection there. The Minutemen are also a good way to get some extra XP by questing early on. But the existing houses and Marcy are really off putting. I'm currently level 60 and sent Preston to the Castle to hang out with his other Minutemen buddies, tucked away where I don't have to deal with them. Gonna check some time soon if there is no limit to how much you can go over your maximum carry weight by fast traveling with the Strong Back perk maxed out. I think I might hit a 6 digit number if I take one trip.

I've only dabbled in settlement building so far. The actual building process is just too annoying right now for me. Snapping when I don't want something to snap, or snapping in the wrong way. No proper support for interior walls/doorways. Inability to clip objects into each other. No proper support posts when creating balconies.

Haven't seen ever settlement site yet. With that limitation in mind, I'm inclined towards Sanctuary Hills. First, it can be the longest-running settlement, which means it can attract the greatest number of settlers during the course of the game. It has LOTS of arable land for crops. It has LOTS of more-or-less usable buildings, PLUS solid foundations to build more. On the downside, it takes LOTS of materials to adequately defend something that large. That is offset by the fact that there are LOTS of lucrative defensible locations to place effective weapons emplacements. Taking all those things collectively, I think SH would be hard to beat.