# 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:** 13
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/61 "2012-09-07T04:23:16Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#):
>
> I’m sorry, street-level doesn’t mean to me what it seems to mean to you. I interpret it as “on the same level as the adjacent driving surface.”
>
> What makes you think that when you’re not watching them watch you they’re not sitting upstairs reading a book or watching TV or performing physics experiments? Why do you think people with “street-level mentality” (whatever that is) are “casing” the neighborhood and not just idly looking at things and people within their visual fields.
Hey angleshooter, I placed “street-level” in quotations to denote lingo, but you’re taking it literally. They’re sitting on their front doorstep most of the time so they have no opportunity to do anything inside. You apparently aren’t stared at every day as you walk to your car or you’d know what I mean by “casing” which isn’t to be taken precisely literally either as you’re prone to do. Get lost.
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### Author:  [@MaltLiquor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaltLiquor)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/62 "2012-09-07T05:58:51Z")
> [@tdn](#):
>
> 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!
This would be ideal for me. Having all the wisdom of all those years lining up, ok a few wouldn’t talk but most would.
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### Author:  [@MaltLiquor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaltLiquor)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/63 "2012-09-07T06:09:04Z")
> [@GreenElf](#):
>
> Hey angleshooter, I placed “street-level” in quotations to denote lingo, but you’re taking it literally. They’re sitting on their front doorstep most of the time so they have no opportunity to do anything inside. You apparently aren’t stared at every day as you walk to your car or you’d know what I mean by “casing” which isn’t to be taken precisely literally either as you’re prone to do. Get lost.
If they are “casing” you, shit man do something about it. I suggest saying HI…damn thing works wonders.
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### Author:  [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/64 "2012-09-07T12:40:43Z")
Heh, I’ve noticed a reversal of sorts in my middle-upper middle neighborhood these last couple of summers.
Not everyone has a front porch or a a stoop large enough for a chair or two, but nearly everybody has either a backyard deck or patio. Sure, a lot of people use the latter, but increasingly many people seem to be moving things back to the porch or stoop – definitely not a full blow-out party, but having a few people over. I’ve seen people reading, eating, brushing their dogs out in front. My next door neighbor (who has a gorgeous back deck, btw), sits on the stoop with her girlfriends while their kids play in the driveway.
There’s a family on the next block who eats dinner on their stoop. It’s large enough for a table and a couple of chairs, and it’s neat when it’s dusk and they light candles. They wave to everyone walking past.
I think that’s exactly what it is. Sure, you have all the privacy you want in your backyard, but if you want company or just want to be around others, you have better luck hanging out front.
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### Author:  [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/65 "2012-09-07T14:35:01Z")
> [@MaltLiquor](#):
>
> If they are “casing” you, shit man do something about it. I suggest saying HI…damn thing works wonders.
No thanks. I suggest you say hi to him. Enjoy.
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### Author:  [@RedBloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedBloom)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/66 "2012-09-07T14:49:29Z")
I live in an average middle class neighborhood, and most people sit in the backyards, where the porch/fire pit, swings, and grill are. I had a screened in porch built on last year for privacy as well. My home is my sanctuary, and I enjoy unwinding without having to socialize sometimes. Plus I can smoke my cigarettes in peace without getting arrested or getting resentful/dirty looks from neighbors. I can only shoot the shit for so long before I start to become resentful if I can’t step outside without having to make conversation. I grew up out in the country, perhaps I still have this mentality of wanting to be alone and have quiet when at home. (of course, we have noisy kids who play with the neighbor kids, and that works very well). Lower income = stronger social ties/bonds born from necessity I’m guessing. From there, I guess we turn into a bunch of misogynists. _shrugs_
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### Author:  [@RedBloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedBloom)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/67 "2012-09-07T14:57:20Z")
> [@RedBloom](#):
>
> I live in an average middle class neighborhood, and most people sit in the backyards, where the porch/fire pit, swings, and grill are. I had a screened in porch built on last year for privacy as well. My home is my sanctuary, and I enjoy unwinding without having to socialize sometimes. Plus I can smoke my cigarettes in peace without getting arrested or getting resentful/dirty looks from neighbors. I can only shoot the shit for so long before I start to become resentful if I can’t step outside without having to make conversation. I grew up out in the country, perhaps I still have this mentality of wanting to be alone and have quiet when at home. (of course, we have noisy kids who play with the neighbor kids, and that works very well). Lower income = stronger social ties/bonds born from necessity I’m guessing. From there, I guess we turn into a bunch of misogynists. _shrugs_
OOPS - I meant ‘misanthrope’, not 'misogynists. :eek:
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### Author:  [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/68 "2012-09-07T15:13:54Z")
> [@badger5149](#):
>
> The OP is correct. In depressed areas all over the US you will see people hanging on the front porch. More well off folks with the exception of lonely seniors will hang out at the rear because the backyard has the gardens, bird bathes, ponds etc and is usually a nice place to hang out.
I think that the shift from front to back started happening with indoor plumbing…
No privy in the back made it nicer to sit out back - now, the only folks who still sit out front are the ones guarding the cars on cinder blocks 😉
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### Author:  [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/69 "2012-09-07T15:20:05Z")
> [@RedBloom](#):
>
> Plus I can smoke my cigarettes in peace without getting arrested or getting resentful/dirty looks from neighbors.
Assuming you’re talking about plain tobacco, where do you live that smoking cigarettes on your front porch is an arrestable offense?
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### Author:  [@RedBloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedBloom)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/70 "2012-09-07T15:40:44Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#):
>
> Assuming you’re talking about plain tobacco, where do you live that smoking cigarettes on your front porch is an arrestable offense?
Just being dramatic here… we all know that smoking cigarettes is incredibly antisocial behavior now.
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### Author:  [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/71 "2012-09-07T21:17:47Z")
> [@GreenElf](#):
>
> Hey angleshooter, I placed “street-level” in quotations to denote lingo, but you’re taking it literally. They’re sitting on their front doorstep most of the time so they have no opportunity to do anything inside. You apparently aren’t stared at every day as you walk to your car or you’d know what I mean by “casing” which isn’t to be taken precisely literally either as you’re prone to do. Get lost.
“Angleshooter?” I’m not quite sure if I should report that as an insult or not. [Checks UrbanDictionary.] Ah, apparently it means that I am “an unpleasant poker opponent (sometimes used to bust balls).” I guess I can’t argue with that but I don’t play poker and have no proof to the contrary, so I’ll let it pass. Since you didn’t “place it in quotations _(sic)_ to denote lingo,” I have no choice but to take it literally.
How do you know your neighbors are sitting on their doorstep most of the time unless you are staring out from behind your miniblinds most of the time watching them? Did you ever think that when you’re _not_ looking at them they might be doing something different? Maybe they think you are casing them. “Casing,” by the way, can either be taken as what you call lingo, meaning observing with the intent to commit a crime, or literally (my favorite!) to mean putting into or covering with a case. This means that you are saying your neighbors are either planning to victimize you (lingo) or encase you in a container of some sort (literal—my favorite!). Which one is it?
I get stared at quite frequently (or looked at, rather, which is what most people call it) as I’m going about my business. My neighbors drive by all the time and I wave and they wave. Sometimes they even stop by for a chat. Sometimes strangers stop by and ask silly questions. Every once in a while this guy carrying a bag of groceries goes by really, really slow and glares at us sitting outside on our front deck. I have no idea what’s up with him.
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### Author:  [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/72 "2012-09-07T22:01:02Z")
> [@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. Used to drive me crazy- every time I stepped out the front door it was like I was stepping out on a stage.
Michael? Is that you? You should have warned us about that when we bought your house 😃
Yea, our new place has neighbors like that. It’s not that bad - they wave, we wave, they mow our lawn (we haven’t bought a lawnmower yet), we chat about sports…
The new house has no front porch. It does have an absolutely gorgeous, flower and fruit tree-filled backyard that backs up to a green strip, so that’s where we spend our time.
I agree with what others have posted about the relationship of back yard availability and socio-economic status.
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### Author:  [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-yuppies-sit-in-the-backyard-and-pofolks-sit-in-the-front-yard/633734/73 "2012-09-07T22:26:04Z")
When we use our yard (we are indoors people) it tends to be the front yard. Its the convenient yard. We are pretty well off, but our house has a walkout basement (that we don’t use) and so the backyard is down steps - so the front yard has a patio with a bench. It isn’t uncommon here to use the front yard instead of the back for that reason.
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