Over our many years of jumping from rental to rental, we've had many things we look for and many things that are deal breakers, but at the top of both lists is outdoor space. Being the owner of two pets that need a place to stretch their legs, daily exercise is important, but that doesn't mean we have to have a backyard.
We've lived in lofts with no yard whatsoever and houses that have sprawling suburban outdoor spaces. Truthfully I enjoy the simple pleasure of sitting on a deck in fall and watching my dogs roll in the leaves, but at the same time, when living in condos and loft spaces, we really (really) didn't miss the maintenance of the lawn.
We were actually more apt to have friends and family over when we had less of a private outdoor area. Entertaining in an outdoor space that was communal was fun as it felt like more of a challenge. We'll set up a dinner party in a back alley or on the rooftop long before we'd throw a bash in a space that has a backyard and true landscaping.
For many homes, outdoor areas can extend and add to the size of your space. Balconies, decks, porches, yards, even just a small patio can add some serious square footage. Do you look for a place to sit in the sun and sip your morning coffee? Or are you fully prepared to do so at your kitchen table every morning while smiling to yourself that some poor schmuck had to be up an hour earlier to mow before it got too hot out?
How important is outdoor space when you're house hunting? Is it at the top of your must have list or just simply an added bonus, but the inside space is really what you're after? Would you rather have a postage stamp for a place as long as it has room to stretch your legs outside? Let us know below!
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Total deal breaker, especially now that we live somewhere hot.
I grew up in the mountains so my "outdoor space" was over 20 acres of wooded mountainside.
So yes, I would say "outside space" is important to me. Unfortunately due to my SO's more city-oriented career having another mountainside is going to be an impossibility, so I'm seriously trying to "downsize" my unconscious expectations on how big a piece of land you need to have it be livable.
It's pretty funny because my husband is from the suburbs, so the first couple times he remarked on friends' houses with "Hey, they've got a nice big yard! We could do great with that," I had to struggle to not give him an incredulous stare.
So in a way, I'm kind of learning from the "small house" people with their mission of downsizing and trying to apply it to apply it to outside property. Just like people don't NEED a huge McMansion, I don't NEED acres upon acres. Gotta make do with what you can, right?
I'm a pretty serious gardener, so outdoor space is important to me. That said, in our last house, our large heavily planted lot took a lot of time for maintenance (weeding, cutting things back, watering). This time around, we opted for a house in an older neighborhood full of small (40 x 120) lots. We are lucky in that the layout of the houses/garages is such that we really have separation from the neighbors on either side. We also have a hedge row in the back to screen the back yard neighbors. It is the best of all worlds--plenty of room to garden intensively, lots of privacy but still connection to the neighbors, minimal maintenance (since we eliminated most of the yard with a stone terrace and garden beds).
I just love that picture.
Outdoor space is very important. It is why we were attracted to our current home. And that is saying something, since we live in Ottawa, where it is cold and blustery for several months of the year. We just really, really like being outside and having a big garden.
I'm fine with a tiny yard, although I am in love with my current back yard that has a mini-river hitting about 20 metres away from my house
We passed up quite a few beautiful houses when we were buying early this year due to the yards being insufficient to grow a garden and have a few chickens. Now we're living on a quarter acre sunny lot with room for not only chickens, but more than enough vegetable beds to keep us in food 9 months of the year.
Tomorrow we close on our current house. Its not enormous, but in our opinions large enough to take too much time to clean. Our yard is pretty big and has been somewhat neglected.
Our new home is quite small, but the yard is huge. I'm excited to have a smaller living space because it means spending more time outside with the kids and with my hands in the dirt. At this point I am happy to give up sq. footage inside for extra time outside.
I love the picture too--this is how I hope to be in 10 years time. I grew up with a 10 foot square concrete yard surrounded by high walls (typical in Belfast) and don't crave a leafy grassy yard necessarily. But I would love a dog and to be able to grow some veggies, so something small would do.
When we purchased our first home, just having outdoor space was our only priority. Now that we are looking for home #2, the type of outdoor space is more important. Living in southcentral PA affords us the opportunity to have acreage, and we're not going to pass it up this time. Plus, I really want a pool.
at minimum I need a backyard so I can yell "go play outside!!" at my kids and not have to then take them 6 blocks to the park.
I grew up in the wilds of NYS, similar to the first commenter, with acres upon acres of land for adventures.
So, when I first moved to SF, the house I rented out of had a neglected backyard that I couldn't access. It was really heartbreaking.
I then lived in the Presidio for awhile, which, while landscaped and maintained meticulously, was a welcome change. We had a grassy front lawn (until the gleefully poppies took over)! And a playground! But I had to take the bus everywhere.
Now I live in the thick of it all, with no courtyard or yard space what-so-ever. I miss it, but I also like being able to walk to the corner for a pint of half n half.
Friends of mine just bought into a tenancy in common that has no yard space for anyone. I can't imagine buying a house that has no yard!
I just bought an old shotgun type house with a nice front porch in Cabbagetown, GA that is on a tiny lot. There is about 3 feet between houses, 4 feet off the sidewalk. My backyard is a bit bigger, the size of a large living room, but I love it. I had a deck built and am planning to give the yard a major makeover next year. When looking for a house I always thought I would get yard large enough for my dane to run around in, but I realized it doesn't matter as long as I love my house! Oh and I take her to the dog park daily.
Gotta have a bit of green shade of my own...
Yard space was very important for me in buying my home, but if I were still renting, I know I probably would have avoided it. The time and pride that goes into maintaining it (as I hungrily await the new patio that will be laid this weekend!!!) is not something I would consider for a space I don't own. I'd much rather live in an apartment in the middle of the action where going outside is both purposeful and restful than rent a home somewhere that requires me to cut someone else's grass.
Type of outdoor space is probably more important than how much ... although we have an acre now and I would dearly love to have 20 acres in the country and not see other structures, or signs of mankind at all! :-) I garden - herbs, veggies, berries, ornamentals, fruit trees, and have two dogs who get the run of about 1/2 the acre. Close to the house is "manicured" and becomes much less so as we reach the perimeter.
I thought I needed some kind of yard nearby when I rented my current place because I had two elderly dogs (they can't walk over too much hot pavement without suffering or walk very far to relieve themselves). I rented a place with far more yard than I care to have though (I had a short time to look). I do a good job with lawn work, but I would rather not bother doing it myself (this isn't how I like to spend my time) or paying someone else to do it. If I didn't have elderly dogs then I could be perfectly happy with a small balcony or small deck - just a place to sit and keep a few pots of plants and a bird feeder. I would probably be happy without a deck/balcony if there was a nice enough view and a window I could open without inviting too many hazards inside (toxic emissions, voyeuristic neighbors, excessive noise, etc.).
I like privacy and the ability to make a certain amount of noise (normal barking dogs) without bothering others and places with yards seem to enable this more easily.
It's not a huge issue. Just a decent size patio or balcony would be fine by me.
I rent one of Seattle's now ubiquitous townhouses and the zoning requirements for open space here drive me crazy. Each unit has to have it's own fenced in yard, so we have a useless, inaccessible 6x8 patch of weeds and high fences that visually isolate the building from the street. There are places where there are blocks and blocks of townhomes with their massive fencing and it looks so depressing. I'd really prefer some sort of shared common space, if it was easier to get to and allowed the units to look less cookie-cutter.
we just bought our first condo and it doesnt have its own private outdoor space ~ not even a balcony. We have a soon to be pool and bbq area.. but I actually wish that we had AT LEAST our own space to put out a little grill and some chairs just to relax. Something for our next home purchase that is a MUST is place with outdoor space!
Outdoor space is important. For me, a garden has to be a very private place. I hate it when 10 neighbors can look onto my deck. We'll move back to a big city soon and managed to buy a modern flat roof bungalow with a fully enclosed 2,000 sqft atrium garden. It's perfect for our cat and a dream come true for me. Not that I want to run around naked all summer long, but I could. ;-)
Not so important to me. I had a house with a decent sized back yard, and it was defintely nice to be able to just open the door for the dog to go out, but I hated the yard work, and the bugs here in the South are too bad to spend much time out there. Now we have a condo with someone else to take care of the lawn and a dog park accross the street.
You said it, Jackie99 - it's not the size of the space, but the relation to your indoor living area. My 12x18 condo patio in Portland overflows with flowers and comfort, but a 33 acre "yard" I sold in Louisiana last year had made me its indentured servant.
Our new (first) house has a small back terrace, which fits the few plants that the previous owners installed - all low maintenance, but pretty. I don't have much of a green thumb, so having established plants is nice, but there is also a small area that I can use to "tinker" in while I learn the ins/outs of gardening. I also put out some containers out front. BUT I am also right across the street from Golden Gate Park (and a playground), so I feel as if my "outdoor space" is huge... I think that everyone needs some greenery/fresh air, even if it is just a small deck, a fire escape or 2 acres.
not a deal breaker at all. when you live in the city, you do not need a backyard. Prospect park/ central park, etc.... are just steps or a train ride away.
Total deal breaker. We have a dog who needs to be able to get outside when she wants to. I would never, ever consider living somewhere without a garden with a pet, plus it wouldn't suit my SO either who hankers after rurality! We did settle on a house close to the city centre in the end but gardens like ours are few and far between. We compromised by buying a house which needs a lot of work because we liked the garden and the location.