# Why do yuppies sit in the backyard and pofolks sit in the front yard?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [September 5, 2012, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734 "2012-09-05T12:20:16Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Diamonds02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diamonds02)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/1 "2012-09-05T12:20:16Z")
Ahh front yard for the latter!
I’ve noticed that people tend to hang out in the backyard in higher income areas, and in the front yard in lower income areas. Why is that?
One would think it would be the other way around. It would be easier to keep up with the Joneses in the front yard, and protect yourself from drive-by shootings in the backyard. 😉
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/2 "2012-09-05T12:31:59Z")
Them “yuppies” just ain’t social nohow.
If by “yuppies” you mean “upscale suburbanites”, I don’t think they spend much time outdoors. Mostly they’re in their rooms using personal electronic devices.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/3 "2012-09-05T12:33:01Z")
Hm. Never noticed this. Backyard makes the most sense when living in a rural area, and when I lived in an economically depressed area of the South, I spent many a long hot evening sitting on the back porch with a vodka and lemonade and watching the sun set. Ah, high school. 😛
I don’t know _anyone_ who sits on the front porch. People seem to want to keep their privacy. Screw getting to know the neighbors. They might disagree with us on something. We might have to talk to them.
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### Author:  [@kwimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kwimby)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/4 "2012-09-05T12:44:42Z")
I’ve noticed the world revolves in a tightly focused kwimby-centered manner, making every coincidental human behavior or relationship I happen to notice apply to society at large and the population in general.
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### Author:  [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/5 "2012-09-05T12:47:43Z")
We sit on our side deck 'cause we’re middle class.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/6 "2012-09-05T13:46:31Z")
Po folks aren’t as likely to HAVE a back yard, in my experience. Or not much of one. Also, in poor neighborhoods there are more people around and more socializing, also IME, so there’s more of a front porch culture.
Suburbanite middle class people are more likely to have a deck with some furniture and a grill and stuff in the back yard, and swings or whatever for the kids.
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### Author:  [@Rich\_G7subs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_G7subs)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/7 "2012-09-05T14:11:28Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#):
>
> Ahh front yard for the latter!
>
> I’ve noticed that people tend to hang out in the backyard in higher income areas, and in the front yard in lower income areas. Why is that?
>
> One would think it would be the other way around. It would be easier to keep up with the Joneses in the front yard, and protect yourself from drive-by shootings in the backyard. 😉
Look out if the poor folks are hanging out in their backyards with simple haircuts, wearing jeans and grey t shirts! :rolleyes: (See his OTHER thread)
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### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/8 "2012-09-05T14:16:15Z")
> [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](#):
>
> I don’t know _anyone_ who sits on the front porch.
Really? I know plenty.
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### Author:  [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/9 "2012-09-05T14:34:24Z")
Our neighbors sit in their garage. They have it all set up with furniture and a television. It’s funny because they have a covered area attached to their family room in the back. We live in a middle class neighborhood. In my experience “garage sitters”
are seen mostly in the midwest:D( we’re in the West)
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### Author:  [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/10 "2012-09-05T14:35:00Z")
I used to live in a house where the people across the street would, all the time, be sitting in lawn chairs in the driveway. Used to drive me crazy- every time I stepped out the front door it was like I was stepping out on a stage.
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### Author:  [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/11 "2012-09-05T14:37:54Z")
> [@Zsofia](#):
>
> Po folks aren’t as likely to HAVE a back yard, in my experience. Or not much of one. **Also, in poor neighborhoods there are more people around and more socializing,** also IME, so there’s more of a front porch culture.
>
> Suburbanite middle class people are more likely to have a deck with some furniture and a grill and stuff in the back yard, and swings or whatever for the kids.
Bingo. Especially the part I bolded.
ETA: I have actually noticed this too, which is why I opened the thread. In some parts of my neighborhood, there is NO front porch at all! Guess what? They pull chairs out onto the public sidewalk in those cases, and sit right there. Ha. Love it.
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### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/12 "2012-09-05T14:44:15Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#):
>
> I used to live in a house where the people across the street would, all the time, be sitting in lawn chairs in the driveway.
I can beat that.
I spent the weekend in a neighborhood where people set up lawn chairs in the street. Others set them up on the sidewalk, and it’s one big old-people party. I hope the street sitters were at least feeding the parking meter!
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### Author:  [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/13 "2012-09-05T14:44:21Z")
I believe the size of lots and the existence of backyard fences might make a difference.
If your front yard view includes the front yards of several people and the street, you have a much more diverse set of things to look at. In contrast, if your back yard consists of a cramped and enclosed area that has been used to store your belongings where your dog has turned the grass into dirt, then there isn’t much of a pleasant vista to greet your eyes.
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### Author:  [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/14 "2012-09-05T14:54:39Z")
Because “pofolks” don’t have a back yard (not in the American sense of a pleasant garden, with a lawn, intended for recreational use - what the British would call a back garden\*). They can’t afford it. If they have land behind their dwelling, it is put to more practical use. If you are wealthy enough to be able to afford a back yard, it makes sense to use it, and it is certainly not just yuppies ( **y** oung **up** wardly-mobile **p** rofessionals) who use them. The older middle classes do too (probably much more than actual yuppies, who are surely likely to spend more of their leisure time socializing in bars, clubs or restaurants).
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
\*In Britain, if you have a “back yard” it means it is paved over, and it probably means that you are relatively poor. My American wife once (mildly) offended my British cousin by complimenting her on her “lovely back yard”. She responded, “It’s not a back yard, it’s a garden!”
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### Author:  [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/15 "2012-09-05T15:11:06Z")
Public space in general is associated with poverty in the US. Rich kids get driven to private schools and go to piano lessons. Poor kids walk to public school and play in the park.
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### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/16 "2012-09-05T15:29:12Z")
One of the great joys of having money is not having to associate with other people. Howard Hughes had absolutely the right idea.
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### Author:  [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/17 "2012-09-05T15:34:12Z")
> [@terentii](#):
>
> One of the great joys of having money is not having to associate with other people. Howard Hughes had absolutely the right idea.
I bought a really nice teak bench a few years ago for my front porch. It looks great and I even asked my grandmother to make me a nice cushion for it.
I don’t think I’ve ever actually used it because the neighbors are outside a lot and I don’t want to talk to them.
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### Author:  [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/18 "2012-09-05T15:52:49Z")
I sit on my front porch swing and read, with my dogs lazing around in the front yard or on the porch with me. Occasionally a car will go by. Sometimes, if it’s a neighbor they’ll stop and I’ll go to the front fence and chat. I can’t see any houses from my front porch, and no houses can see me. Only people driving on my road, which is about 5 cars an hour.
Sometimes I’ll sit in the back under my persimmon tree and watch the horses and read in the shade. No one can see me except the animals.
I love living in the country.
StG
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### Author:  [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/19 "2012-09-05T15:56:26Z")
I keep the apple trees and raspberries in the back.
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### Author:  [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/20 "2012-09-05T16:35:55Z")
Despite my current side-settin’ middle class status, I actually grew up po in the city and we had 2 front porches _and_ a back yard. We played in the back yard as children but the adults didn’t spend any time there. All adult settin’ was done on the front porch or the stoop, depending on how many people they wanted to talk to. The only people in our central city neighborhood that didn’t have back yards were the ones who lived in apartment buildings, usually four- or six-plexes where the back space was used for a parking lot. They weren’t any poer than anybody else or any richer.
I doubt that porch or yard settin’ has much to do with money. It seems like people set wheresomever their neighbors set and/or wheresomeever the best settin’ place is in their particular vintage of home.
Man, I should not have read that Andy Griffith Show thread before I ambled on into this one.
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