Does anyone NOT like their pool? (Christmas: HOA, home owners insurance, how much)

[Cigarboo]

I'm trying to decide whether to put in a pool or not. I know this seems silly because after all, this is the sunshine state.

But I'm just thinking about all the maintenance and costs associated with a pool. We had one in our first home in the NE and swore we would never buy another home with a pool, but now we're talking hot and humid Florida.

I think the kids would enjoy it, but do kids get bored of the same little pool as they get older? I'm thinking about the playground we bought that they never use. Somehow, it seemed like a great idea at the time, but they really rather go to the park which has a much bigger playground. So I'm thinking, would it not be more fun for the kids to just go to the water parks with all the fancy water features or the beach instead of a backyard pool?

I myself am not a swimmer. Really, I have to say I couldn't be bothered because taking a dip means showering and cleaning up right after which is sort of a long ritual for me. And what happens when the kids go off to college? If I'm not a pool person, it just seems to be a lot of work for no reason. If we go traveling for months, the pool would be a hassle as it constantly needs to be maintained.

But when I look at the pictures of pool homes, I'm like WOW, isn't that nice. It's so tempting. So do pools really get that much use? How about when there's no kids or the kids have moved out?

Thanks!

[tiggergolf3]

We have three kids and we moved from up north. We LOVE our pool, especially in the summer. The kids use it 5/7 days a week. We rarely use the large HOA pool; much easier to stay home and not lug all the stuff there. I'm so glad we bought a house with a pool. We always said if we had bought a house without a pool, we never would have spent the extra 30K to add a pool.

Negatives:

Wet floors in the house (when we have company who don't abide by our rules/standards).

LOTS of pool towel laundry.

Some maintainence (probably 30 minutes a week).

Cost really doesn't seem to be that much. We use solar heat. Kids even same some days over Christmas break last winter.

[annerk]

We thought long and hard about it and ultimately decided not to put in a pool They are a lot of work and expense that we just couldn't justify for the amount that we felt we'd be using it.

[Parrotrosie]

Cigarboo,....add a pool, with a jacuzzi for yourself....

My daughter is a fish, so we bought a house with a pool already. I hope she uses it more than the playground we put in for her here up north! (I know what you mean!!)

Curious to hear what others with pools and children are saying as well....

[salmanalk]

I have 2 boys, a 6 and 4 year old...they love nothing more than the pool and chicken nuggets I did not use it often due to the same ritual involved (the shower and everything) but have started to use it more since going back to biking. I am happy with it and glad I took my wife's advise in buying the home with the pool

[Brasstec]

Love our pool. Our son is grown and gone but there is nothing better than jumping in after yard work...a hot day at work or shopping, relaxing on a float or just a swim in the moonlight!

[miakelly]

We moved from NH last year.

We have two young girls and we LOVE, I mean LOVE LOVE LOVE our pool. I cannot imagine not having it. Our girls use it almost every day, sometimes more than once. We have a salt pool with a solar heater. My husband and I had never owned a pool in our life and it has been relatively easy to maintain. Right now, he takes a sample of water in each week to the local pool place and they check the water/ph etc. for free and tell us exactly what we need. Then he adds salt or cleans the cell or whatever. It is probably less than an hour a week of maintenance.

Our pool is screened in, which I think is very important for keeping things out (bugs, snakes, debris etc).

I have only positive things to say about having a pool. I have nothing negative, or no 'cons' about our pool. My girls absolutely love it and they have become very good swimmers and they are in it so much, it is good exercise for them. Another benefit is that it tires the kids out!

I do love to swim and so does my husband, so we are in the pool almost every day also.

As long as you are safe, it is great for kids. Even if you don't use it, the kids probably will.

[miakelly]

Also want to add, we too bought an expensive wood playground for the girls when we lived in NH. THAT was a poor investment in hindsight. They didn't use it nearly as much as I hoped and we did end up going to the park often. Luckily when we moved from Nh to Fl, we were able to sell the playground on craigslist for about half of what we bought it for.

In hindsight - I would NEVER have bought the playset. Sounds wonderful, but not worth the money and it rarely got used. On the other hand, buying a home with a pool has been a great decision and I highly recommend it.

Being from NH, I can certainly understand why you would not want to own a pool again but owning a pool in the Northeast is so different from owning one down here. We didn't own one, but family members did. NO ONE had a heated pool, most people had above ground pools and could only use them from late May to early September. Pools up north are lots of time, work and expense for the amount of time you get to enjoy them. My Grandmother had a beautiful in-ground pool in NH and actually had it filled in because she was sick of it - but it was so much work for 3 - 4 months out of the year so I understand.

Here, if you have a heater, you can use the pool almost year round. It truly is a totally different experience!

[GloryB]

I guess taking into consideration the increased home owners insurance cost...plus having to clean it....there is some dilemma. But having a pool to jump into any morning or night has got to be a wonderful option. I have two in the complex where I live, but that isn't the same as being able to enjoy one privately anytime you want to. I would GO FOR IT....if I were you!

[Cigarboo]

OK, so most people really like their pools. I guess this is just one of those things I'll be flip-flopping on for a long time. We'll see how we feel this summer. I think we'll definitely wait at least a year to see how much we really want one.