I voted and bought 2 plots. Then I built a 8x8x9 farm. I got $600 from the first harvest and went out to buy mining equipment. I then would mine outside the town whilst waiting for the farm to grow. And within 3 days with voting, farming and mining I had got Resident.
Farming, but I only bought it in order to be able to own a town. If not for that, I'd probably still be a builder.