We went with patios when we built our house. We also poured our front porch with concrete. We knew when we built our house that we would probably be in it for the rest of our lives (we're both 30 now), so we were trying to think about low maintenance in the future. It isn't such an issue at our current ages, but as we get older, staining and sealing a wood deck would be a lot of work. However, now they do have other options for decking, but I don't know how they compare in price to a patio. I also like the look of a patio better, and with all of the options available with stamped concrete and such, you can get some really beautiful patios.

However, if you will be needing access, it is a complete remodel to tear out concrete, so you may want to look at pavers......personally if I could have afforded to do exactly what I wanted to do, I would have done large slabs of flagstone.

Thanks.
Wow, my patio is now gone, but that was a lot of work... and it was HOT out.

I hired a guy with a BobCat ($50/hr)... the patio was thicker/heavier than he thought. His BobCat struggled, but we did it. (I was swinging a sledge hammer in an attempt to create cracks and lighten his load).

While he was there, I did some improvised grading of the property. I basically walked around the backyard. I envisioned how the water flowed on my property and how it should flow and directed him accordingly. I think it went well. That was actually the fun part.

Removing the patio was a hassle.

One thing I do like about the patio is that the concrete is essentially a water proof drain that allows the water to flow off of it a well away from the house.

I can think of two more things that worry about regarding patios:
1) cracking: Is it possible to make a patio that is VERY unlikely to crack?
2) It might be tough to get the concrete around to my backyard which would make it more expensive for labor.

As it stands, it's depressing to look out on my dirt backyard lawn. It looks like a construction site.

I like low maintenance, though. That's a big deal.

In many situations I like the look of a patio better. You can integrate it into the landscape better. If getting wheel barrows to your backyard is difficult, it will be just as difficult to drop a load of lumber back there.

Getting a patio not to crack is based upon a few variables that any good mason can help you with. Are pavers an option for you?

If you are wanting the concrete for the water proofing, and you don't want it to crack, then you might want to do concrete topped with pavers with sand brushed in or something. Concrete is going to crack, but you have expansion joints in order to hopefully control the cracking to just those joints, and if they do get out of the joints, then hopefully the next joint will gain control of it again. You can have plastic and rebar added to help with the cracking, but there are no absolutes in dealing with concrete.