What's in the back yards of your city?

SignalHillHiker · #1 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 2:32 PM**

Acajack happened to ask if people in Calgary still had their pools open and gazebos screened.

Made me laugh - and wonder how different the lifestyle really is in other cities. Back yard pools and gazebos are very rare here - so what should one expect to find behind the homes of your city?

As anywhere else, in St. John's it depends on income and neighbourhood age.

In older, middle and upper-class neighbourhoods, they're typically proper gardens - often with some useful purpose (fruits, vegetables, herbs) but also just for pleasure.

These properties have been divided up so many times that some of the homes don't even have back yards - they were sold to neighbouring properties years ago. You can sometimes open your back door and touch your back fence.

In older, lower-class neighbourhoods (such as my own), it's basically the same but without any sort of proper landscaping and with much less land. Also, in lower-class neighbourhoods, houses (like mine) often have no exterior access to the backyard. You can only get back there by walking through the house. Also, little garden sheds are very common.

In older, exclusively-upper-class neighbourhoods, where our wealthiest lived, the estates are generally quite large and you start to see things like swimming pools, tennis courts, etc. But, still, VERY rare. You can fit more backyard pools into one screenshot of Ajax, I'm sure, than exist in all of Newfoundland.

Newer neighbourhoods are all middle class and above. We don't really build anything outside the core for poorer families. They're marked by having giant driveways on giant plots of land. Still, typically, no pools or anything like that - just a back yard.

In exclusively upper class, newer neighbourhoods, it's the same - just bigger driveways and bigger front lawns, but no real lifestyle difference. I'm too embarrassed to even post a picture, actually. The houses look like strip malls, often with just as much parking.

So what about your city?

Acajack · #2 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 2:37 PM**

Wow, you guys really like your backyard sheds.

Here, it's like the San Fernando Valley. Backyard swimming pools rule the roost:

http://goo.gl/maps/5IUjo

This is pretty consistent across southern Quebec and people in Gatineau are very typical Québécois in this respect.

If you do a Google Earth view across the river in Ottawa's suburbs there are still pools but they aren't nearly as common as in Gatineau.

Stryker · #3 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 2:54 PM**

Gazebo as in the newfoundland rap band gazebo unit?

For me growing up, it was a rusting 15 year old pickup truck, a railway tie made swing set, with a pile of scrap lumber.

Currently my backyard is a forest.

My parents have moved up in the world nowadays, they have a shed, a wood pile, some scrap lumber, and a partial rock garden.

SignalHillHiker · #4 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 2:58 PM**

Stryker.

Acajack: Yeah, sheds are huge here. It makes sense in the suburbs with all that land and all that lawn... (my father just finished building his) but I have one at my house too. It takes up about 1/4 of my back yard.

Why was it needed? I just store luggage in it.

kool maudit · #5 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 3:05 PM**

most people in inner copenhagen have courtyards like this inside their buildings:

(this is a particularly nice one, and a barren one. most have little gardens, barbecues and a degree of disorder).

Acajack · #6 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 3:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool maudit

most people in inner copenhagen have courtyards like this inside their buildings:

(this is a particularly nice one, and a barren one. most have little gardens, barbecues and a degree of disorder).

I've noticed that in Nordic suburbia a lot of families seem to have a backyard trampoline. Pools, not so much...

Stryker · #7 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 4:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

I've noticed that in Nordic suburbia a lot of families seem to have a backyard trampoline. Pools, not so much...

I'm quite certain being in a northern maritime climate, you won't get enough hot sunlight to warm a swimming pool. My cousins have one in Cape breton and it's way too dam cold.

YOWetal · #8 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 4:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

Wow, you guys really like your backyard sheds.

Here, it's like the San Fernando Valley. Backyard swimming pools rule the roost:

http://goo.gl/maps/5IUjo

This is pretty consistent across southern Quebec and people in Gatineau are very typical Québécois in this respect.

If you do a Google Earth view across the river in Ottawa's suburbs there are still pools but they aren't nearly as common as in Gatineau.

Interesting. Any theories on why? Maybe lower level of cottage ownership or Quebecers travel less in the summer?

Acajack · #9 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 4:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by YOWetal

Interesting. Any theories on why? Maybe lower level of cottage ownership or Quebecers travel less in the summer?

Not really. Cottaging is very common and popular here, and people travel to beaches in the summer as well to Shediac, NB, Old Orchard Beach, ME and Wildwood, NJ.

Probably has something to do with a mix of hedonism and climactic denial.

esquire · #10 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 4:09 PM**

Winnipeg backyards don't seem to differ that much. Most pre-1970s neighbourhoods have backlanes, and it is quite common for backyards in those older areas to have a garage or some other form of parking. Then a patch of grass, maybe a flower bed or garden, a patio or deck and in some cases, a garden shed. Pools are not common in general, although they are becoming so in newer, more high-end subdivisions - as are carefully manicured gardens.

Overall, Winnipeg lot sizes are fairly small which limits what you can have in the backyard. Basically it's a place for kids to run around, for grown ups to have beer and BBQs, and for older people to garden and plant flowers. It blows me away when I go to American suburbs and see middle-class homes on huge lots with 200 foot frontages and backyards big enough to play baseball on.

J_Murphy · #11 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 5:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Stryker.

Acajack: Yeah, sheds are huge here. It makes sense in the suburbs with all that land and all that lawn... (my father just finished building his) but I have one at my house too. It takes up about 1/4 of my back yard.

Why was it needed? I just store luggage in it.

We may not have many pools but I know that hot tubs are becoming very popular. They are great as they can be used year round.

I bought a house last year with a big back yard that had nothing but mature trees and a small deck. I recently built a shed and put in a backyard composter and a hammock.I have a master plan to eventually have a much larger deck, some gardens and a nice walkway. Maybe some day if I can afford it, I would like to also put in a hot tub and a sunroom. I am located in the center of the city in a modest bungalow that I would consider a middle class neighbourhood.

Marty_Mcfly · #12 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 5:36 PM**

The backyard on my street (and surrounding area). Fair sized lots, but nothing more than grass and mature trees. Which is exactly what I love. There's no need for pools here, it rarely gets hot enough for long enough to justify them.

MonctonRad · #13 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 6:12 PM**

We have both an inground pool as well as a gazebo at my house.

I find that Moncton has a much higher proportion of pool ownership than other Maritime cities I have lived in. They are pretty common in higher end neighbourhoods here. Of course, Moncton is an inland city and has a humid and warm continental climate in the summertime. We usually open the pool in mid May and keep it open until late September, for about 16-18 weeks on average. Late evenings around the pool and in the Gazebo are quite delightful here.

Pool ownership in Charlottetown is quite rare. I think this is the beach effect. Why have a pool if you have a cottage on the seashore??

You don't see that many pools in Halifax either. I think part of it is the cool foggy evenings. Also, Halifax is built on bedrock and you would need dynamite the blow out a hole in the ground big enough for a pool…..

SignalHillHiker · #14 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 7:15 PM**

I don't know what people are so afraid of. If I had a pool, I'd use it March to December.

No question.

Also - you're now top of the list for host of any eventual Atlantic Canada forum meet.

Marty_Mcfly · #15 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 8:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Also - you're now top of the list for host of any eventual Atlantic Canada forum meet.

Atlanticon 2015....Moncton, NB? Yes please

MonctonRad · #16 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 8:13 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

I don't know what people are so afraid of. If I had a pool, I'd use it March to December.

No question.

The first year we had the pool we kept it open until the third week of October and it worked quite well. The trouble is that we have a dense canopy of maple trees in the back yard and it's really important to have the pool covered before the leaves start to fall. I get really nervous if the pool people aren't here by the first of October.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Also - you're now top of the list for host of any eventual Atlantic Canada forum meet.

And I didn't even say anything about my wine cellar - whoops……

240glt · #17 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 8:23 PM**

Pools are awesome but they are a giant maintenance headache. My folks have one in their back yard in the Okanagan, mum loves it, dad hates it

Our back yard is an oasis.. Big trees, gardens, a nice grassy part for the dogs.. Love the back yard, i could not imagine living without one

kwoldtimer · #18 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 8:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

We have both an inground pool as well as a gazebo at my house.

I find that Moncton has a much higher proportion of pool ownership than other Maritime cities I have lived in. They are pretty common in higher end neighbourhoods here. Of course, Moncton is an inland city and has a humid and warm continental climate in the summertime. We usually open the pool in mid May and keep it open until late September, for about 16-18 weeks on average. Late evenings around the pool and in the Gazebo are quite delightful here.

Pool ownership in Charlottetown is quite rare. I think this is the beach effect. Why have a pool if you have a cottage on the seashore??

You don't see that many pools in Halifax either. I think part of it is the cool foggy evenings. Also, Halifax is built on bedrock and you would need dynamite the blow out a hole in the ground big enough for a pool…..

Is water usage in Moncton metered or flat-rate?

MonctonRad · #19 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 9:03 PM**

Metered, but I can't recall the last time we actually added water to the pool. We keep the cover on when not in use, and rainfall makes up for any evaporation.

bulliver · #20 Posted **Sep 8, 2014, 9:37 PM**

There are no backyards here. Only huge garages that hold ATVs, quads, dirtbikes, snowmobiles, chainsaws and Ford F-350s.

Seriously though, mature neighborhoods almost always have detached garages off the alley. My place has a firepit and a koi pond, the firepit is typical but the koi pond isn't. Hard to see what's in them because of the mature trees:
https://goo.gl/maps/69UWR

In the outer burbs there is only lawn and the occasional trampoline. Very few backyard pools here. You will see a lot of backyard rinks in the winter though...

https://goo.gl/maps/DPjdg