Screened porches are wonderful, Shooting Star. Why don't you like them?
Generally, they are on the back of a house, but still, it really extends the use of a porch because of the lack of bugs. We had a huge screened porch on our first house in MA. Since the house was quite a bit smaller than the house we moved from in AZ, it was a real extra room for the first 3-4 months we lived there, especially with 2 young boys. I love eating breakfast out on the porch. We also ate dinner out there every night in the summer.
When we bought our next house, it had a crappy deck, with very little room. We designed and had a 2 room mahogany porch built, with a wrap around deck on the back, on the side/back of the house. I finally bought some really nice porch furniture for the first time. While we actually designed the slightly odd configuration of the porch because of the set back laws, septic tank, and lot lines, there were several times I was out there, when people would drive by and stop to tell me how much they loved the porch, and that they had watched the build and were amazed. Sadly, we only used it for 3 summers before we moved. But, it was a strong selling point in a neighborhood full of cookie cutter houses. We ate most of our meals out there, weather permitting (not too cold) 3-4 months a year. There's a huge mosquito issue around here and being outside after dusk, or even early AM is just not feasible.
I can't imagine living without some outdoor space, whether I was in the city or country. Having balconies is kind of standard in condos in the city, here, and rooftop deck space is coveted.