I'll agree with everything except the quibble on what can hold up a porch vs. deck. Ours is large (12' x 10') and 3 floors up, made entirely of wood with nothing but posts/diagonal supports. We've got a Somerville porch. :)

My parent's flat brick patio in the back and concrete front porch (or stoop, because they both grew up in Queens), in contrast, fit those descriptors perfectly.