Look into permeable pavers - look good, feel good, too. And they're permeable.

I've found that slate tends to collect moisture and doesn't dry quickly, making it a potentially slippery hazard.

Should you consider a deck, be aware that they require annual maintenance - stripping, staining, replacing warped boards. Better to look at other options.

Try looking for crushed granite to make a patio.

Ojanet, do you mean decomposed granite, compacted?

I've been really impressed with the stamped concrete front patio/walkways my neighbors have been putting in. I've got pavers and all I ever do is pull tiny weeds out of the cracks between them and chase off the ant colonies that crop up every few weeks. It's miserable. Slate is beautiful but slippery, as said above. Actually, my wood deck gets slippery after a rain, which quite surprised me. The custom concrete looks a lot better than it used to and can mimic all sorts of paver options.

RandR yes that's exactly what I meant, thanks for the crrection.

correction again hahaha

It really depends on where you live - amount of rain or snow, and how hot it gets.

Out here in Califonia, permeable is the way to go in my opinion. Dig and level the area, install a weed barrier, then gravel around the pavers of your choice. This can be done with concrete rectangular pavers for a mod look, or bluestone or slate for a more traditional style. If you look for landscaping photos online, you will see sometimes people plant succulents or ground cover between the pavers too. You will get a few weeds, and you will need to blow the leaves off, but rain water runs right through so you don't ever have to worry about rot, or painting, etc. And it's fairly cheap to install.

Decomposed granite will tend to hold water and puddle and it's surprisingly expensive. So unless you just have to have the look, I would avoid it. Stamped concrete is not permeable, so it's not the best choice environmentally, but it is cheap and easy to maintain (until it starts cracking).

Decks are relatively cheap to build and they look great but they do take yearly maintenance. I like decks combined with gravel and pavers for a little bit of variety in the levels (thats what I have). My redwood decks need sanding, patching and painting pretty much every year as well as repair construction about every 5 years to replace boards that start to rot. I'm pretty hyper about maintaining everything before it get to the falling down/ramshackle phase.

Hope this helps.

Concrete is more difficult to remove if you ever change your mind. Pavers can be picked up more easily.
We used sand mixed with a polymer for our pavers - you sweep it in, then wet it, and once it dries, it turns into a very hard substance that won't let any weeds through. Sorry, but I don't remember the exact name of the product.

@MelissaD - If you need to add sand between your paver joints, use polymeric sand. After sweeping it into the joints, lightly water; it will create a hard, yet permeable barrier that prevents weeds. Also, for those that are going to install pavers, use a good landscape fabric in the setting bed. Using the fabric and the sand, I've never had a problem with weeds in my paver patio :)

Decks require annual maintenance? News to me. I think they age quite gracefully without staining etc and certainly haven't found the boards deteriorating that quickly.

You didn't mention limestone, so I don't know if it's on the table, but if you are interested in the more natural look of large limestone or other rock slabs, I would recommend you investigate things like how much sun you get in the space, etc. We bought a condo with a limestone patio and I like the look of it, but we're in a city and there's a lot of shade from surrounding buildings, so anytime it rains there will be wet patches for days because of natural dips/valleys on the face of the stone and then it doesn't get enough direct sun to dry them up. Something I never would have thought about, but after living for a few years with gross puddles that take forever to go away, we're ready to tear it up and replace it with smaller pavers with a flatter surface to them.