I was thinking about this week’s Weekly Prompt of Inside Out and thought of how we move from inside our homes to the greater outdoors. And then I thought of porches.
I’ve wondered if they are a phenomenon of small town and rural communities of the 19th century, or have they been around for eons?
You don’t see many porches in large metropolitan areas. Stoops, perhaps, but porches seem more prevalent in older homes. Or is it I grew up in an era and areas where front porches were a gathering place?
I’ve lived in homes with a porch, without a porch, with barely a step into the front door, with expansive wooden or concrete slabs where children could run and play, or where a porch swing rocked back and forth in an evening breeze on a corner of the landing.
They seemed to disappear when high rise apartments became popular===, and when people moved from their front yards to the back patios. I think we became more private in our migration from the front outside to the back outside.
Before the days of air conditioning, telephones, and multiple cars, porches were a cooling relief from oppressive heat, the current events repository, and a social connection between neighbors.
Walking to and from the grocery store, or the post office or to church services you would stop and chat with someone sitting on a comfortable chair reading or just listening to the roosters in the back yard and birds arguing over discovered earthworms.
Maybe it was just a wave, but usually a more extended dialogue ensued: grandchildren visiting, who in the next block was ill, city advisories, just the bits and pieces of everyday life shared, often enhanced, but nonetheless discussed and acknowledged.
In Mexico there are not many porches. Beautiful gardens and patios are within the boundaries of a casa, but usually hidden from public view by a protecting wall, saved for family and special friends. Social interaction is alive and well, but it is usually done at a public park, in the gardens of a church, or while sharing a bench tucked under a flowering tree.
What is talked about? Since I speak no Spanish and understand even less I haven’t a clue about the topics covered, but there is a sense of peace, casualness, and acceptance.
Children play, scampering about, dogs sniff the surroundings before settling under the benches, strangers nod and exchange greetings, families share a snack purchased from a nearly by street vendor, and some sit alone reading in the presence of others.
Perhaps it’s the Mexican answer to porch life.
It is how we keep moving from inside out.
More Inside Out thoughts:https://weeklyprompts.com/2020/06/24/wednesday-challenge-inside-out/
that little voice 
Wonderful look at how things have changed over time.
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Thanks Robert.
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Thought provoking Margo. I imagine porches were (are) more prevalent in countries with colder, wetter, windier weather. They form an in between space, neither inside, nor out. Wet, or bulky coats can be taken off/put on and left there rather than being taken inside. Shopping can be temporarily put down out of the elements while doors are opened. Uninvited visitors can be talked to without inviting inside. Our house has two front doors with a porch space in between. When built, it was an open porch.
During the daytime the outer door is left unlocked and the space is very handy for parcel deliveries!
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Nicely said!
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Is it a place you spend much time in, or do you use it more utilitarian? I’ve had porches with ourdoor seating, some enclosed with screen wire and some open to the elements, but admittedly, I am not a big user of porches. I’m sorry I’m not, and am questioning why I’m not more engaged with them.
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Thanks. I have a revision of my eye surgery section in our memoir that I’ll type up and send to you. See if you like better.
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I remember as a teenager living in an old house in Ohio that had a wrap-around porch. I loved it! Before I moved from South California 20 years ago, there were some new tract homes going up with front porches – wonder if they’re still doing that. We put decks outside our doors, and I do use them occasionally for sitting out with a cool drink late afternoon. It’s quiet, the birds are doing their thing, and it gets me out of my chairs inside the house.
Curious why you don’t learn Spanish, since you’re living in a Spanish-speaking country? At least basic phrases – I’d hate not being able to communicate if I had questions about something or needed help.
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I think it is called laziness that keeps me Spanish-less. I have a tough time hearing the words even in English. I am fortunate to live where there are lots of bilingual folks around. Amazing how hand gestures and a smile even behind a mask get meanings across.
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There was a time when the front garden was the neighborhood social scene… Where you passed the time of day, usually evening, as folk passed by. Fashion then turned to rear gardens and privacy was important. So over the fence chats, we’ll only if we had to. Then of course the developers came and Apartments were the thing and houses didn’t need gardens…. It would spoil our bottomline we need to cram everyone in… Sad. I can still recall those front garden socials…. That’s also when neighbour’s mattered 🤔
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Exactly. I remember when I visited our grandparents and they always spent evenings in the porch swing with passerby’s.
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