I am very sorry that we moved from away front porches to back patios.  The move made sense at the time I am sure (I have no earthly idea what prompted that!) but in today's world it has only magnified the loneliness that most of the population feels, I think.  Front porches encouraged us to get to know those passing by whereas from our back patios we don't even know if someone is passing by.

I loved sitting on my grandmother's screened-in porch with her when I was a little girl.  She would rock and we would talk and anybody walking up or down the sidewalk would stop and holler,

"Hi, Carrie, I see you have your granddaughter visiting."

And then my grandmother, Caroline, would brag about me for a time  to whatever neighbor or town's person  had made the comment and when she finished she would ask about the family of the sidewalk greeter and the person on the sidewalk would take her turn talking about her family.  Pleasant conversation would be exchanged  for a couple of minutes and then,
 
"Well, I need to be getting on to the store, Carrie.  Good to see you and good to see you too, young lady."

Goodbyes would be called out and then we would all return to what we had been doing before that very enjoyable interlude.  

What strikes me now that I didn't even notice when I was little was that almost all of the time the caller from the sidewalk stayed on the sidewalk while we stayed on the porch.   It was a private public moment.  
We, my grandmother and I, did the same thing when we were out walking and stopped to say howdy to someone on his or her front porch.  It was rare to be invited up to the porch to sit a spell but that did happen and then the visit would be extended for maybe ten more minutes than a pure sidewalk to porch visit.   

I am sure that since my grandmother was a widow who lived alone she very much enjoyed sitting on her porch in the fresh air conversing with the passersby who greatly helped her stave off boredom and loneliness.   Sitting on a tucked away back patio doesn't begin to have the same healing qualities. 

I have one mandatory requirement for my next house, it must have a front porch.  I don't care at all about a back patio.   When I am on my front porch I will observe front porch etiquette and I know that the sidewalk greeters will observe sidewalk etiquette and we will all feel like we have fuller lives without feeling as though we are being bombarded.  I'm looking forward to that.