Every Summer I just pray that my lawn will burn up and die! I hate yard work (so, of course, I bought 3/4 of an acre...momentary insanity).
I rejected at 2500 sq ft house on 17 acres in favor of a 3900 sq ft on 1/3 acre. The principal reason was poor network connectivity due to slightly more rural location. The 1/3 acre is plenty of lawn to mow. My 2nd house is 2068 sq ft on 1/4 acre. The two places were eating 4 hours out of every weekend from May to September. I look forward to Winter. No mowing when covered with snow. No expensive watering either. My son lives in house #2 and cares for the lawn work. My workload is cut in half. I use a self-propelled, walk behind Honda mower with big rear chute that can handle the thick, wet grass. It rains so regularly from April to July that the grass is never dry and always clogs to bagging chute very quickly.
My pack of 8 dogs ensures that plenty of holes are available to break an ankle or capture the lawn mower. It's so much better when covered with snow. The big 80 lb chocolate lab puts her head down in the snow and shoots a rooster tail of snow like a big snow plow. Fun to watch and she enjoys it.