4 ms·

A lawn I can lie and eat out on during the evenings and weekends? The ability to have real cats that roam and dogs that amble around freely? No. You can't be

A lawn I can lie and eat out on during the evenings and weekends? The ability to have real cats that roam and dogs that amble around freely? No. You can't be so certain what will provide any given person with real happiness.

larubbio 10y ago
Why not have both? Cities have parks that you can lie and eat out on during the evenings and weekends. They also have dog parks. Free roaming cats are bad for birds, so keep them inside. https://abcbirds.org/program/cats-indoors/cats-and-birds/ https://abcbirds.org/program/cats-indoors/cats-and-birds/
- athenot 10y ago
  The free-roaming birds in my yard (red tail hawks) are bad for rabbits and small dogs... :) For me, the real reason for a yard is for my children to run around in it, to explore and play on their own without the need for planned activities or helicopter parenting. It used to be permissible to let kids play in public parcs on their own but nowadays, that's a great way of becoming the person who writes "Home is where the bars are".
- Normal_gaussian 10y ago
  Public parks are not personal spaces to populate and use as you see fit. They are also public. The rhetoric about free roaming cats is also only partly informed. Firstly it is recognised that indoor cats are much more likely suffer from health issues relating to anxiety and depression. The why is not studied particularly well but it likely stems from completely destroying their ability to socialise, and restricting their roaming area (which for cats is very large). In many places keeping cats indoors is considered cruel. Secondly, the effect of cats on the environment is completely dependent on where you are. This is because the danger of a cat comes from their predatory nature and most places - especially after the spread of humans - are lacking in active predators. Obviously there are areas where the risk posed by a non selective predator is very high; areas with endangered populations may want to encourage people not to gave cats or to regularly clip claws. Again, as it turns out the world is a wonderfully diverse place on which homogenous rules are a bad fit.
ashark 10y ago
There's a big difference between country-lawn and suburb-lawn. Suburb lawn is mostly useless. Front yard is a road buffer that you have to spend time and money maintaining all summer for little benefit, back yard is so large mostly because parks and pools are too far away or don't exist because population density is so low (because lawns are so big).
- et-al 10y ago
  Lawns are arguable, but having a backyard allows one some control over an outdoor space, so they can hold BBQs, a pool, garden, hang laundry, yoga, or place for kids to play. Like the parent commenter said, [we] can't be so certain what will provide any given person with real happiness. For me, I would hate to drive more than 30 minutes for a work commute, but if I have kids who I'd like to enroll in a certain school district, perhaps it's a tradeoff one would make.
galfarragem 10y ago
Isn't it simpler if you live next to your job during the week and spend your weekends in a cabin?

larubbio 10y ago

Why not have both? Cities have parks that you can lie and eat out on during the evenings and weekends. They also have dog parks. Free roaming cats are bad for birds, so keep them inside. https://abcbirds.org/program/cats-indoors/cats-and-birds/ https://abcbirds.org/program/cats-indoors/cats-and-birds/

athenot 10y ago
The free-roaming birds in my yard (red tail hawks) are bad for rabbits and small dogs... :) For me, the real reason for a yard is for my children to run around in it, to explore and play on their own without the need for planned activities or helicopter parenting. It used to be permissible to let kids play in public parcs on their own but nowadays, that's a great way of becoming the person who writes "Home is where the bars are".
Normal_gaussian 10y ago
Public parks are not personal spaces to populate and use as you see fit. They are also public. The rhetoric about free roaming cats is also only partly informed. Firstly it is recognised that indoor cats are much more likely suffer from health issues relating to anxiety and depression. The why is not studied particularly well but it likely stems from completely destroying their ability to socialise, and restricting their roaming area (which for cats is very large). In many places keeping cats indoors is considered cruel. Secondly, the effect of cats on the environment is completely dependent on where you are. This is because the danger of a cat comes from their predatory nature and most places - especially after the spread of humans - are lacking in active predators. Obviously there are areas where the risk posed by a non selective predator is very high; areas with endangered populations may want to encourage people not to gave cats or to regularly clip claws. Again, as it turns out the world is a wonderfully diverse place on which homogenous rules are a bad fit.

ashark 10y ago

There's a big difference between country-lawn and suburb-lawn. Suburb lawn is mostly useless. Front yard is a road buffer that you have to spend time and money maintaining all summer for little benefit, back yard is so large mostly because parks and pools are too far away or don't exist because population density is so low (because lawns are so big).

et-al 10y ago
Lawns are arguable, but having a backyard allows one some control over an outdoor space, so they can hold BBQs, a pool, garden, hang laundry, yoga, or place for kids to play. Like the parent commenter said, [we] can't be so certain what will provide any given person with real happiness. For me, I would hate to drive more than 30 minutes for a work commute, but if I have kids who I'd like to enroll in a certain school district, perhaps it's a tradeoff one would make.

galfarragem 10y ago

Isn't it simpler if you live next to your job during the week and spend your weekends in a cabin?