We enjoy our lawn (crochet, bocce, volleyball, sitting in lawn chairs with feet in grass) and mow it at least weekly (more often in the spring) using a mulching rider set at 5 (3+ inches). We also have a compact battery mower (love it!) which is less noisy and easier to manipulate in the tight spaces. We also have large garden beds, which keeps it all in scale. We don't fertilize or poison or overseed the lawn, it is just pasture grass kept short. We let our fields grow till the grass starts heading out, then mow with a brushhog. I like the fields both long and short - our occasional mowing schedule keeps the noxious weeds (thistle, ragwort, blackberries) under control.
That said, if I lived on a smaller lot I would likely devote most of it to garden beds.
