Well I can say you are pretty right in your analysis.
Land Areas are the only real sure way to get return on your investments.
Even though
MA and the swedish lottery inspection does not agree it is gambling, it is true it is damn hard and time consuming to get any consistant profit from the game professions, it is clearly possible though, if you play it smart and put lots of time in it.
Tradeing also takes quite a lot of time to do well, and isn't entirely safe either, with market fluctuations, and most of the expensive stuff already pretty overvalued...
A well managed Land Area at a good location is sure to bring in a lot of taxes, specially if you put some effort into making fun and interesting events on it. (browse through the event forum here to see what has been happening so far, some pretty creative stuff)
It really pays off to get involved socially in this universe though, and generally be a nice guy, don't forget to play the game and get to know its inhabitants
