My mom’s house has a structure that was originally built as a garage (detached). Many years ago, she replaced one of the two doors (it had stable doors on hinges, not the typical roll-down garage doors) with solid wall and took out most of the final portion of driveway, so a car wouldn’t even fit through the remaining opening. Nowadays, about a quarter of it is converted to a chicken coop, and the remainder holds supplies for the chickens and assorted other tools and materials, mostly agricultural in nature. So now, we call it a barn, instead of a garage.
I live in deepest, darkest suburbia. We have an “L” off the driveway which could be used for parking, but we always park in the (unheated) garage.
That way the vehicles are protected from the elements and from potential theft or vandalism. There’s still enough room to store my dormant potted fig trees and canna tubers in there. 
I’ve never heard of or seen anything to indicate that garage used is tied to wealth. You’d expect that less well-off people would especially depend on garaging their cars for the above reasons and to maximize value (a weather-beaten car is not worth as much at trade-in).
Previously lived in a house in suburbia. When we first moved in we used the garage for parking one car. But then eventually the garage became storage and we parked in the driveway.
Currently live in a townhouse community. We have a 3 car garage with an ample storage area. The garage was built for 4 cars (2 & 2), but half of the back section is walled off for storage. We do not have other options for parking (other than the street) so we park 3 cars in the garage. The storage area is adequate for our current needs. However, we do see neighbors who can fit only 2 cars in their garages due to storage use.
Three car garage (two stalls right behind doors, then another stall behind one of the front stalls). Always have 2 cars parked in the front stalls; the third (rear) stall is my workshop. All stalls are oversized, plus the ceiling is 12 feet so I was able to put storage shelving high on the walls.
We park all our vehicles in the garage, that’s what it’s for.
In our city, there has been an increase in garage thefts during the night, from people that park their cars in the driveway, and have the garage door opener on their sun visor. Thieves break the window and open the garage door with the automatic opener. They then load up with tools, sporting equipment, bikes, motorcycles, etc. that are stored in the people’s garages.
This is in line with the ratio I see. And yet, virtually all the people in this thread describing their own personal practice park in their garage. Interesting.
Another vote for parking my car in the garage. There’s plenty of space for me to park outside, if I want to. I can comfortably fit 2 cars in my driveway (and more if I uncomfortably park them) and street parking is never an issue. However, having my car parked in the garage is too big a convenience to give up. It’s not blazing hot in summer, it’s not nearly as cold in winter if it’s parked outside and, of course, not having to clean it off in winter is a huge plus. I have a two car garage but since I’m the only one with a car, the rest is half storage, half workshop.
I can only assume it’s either a neighborhood thing or it’s regional. Around me, most people park in the garage, the people that don’t typically don’t because they either use it for something else or they don’t feel like cleaning it to make space. So far as I can tell, it has little to do with how much money you have.
I don’t know where they OP lives, but if it’s an area that doesn’t get snow, it would make sense that people might not use their garage as much.
Keeping snow off the car is one of the biggest advantages to parking in the garage. That and it keeps people away from your car at night if you’re in an area where there are car break-ins.
I use the garage for my car. And my overflow stuff and 2 freezers. Mr.Wrekker has a carport out by his Barn and Office. When we had driving teenagers it looked like a used car lot around here.
We have a 3 car garage, with typically 3 cars in it. Plus stuff like the lawn mower, the snow blower, ladders, a freezer, and heaven knows what else.
There’s an attic, but I resist using it, because “out of sight out of mind” is the Lovely and Talented Mrs.** Shodan**'s motto when it comes to storage, and my feeling is that when you can’t get the car into the garage because you have too much stuff in the garage, it is time to get rid of some stuff. So no, we can’t store old furniture there “temporarily” because I need to park there “permanently”. And “we might need it later” is not a good enough reason.
Regards,
Shodan
Had a two car garage at our last house and a three car at our new house. Me and the wife have always parked in the garage. For plenty of reasons.
-Never have to get in/out in the rain.
-Never have to get into a “hot” car that was sitting in the sun.
-Never have to brush snow off after an overnight snowfall.
-Car is always 10 degrees warmer on the inside if parked in the garage. Important when it’s -1 in the morning.
-Cars should theoretically last longer not being parked in the elements.
-Cars start easier on sub zero days.
-Eliminates threat of car being stolen or broken into.
-Front of house looks nicer without cars parked out front.
-(asphalt) driveway lasts longer without oil/antifreeze/fluid leaks from vehicles as well as dips from the weight of the car on warm asphalt
-if we have too much crap in our garage that we can’t park our cars in there it is a red flag that “hey! You have too much shit!” and a sign that we need to start getting rid of some stuff and not become hoarders like our parents.
I would however there is no easy access and requires some maneuvering which makes it just easier to pull into the driveway. However I do keep one car’s worth open for when I have to do car maintenance and can bring it inside, or perhaps bad weather is on it’s way and I want to keep a car out of the snow. If the garage was a direct pull in/out I would use it, but with that said I am very happy to have the ability to pull in a car.
2 cars - both parked in 2-car garage nighty.
I note that some significant portion of homes in my neighborhood have cars regularly parked in their driveway rather than garage, and when I see garage doors open, it is clear that “stuff” would prevent parking in one or both garage spaces.
I live in an upper-middle class suburb of Chicago. I do not consider myself rich, and I consider my home somewhat modest. The majority of folk I know park at least 1 of their cars in their garage. On my block, the folk who do not park at least 1 car in the garage are a very small percentage - maybe 2-3 out of 20.
IMO, the most significant correlation is that people get and keep too much crap, and resist organizing what they have.
That must be what happened when the old houses (1940s) in my neighborhood got renovated and flipped over the years. My little car can fit, just barely, and that’s only if everything else is cleared out. When I was naively purchasing my home I was so excited to have a garage. The first thing I was going to do is get an opener installed :smack: Until I realized how small it is. 19 years later and I still park in the driveway, unless there’s a hurricane a comin’.
2 car garage and both cars in. No dealing with rain, sun, or frost. Same with most houses in our neighborhood.
I have a very small* one car garage & use it for the car.
One summer, I wanted to clean my bike so I left the car in the driveway & brought the bike & stand, & tools into the garage. Eventually another bike made it in there & then I realized that I had lost my garage & I’d never park in there again…until the first fall day I had to scrape ice off the windows; 90 mins after I got home from work my car was back in there & has remained there ever since. It’s nice being able to un/load in the dark or cold or wet weather & stay dry & warm. I also see no reason for a remote starter as it’s not nearly as cold getting into the car in the morning. It’s also nice when you’re leaving the house at 5am to have all of your gear in the car already. I wouldn’t leave thousands of dollars of camera equipment in the car in the driveway overnight.
- So small that I didn’t buy a certain car because I test drove it, brought it home, & pulled it into the garage. I couldn’t open the back with the garage door down & it didn’t have breakaway mirrors on that year’s model. Ruled it out right then & there.
I have a neighbor who converted his basement into a pull-thru garage. the garage has a second door at the other end. He can raise that up & drive another car into what was the basement. One of them holds an antique pink 195x T-bird
Both attached/intigral and detached I’ve always used my garages for vehicles; at least my motorcycles. I have an issue fitting my current car (Outback) in my current garage (1914 vintage) but the Harleys are there every day they aren’t in service.
Rural area. Two car household, two car garage. We both always park in the garage. No one else I know in the area parks in the garage. Including the parents. Their garages have are used for storage, extra refrigerators, pool tables, etc.
My home is larger and has lots of storage and we don’t do outdoor activities, so don’t need to store bikes or whatnot.
I like the garage. I like that it’s not sweltering in summer, and I don’t have to start ahead of time to heat up the car in winter. I’m sure the garage door openers make a difference in how often I use the garage.
No one expects me to be in the garage, though. I’ve had a guy from the phone company come up and start working on the box (for internet) outside without even knocking - no car outside, so they presumed no one home. Has several similar incidents. It’s like no one even considers there might be cars parked in the garage.
I parked in the garage when we lived in Anchorage, because winter mornings can be a bitch.
Here we have a very small detached garage that is more of a shed. I use it as a workshop.
Same here. I have had a second car in my garage for a bit when I had a roommate, so there’s room.
My parents always have had 2 cars in their garages. When my dad retired and didn’t need a dry warm car he started parking outside to give mom more room. But still in the winter he’s back in the garage.
I’m a big baby and can’t stand to get snow and ice off my car. I don’t know how street parkers do it!
My neighborhood is probably 75-80% cars in garages. The rest are people with too much stuff (granted our homes are kind of small).
I have my woodshop set up in my garage. Tablesaw, workbench, jointer, drill press, router table, etc. There’s no room for a car.