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Where do you live in Canada? In southern ontario (where Toronto and most of the people are) there's no snow for 8 months out of the year. And backyards/sidewalks are really only impeded for maybe 2 months (if you're able-bodied). Meanwhile you can totally have a pool, a vegetable garden, a place for your kids to play, etc. the rest of the time.

I recently moved from an apartment to a house downtown with a tiny backyard, and it's a huge improvement. We didn't really use it in February/March. But the rest of the time it's awesome.

I agree that the pervasive car culture is very frustrating, but saying a backyard is only usable 4 months of the year is silly. Many of us with kids use them year round.

Where in Canada do you live, Whitehorse? Toronto is further south than most of Michigan, and folks in Michigan seem to use their yards and open space just fine for a large part of the year.