So it's easier to leave?
Generally I don't but I will go through spots so my car faces outward and I don't have to back out. Lots of people do not look when they back out or walk behind you, but that could be specific to here where they also do not use turn signals or generally seem to know how to drive or cross the street.

It's easier to maneuver in tight spaces when backing up.

It's safer to leave the space, and some companies require it for company cars. Some people call it fancy parking, which I find amusing. I currently drive a minivan, and don't even attempt it.

My reason is the same as mullaccs: I can turn the car in a much tighter circle if I drive backward. So if space is tight, as it often is in parking garages in the NL, I always drive backward into the spot.

Once you learn to adjust and use your mirrors, reverse is fairly easy and the accuracy is uncanny. Knowing when to stop is a bit of an art form, though.

I always pull through so I'm facing out or back in because my car is a little Honda and I can see more clearly to exit the space (especially when big SUVs park on each side).

Parking decks: only if I know I'll be in a hurry to GTFO, like at a baseball game or something. Or like jouke & mullac say, when space is tight.

I'm glad I learned to parallel park, too. I can do it pretty quickly if need be. Backed in, always.

I usually reverse into a space because I find it simpler, As others have said above, it's so much easier to get in and out of a space that way, particularly in the UK with our narrow parking spaces. The only place in the UK with big parking spaces seems to be Costco.

For me, backing in is on my "meh" list. I don't like the way it feels like overthinking. I do like backing - I prided myself on my backing abilities when I drove the giant, no-back-windows van at summer camp, between trees,in the dark, backward. But as for parking spaces, it just holds up everyone else in the row from going where they're going.

Pulling through is convenient and I sometimes do that, but I know that it's actually pretty dangerous - a very common cause of parking lot accidents, because someone turning into the space from the aisle can't see the person coming from the other side trying to pull through...until their bumpers have met.

I pull through (carefully) but am not a fan of backing in - I never thought about it offering more control.

I remember in driving class, where I could actually weave backwards through the cones - maybe I should practice that again now, 20 years later. ha.

Now I have something to think about while I'm waiting for the people to back into their spaces in my parking deck (other than "ugh! seriously?!").

Thanks!