Why do people use their garages as living rooms?

I don’t know if this practice is common all over, or just in Southern California.

My new next door neighbors, despite having both a living room, and a family room, use their garage as a living room. There are only the 2 of them living there. Tonight, and many other nights, they are out there in their garage making merry, usually with other friends of theirs. I wouldn’t care, except that it’s quite warm here, most of the time and I have my window open, so I can hear them, and they’re quite loud and boisterous.

In my friend’s neighborhood, lots of people seem to keep their garage doors open all day, and all night long, and use them as living rooms complete with couches, TV’s and loud beer drinking parties.

Until about 10 years ago, I had never seen anybody doing this. And now, I’m not sure why anyone would do this. In my neighborhood, every home has both a living room and a family room. It doesn’t make sense to use your garage as a living room.

I can’t vouch for my friend’s neighborhood, because they are in townhomes. My friend’s place is very generous in size, but at least a quarter of his neighbor’s spend every night with their families and friends, socializing (sometimes loudly) in their garages.

I just find it odd. Partly because they have rooms that are made for this purpose, and partly because their socialization sort of becomes public. I don’t necessarily want to see what strangers are doing. That’s why they have the privacy of their own homes, yet they aren’t using their own homes, and it isn’t private.

What are your thoughts?