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[Skullsploder]

I am actually playing an above ground fort at the moment, purely by accident. I embarked above an aquifer near a necrotower and focussed on throwing a wall up and putting a roof over that just in case of a second season siege, and my population grew so quickly that I ended up deciding piercing the aquifer wasn't worth the effort until things were stabilised. I have to say, above ground forts, while more difficult, are way more fun. At the time of my last save, I have 60 dwarves milling around behind the locked gates of my 3 storey little wooden keep, hoping the food doesn't run out before the undead stop milling around outside. The whole "to the keep!" Business is much more fun than sealing the gates and letting life continue as normal underground

[Goblins]

I am actually playing an above ground fort at the moment, purely by accident. I embarked above an aquifer near a necrotower and focussed on throwing a wall up and putting a roof over that just in case of a second season siege, and my population grew so quickly that I ended up deciding piercing the aquifer wasn't worth the effort until things were stabilised. I have to say, above ground forts, while more difficult, are way more fun. At the time of my last save, I have 60 dwarves milling around behind the locked gates of my 3 storey little wooden keep, hoping the food doesn't run out before the undead stop milling around outside. The whole "to the keep!" Business is much more fun than sealing the gates and letting life continue as normal underground

You make me want to do what you're doing very badly.  My next settlement will be above ground only!  A worthy challenge!  Of course, after I brave this [TERRIFYING] biome.

[utunnels]

I have tried several aboveground forts.
But the way I build structures makes them look exactly like underground forts.
That is, big walls, roofs, bridges and hatches. The only difference is I can plant aboveground crops instead of plump helmets.

[Pirate Santa]

I would like to try another aboveground fort, my first ever attempt was immediately after the thought rewrite, when stress was still buggy as hell. I was losing 10% of dwarves at any given time to tantrums/depression/obliviousness thanks partly to my difficulty in producing proper rooms quickly enough but mostly it was due to vengeful thoughts directed at damned keas. 

[CyberianK]

I had a big wooden surface Keep in all my games so far.

Main reason is that I don't embark with pickaxes but with coal and copper instead. Because of that I build my first Forge, Smelter and Carpenter above ground. And even later when I move the metal industry below I usually have so much infrastructure above still that I don't want to migrate everything. Multiple Carpenters plus Crafter (Bone/Wood), Butcher, Bowman as well as Corpse and Refuse stockpiles is what I usually have there.

I find building a small wooden structure very easy especially when you cut wood so the building material is right where it is needed. And wood walls/floors can't be destroyed nor burned so they have no disadvantage versus stone ones. Same for wooden bridges. Later when I make the keep higher and also build floors against flying attackers I place temporary Carpenters in all Corners where material is needed and build Blocks there to reduce longer walks for cutting wood which might be dangerous.

I think it really depends on the embark though. I rarely get attacked at all in the first two years. When I did, traps + war dogs could handle it. One Carpenter builds nothing but Cages and Corkscrews. Early the Traps cannot be very wisely placed so I only have a few around the entrances instead of complex tunnels but I embark with 8 female + 2 male dogs which helps.
I think that it really depends on the Embark though. In my wilderness embarks I had absolutely no problems at all by the time the goblins came I had 2z wall plus fortifications plus moat and bridges.
In another Savage game though I had 2 deaths due to werebeasts, one werehyena even made it below and killed 4 dogs in addition to one dwarf. I learned from that game though and now quickly get marksmen going. I think in an evil embark or near a twoer it could get very hard if you get attacked year one by a significant force.

One important tip for peoples who start outside business and never had much before: take care with trees inside your aboveground fort. If you digged the soil below and later cut a tree it will make a hole there that you have to floor later. Sometimes that is not so bad and I channel parts anyway to get a few farms for outside crops on the first z level and also light against cave adaption. But you have to be careful with parts where you later want to build above ground walls because you can't do that on constructed floors. So cut the trees early and then make a giant stockpile or build other buildings where you also have dug a level below. I usually cover my yet unbilt area with Refuse and Corpse stockpiles so no trees grow there.

[Nikow]

But you have to be careful with parts where you later want to build above ground walls because you can't do that on constructed floors.

Just a small tip for new ones, you can still perfectly fine (be carefull for cave ins!) deconstruct those floors and build there wall just fine.