I think it depends on the town. Paths are good when you're trying to avoid villagers moving onto certain areas, help make a clear way to things in your town, and look cute. Paths are great if you're trying to go for a certain theme in your town. They look pretty with almost anything lined up with them.
On the other hand, natural paths can look pretty when the town has a relaxed vibe, is foresty/rustic, and can look amazing with the four leaf clovers. However it is a pain to maintain (unless you can hack), you spend more time looking for the daily fossils and gem, and if your town isn't nearly complete, it can look very disorganized.
It all depends on what you'd like to do with your town tbh! You do you!
I use paths because I think paths help to make it easier to identify what theme i'm going for, even if it's just a natural forest town. I think they make the town look more prettier too, even though I do like dirt paths. I'd experiment with some dirt paths myself, since I think they're pretty neat but it's way too much work for me to maintain them.
i used to but my town layout is horrendous and i have a lot of ponds so it never looks right . n i'm a perfectionist so it just never works for me!! i'm never satisfied when i put down paths . clearing out my entirely path filled town was the best thing i ever did
Yes. I have paths in my town. The main reason why I use paths in my town is because I want to be able to place villagers where I want them to be. I had a bad experience when I had a town with no paths. Villagers kept moving next to my house. :T Having paths around also helps to cover some of the dead grass in my town. So... Putting paths in my town saved my Animal Crossing New Leaf experience.
No paths. The artist in me wants to be able to make my own designs even though I don't enjoy pixel art. I've only accepted two QR codes but they might not even stay. I want my town to feel like a small woodsy village that got taken over by strange mayor. It's like Hansel and Gretel but I'm not a creepy hag who eats kiddos.
I used to use paths back when the game first came out, but with my new town I'm not using them. I don't like decorating my town with paths & things, I like the natural look.
I had a little path going around my town a year ago, but it never could work (houses got in the way and I'm not entirely sure on what path I want to have) I am thinking of having a small path again, but to keep it like a forest, maybe a little path of petals or stone, something like that. I like a small path, so you can walk on it while admiring the forest around you~