Beers and Bonfires: The 10 U.S. Cities Where Backyard Shindigs Reign Supreme
Beers and Bonfires: The 10 U.S. Cities Where Backyard Shindigs Reign Supreme
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Our backyards do far more each summer than just provide a place for the kids to splash or the adults to burn—in many ways, they define us. A luxe hot tub and cozy palapa? You probably dig intimate warm-weather get-togethers. A well-worn Slip ’n Slide, military-grade Super Soaker, and a great big trampoline? You’re the veteran host of more kiddie soirées than you’d like to recount. A fully appointed outdoor kitchen with built-in Alfresco ALX triple-burner gas grill, generating an eyebrow-searing 82,000 BTUs? You obsess over elaborate al fresco gourmet dinner parties even more than you do binge-watching the Food Network.
All of the above? You love throwing the best darn backyard parties anyone has ever seen.
With the Fourth of July right around the corner, and the dog days of summer still to come, it’s the prime time to appreciate all the cool features that make outdoor living so appealing. When the weather warms, homeowners start to think—often—about how they can make the most of whatever outdoor space they’ve got.
But as we all know, not all summer shindigs are created equal. To find out where you’re likely to attend (and throw) the best blowouts this season, our data team vetted 350 metropolitan areas across the United States. The metros with spacious lot sizes, cool outdoor home features (like tiki bars!), and plenty of sunny days stood out.
“We are seeing more people than ever really investing in the backyard living,” says Chuck Bowen, editor of Lawn & Landscape Magazine. The most popular ways to pimp out a backyard? Patios and decks, and also high-end features like big-screen TVs and amazing sound systems centered around outdoor cooking spaces.
“People these days are really getting a lot of enjoyment out of taking their normal patio grill to the next level,” Bowen says. “They are turning backyards into a fantastic space to have family, friends, and colleagues over.”
To come up with the best places for outdoor bashes, we looked at:
- Median lot size of single-family homes listed on realtor.com
- Percentage of homes that have lots of fun outdoor features, including tiki bars, outdoor kitchens, patios, decks, hot tubs, pools, and fountains and ponds, from realtor.com®
- Sales of outdoor summer goods like grills, pool floats, meat smokers, outdoor dining sets, outdoor bars, chaise longues, hammocks and lawn games from the home goods company Wayfair.com.
- Average number of sunny days, from Sperling’s Best Places
Ready? Let’s party! We’ll bring the chilled X.Q. Añejo, you bring the limes.
1. Sarasota, FL
Median home price: $360,000
Median lot size: 7,930 square feet
Number of sunny days: 252
realtor.com
Tourists in Sarasota, known as Florida’s Cultural Coast, are known to live it up on the beach or in downtown theaters and art galleries. But local residents in search of a good time need head no farther than their own backyards. From Mediterranean mansions to old-Florida cottages, Sarasota has its share of spacious homes that are designed for maximum backyard recreation.
Swimming pools are a no-brainer—nearly half the area’s homes have one. But Sarasotans also enjoy whirlpool spas, private boat docks, and, yes, tiki bars. Gazebos with high ceilings or cabanas are also common, so al fresco diners can catch some sea breezes while they eat.
The best part? The mild Florida weather means that backyard living can be all year round.
2. Napa, CA
Median home price: $837,000
Median lot size: 8,000 square feet
Number of sunny days: 260
realtor.com
It’s a beautiful life, basking on a sundeck in your own yard, sipping wine bottled just a mile or two away.
In California’s most famous wine region, rolling vineyards share the landscape with sprawling ranches. If you’ve got money to spare, you might even be interested in buying your own winery, with acres of hills stitched with rows of neatly trained vines—an unbeatable location for hosting sparkling wine parties and summer soirées. And you needn’t kill yourself whipping up fresh canapés—plenty of world-class restaurants nearby offer catering services to add a dose of elegance to your party.
Across the valley, European country villas and Victorian-era homes also come with huge backyards surrounded by lush redwood trees. Along the Napa River, homes are equipped with private docks linking backyards directly to the water. Boat parties, anyone?
3. Barnstable, MA
Median home price: $553,000
Median lot size: 16,500 square feet
Number of sunny days: 201
With its beautiful sandy beaches, Cape Cod has long been a favored summer vacation destination for Bostonians and other landlocked Northeastern urbanites. And laid-back Barnstable is the largest town on the Cape. Families with kids seeking calm waters flock to the peninsula’s quieter north side, while party lovers favor lively towns like Falmouth or Provincetown.
Life on the coast means spending more time outside in the warm-weather months. Most of the area’s homes, which range from rustic cottages to modernist houses, set aside room for backyard living. After all, an open-air deck with a roaring fire pit is pretty much the perfect spot for friends to gather after a day on the beach. Or you could have a waterside deck with a front-row seat on the vista of endless blue water and sky, equally suited to enjoying happy-hour cocktails or morning java.
4. Charlottesville, VA
Median home price: $395,000
Median lot size: 16,000 square feet
Number of sunny days: 219
realtor.com
At the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Virginia countryside, Charlottesville offers a peaceful escape from hectic city life. Grand country homes dot the rolling hills surrounding downtown, many of which sit on at least a half-acre lot, with plenty of room to get a toasty tan.
Bonus: Southern barbecue is best enjoyed outdoors. So whether you’re a beginning griller or an Iron Chef, it’s almost standard here to have a built-in grill in the backyard (or even a full-on outdoor kitchen) for summer cook-offs. Few things say backyard party quite like grilled baby back ribs with cornbread and coleslaw and a glass of local Pinot.
5. Daytona Beach, FL
Median home price: $280,000
Median lot size: 10,000 square feet
Number of sunny days: 227
Yes, you’ve seen all the Spring Break antics on TV. But truth is, Daytona Beach works hard to please kids of all ages, with its international speedway and a myriad of beach activities. And even with all that extracurricular excess, it turns out that some of the best parties are thrown in locals’ own homes.
With Daytona Beach’s real estate still recovering from the housing crash, buyers can score a single-family home with a great big backyard at a relatively teeny price. Homes in these parts are usually designed with swimming pools and hot tubs for year-round pool parties.
Whether you need floating water orbs or two-story inflatable water slides, the well-equipped local party rental companies have you covered. You could even score a professional mermaid to splash in your pool, or a pony for a kids’ party.
6. Los Angeles, CA
Median home price: $727,000
Median lot size: 7,100 square feet
Number of sunny days: 284
realtor.com
Back in the early ’90s, Latino DJs were the first in Los Angeles to catch on to the new trend of electronic dance music, spinning techno tunes at afternoon backyard parties in East L.A. frequented by kids cutting high school.
Today, whether it’s behind a humble cottage in hipster Echo Park or a modernist mansion in the Hollywood Hills, a backyard in Los Angeles is still always the ideal place for a party. And Angelenos get creative in backyard entertaining, from yoga parties to taco-truck nights. In a city in love with cinema, the SoCal summer nights are ideal for ditching indoor screens, spreading out some blankets, and enjoying films outdoors, against the twilight sky. It’s not at all unusual these days to come across homes that have an outdoor movie screen.
7. Brunswick, GA
Median home price: $357,000
Median lot size: 9,200 square feet
Number of sunny days: 220
Located on the Atlantic coast of Georgia, Brunswick is a historic town with plenty of Southern charm. On the waterfront, homes are designed with breezy patios or porches with endless vistas of marsh grasses and blue-gray waters. In the suburbs, the housing stock is mostly ranch-style homes and occasionally plantation-style mansions, with the sprawling land that comes with them.
The hot, humid summer in the South invites people to spend time outdoors after sunset. From pool parties, to barbecue cook-offs, to crawfish boils—in season between late spring and early summer—backyard parties go on all season long. Yes, it’s hot. But there are considerably worse ways to to beat the heat than sitting on the porch with a pitcher of iced sweet tea or a Frozen Peach Bourbon Mule.
8. Santa Fe, NM
Median home price: $550,000
Median lot size: 8,600 square feet
Number of sunny days: 283
realtor.com
This artsy, bohemian New Mexican city is blessed with more than nine months of sunshine, right up there with L.A., so it’s not likely to rain on your parade—or your backyard party. To cope with the desert heat, thick-walled Pueblo Revival homes are found throughout the region that often include a sheltered courtyard or patio, and sometimes an outdoor kiva fireplace. This type of architecture speaks to a long tradition of incorporating the outdoors into relaxing and entertaining activities.
The casual backyard lifestyle extends to the many ranch-style haciendas with room for equestrian activities or stucco homes that boast desert landscape gardens. On Santa Fe’s Canyon Road, a world-famous art district, you’ll come across backyards decorated with crazy sculptures and colorful artworks, which also serve as event space for art shows, pottery, and craft parties.
9. Bridgeport, CT
Median home price: $725,000
Median lot size: 17,500 square feet
Number of sunny days: 175
On the Connecticut coast, the Bridgeport metro area of Fairfield County is home to some of the wealthiest enclaves in the country—from the cluster of hedge-fund homes in Old Greenwich to the yachts idling in Westport’s boat basin. Palatial abodes with enormous gardens abound throughout the area, and homeowners compete with neighbors for the most lavish swimming pool or the best manicured landscape.
Wall Street titans and C-suite executives spend generous end-of-year cash bonuses on Gatsby-style summer bashes. Now, how can we score an invite?
10. Flagstaff, AZ
Median home price: $380,000
Median outdoor space: 7,900 square feet
Number of sunny days: 266
While most of Arizona is baking in the desert, Flagstaff is able to escape 90-degree summers, as it sits at the base of the San Francisco Peaks, surrounded by ponderosa pine forests. Offering crisp mountain air, cool and sunny days, Flagstaff is a natural playground for backyard-living enthusiasts.
The median home price is reasonable, and plenty of homes have one-acre lots. Nestled in the forests are wood cabins with swing sets and barbecue grills on the backyard decks—perfect for summer bashes. The homes situated on the plain have unobstructed views of the mountains.
How about a stargazing party? Flagstaff is the first “International Dark Sky City,” thanks to local efforts to reduce light pollution.
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