Swimming Pools: Pro or Con?
I think it’s weird to have a swimming pool in Boston. I mean, you really only get a handful of days you can use it.
A neighbor of mine has a big fancy, in-ground one. I’ve never been invited but I can see it through the fence. I rarely see or hear them in it. As far as I can tell, it’s the only pool in the whole neighborhood.
For those of you who have pools or wish for a pool, here is some information.
In 2005, 219,000 above-ground pools were sold, bringing the total number of them in the country to 3.6 million. About 3.4 million above-ground pools were scattered throughout the country in 2002.
Personally, doing pool maintenance would drive me nuts. I would never buy a home that had a pool in the backyard. Maybe only if I were going to live in Florida or some other really hot place. And maybe not even then.
Do you have a pool? Does it get used much? Do you consider it an asset? (Realtors say it can be a negative factor when it comes to selling your house.)
July 16th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Actually a pool can be a selling point in SE Florida. We just moved here and it was a requirement for us Want to see it…. Look here. http://hereslucy.squarespace.com/journal/2007/3/18/ready-to-go.html
Course i don’t do bathing suits anymore. So it’s a bit of a problem.
July 16th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
I really don’t want a pool, ever, in my backyard etc. I have horrific fears about the kids sleep-walking and drowning or something. If it were just my husband and I, I’d more likely want a pool. The kids know how to swim well enough, but it still makes me paranoid.
There is the whole, maintenance thing as well. Algae and what not. BLEH.
July 16th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
I used to have a pool when I lived in Brisbane, Australia. In that heat, it was a must, but trying to keep it from going green was an absolute nightmare! Here in the UK, no one has there own pool (unless extremely rich, then you do and it’s indoors).
July 16th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
We had a pool when I was a growing up in New Jersey, and I loved it. I was out there pretty much all day every day during the summer. Obviously I didn’t have to deal with the maintenance and, as a kid, had plenty of free time during prime pool time, but I still miss having it and would love to have one of my own now.
Nowadays during the summer I take every chance I can to go down to my friend’s parents’ home in White Plains to take advantage of their pool. If I had one of my own here in Boston I would definitely be in it all the time. Nothing’s quite as relaxing. Hell, if I could find a waterproof laptop, I’d never get out of it.
July 16th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
Pools are nice, but unless you are in a climate that can be used year around, I don’t think it is worth the cost and hassle.
July 16th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
Although we live in Florida we have no desire to have a pool in our backyard…there are times when it would be easier than going to the community pools in the area…but our daughter gets to play with more kids there than we would be comfortable with having at a pool at our home
…she’s a tweenager so that should explain that 
..plus it is an unbelievable amount of upkeep…and we already have that battle going on with trying to maintain a lawn here in the sunshine state 
July 16th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Okay…who put all the smiley faces on my comment????? Just kidding….I must have gotten a little keyboard happy. Sorry.
July 16th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
You need to get to one of Boston’s more rural neighborhoods, like Roslindale or Hyde Park.
I’m one of those oddball Bostonians with a pool. Above-ground, came with the house, installed by insane people who never bothered to think whether all those 100-year-old trees would a) prevent the pool from ever getting warm, b) make half the pool inacessible to people who prefer not to get bonked on the head by falling acorns.
So yeah, it’s a lot of work, but there’s a certain Zen-like state you go into as you skim out the leaves (and, in the spring, the odd bloated dead squirrel that you fling as fast and as far as you can into the woods out back) and vacuum the bottom. But it’s fun to see the kidlet playing in it, and it’s hard to beat freezing cold water for cooling you down after you’ve spent the morning clearing away all the dead grass to give your weeds more breathing room.
There’s another aboveground pool on our block, and a few blocks away there’s somebody with this humongous inground pool.
July 16th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
I live in Michigan and there are a lot of pools in my neighborhood! Unbelievable huh? But most of the houses are on minimum acre lot so the homes that do have pools tend to be those with kids. Personally I would never have one here. A warmer state…yes but not this far north.
July 16th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
Lucy: Damn, that’s one fine pool!
24: The maintenance would be a drag.
Vi: I figured the UK was similar to Boston.
Josh: You could go to a health club or a Y.
Larry: I agree.
Danielle: I think all those smiley faces stand for “sunshine” state.
Adam: I guess I need to get out more. I didn’t think any parts of Boston had a lot of backyard pools.
Elaine: Michigan!? Weird.
July 16th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
first off, thanks for visiting my blog! I love finding new blogs to read.
Now,…yes, we do have a pool. It’s an above-ground. does it have water in it? no. does it have a li ner in it? again, that answer would be no. Then why do we have a pool? I have asked my husband that very same question so many times! I want to take it down, but every summer…EVERY SUMMER, he says he’s going to get it up and running. Never happens.
I live in Ohio. You wouldn’t think I’d get much use out of a pool, but it has been very hot here lately. Who woulda thunk it!
July 16th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
We had pools in our last two houses before the one we have now in Florida. I virtually never used them. They take electricty, they take maintenance, we paid a guy, and we were always gone about 4 months a year. So, we were undecided when we built our current home–but decided not to build one. We didn’t care about the alleged resale advantage. But, there’s a better story here.
We went to the homebuilders “approved” pool guy. We didn’t “have” to use him, but obviously the builder wanted us to. He drew up a plan, which was overpriced (let’s not forget that kickback to the builder), and kind of blah (but he insisted we had to evaluate it at his place of business, he did not want us shopping his plan around–as if!). But that ain’t the story. So we’re talking to the guy, and it was a big time of maybe we are gonna attack Saddam. He says Saddam had actually done a lot for Iraq, much like Hitler before about 1939!!!!!!! Well, I guess he didn’t remember the “Nuremburg Laws” of 1935 which made it legal for people to discriminate against Jews, and did lots of other nasty stuff as a preparatory action for the later mass murders. Anyway, what Mr. Pool Guy failed to know (because he was too stupid, doubtless, to know you don’t say certain things if you don’t know) was that one of us was Jewish. So screw him. We did flirt with a couple other guys, but then decided to save the tens of thousands of dollars, and mucho expenso until the end of time, and have no pool.
July 16th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
I do not have a pool here in PA, but for a couple of years of my childhood in southern CA, we lived in a house w/ an in-ground pool and I loved it.
However, it was a lot of work for my parents, to be sure. Quite a few people around here (in PA) have them and they do look mighty appealing, but swim season is very limited here and I wouldn’t want the bother.
July 16th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
Beth: That sounds just like the treatment my pool would get, if I had one.
Gerry: I once had a cab driver in Chicago who started in about the Jews and didn’t even think that his two passengers were Jewish. We didn’t jump out in the middle of the ride. We waited until the cab stopped.
Actonbell: You have the same swim season as us.
July 16th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
Even though I live a block from the beach, I almost bought a 8ft X 3ft kiddie pool for my backyard today. Sometimes you just wanna float in cool, clear, clean white water. Know what I mean?
July 16th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
Boomie: I think a kiddie pool would be just about the right speed. Do it.
July 16th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
I can see how having a pool would hinder the sale of a house. How many people really want a house with a pool they are unfamiliar with, and so much added expense.
July 16th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
My suburban Boston neighborhood is primarily pool free. There is one house in the neighborhood with an in-ground pool, but as far as I know that’s it.
I love swimming – pools or freshwater lakes. The ocean is okay, but only for brief periods. My wife grew up with an in-ground pool in her backyard in Southern Illinois which was her parent’s alternative to having a house on a lake. She has stated that if I ever convince her to put in a pool, which is unlikely, I will be responsible for all maintenance because she has done her time. I’m not eager to take on that responsibility.
July 16th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
I feel the same way…with the ocean all around. You’d be surprised at how many people I noticed had pools when I was flying over the city.
July 17th, 2007 at 12:06 am
Hmmm….no thanks! Most pools I can’t even bring myself to go into because I imagine everyone having peed in it before I go in. LOL.
If it were my own, that’d be a different story but, like you said, for a handful of days, I doubt it’d be worth it. In my book, it’s more of a ‘keeping up with the Jones’es’ type of statement anyway….
Now if you were talking about a hot tub, I’d be all over that idea. (grin)
July 17th, 2007 at 8:53 am
WE have a pool and some summers – like this one – we think about filling it in! It was put in by the rpevious owners for his health’s sake. He had a bad hip and swimming was good for it.
When the children were all here it was used a lot and earned its keep. It’s still nice to cool off in and sit by.
July 17th, 2007 at 9:05 am
I would definitely have a built-in if there wasn’t so much ledge on my property. It would be heated to prolong the Southern New England season. Swimming is one of the best exercises for a body – healthy or challenged.
July 17th, 2007 at 10:02 am
I don’t know what I’d do without my pool. Of course, I live in the South and it’s too hot to do anything other than float.
July 17th, 2007 at 11:27 am
We have an in-ground pool that came with the house. I thought it would be great for the kids that we planned to have. Now that we have one (a child), all I do is worry about how she could fall in. It is a heck of a lot of work, and fortunately for me, my husband does it. We rarely use it. My daughter and I will sit on the steps and splash for the most part. Otherwise, our company swims in it during my daughter’s birthday parties and for the fourth of July. The worst part was that everything was wearing out just as we bought the house, so we have spent a lot of money on liners, pumps, a heater, etc. Not sure if I would do it again.
July 17th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
Mist: It’s OK. You need it.
Midlife: So, you inherited that headache.
July 17th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Forget a pool! I want a condo on the beach at Sanibel Island! When I dream — I dream.
July 17th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
I hear Sanibel is really nice.
July 17th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
When we moved to Arizona (108*right now) from northern California, we considered either a house with a pool or adding one to the house we bought. In the end, we considered the cost of maintenence and the possible liability factors, and moved to an age-restricted community with several community pools. We’re happy with our choice.
July 17th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
The best thing is to live next door to a friendly neighbor who has a pool. Bring a bottle over occasionally. Bring in the newspaper for him when he’s out of town. He does the maintenance and you’re the honored guest….
July 17th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
When I was much younger in East Hartford, CT in the late 60’s we had a pool and since I was one of seven, the pool was pretty full most of the time. My dad lived in the back yard when not at work, and mom prepared plenty of food to be grilled. It was the best, but as the oldest son, I had to maintain the pool, chlorinate, test, vacuum and filter clean the thing. Overall, it was fun!
July 17th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
My wife was reading this post and got curious where the pool in our neighborhood was which led to “fun with Google maps”. We fired up maps.google.com and chose the hybrid option. Turns out there are 14 pools in our neighborhood of about 200 houses.
July 18th, 2007 at 8:22 am
Ralph: You have a great attitude about pool-cleaning.
Chelle: This is a cool idea. I didn’t know you could do a search like this. Wow.
July 18th, 2007 at 9:56 am
We’ve seriously considered a pool, but we have a Lab who loves to swim, too. This summer hasn’t been that hot here in our neck of the woods in the south. Lots of rain which makes it difficult from what I understand to keep the water clear. Our neighbors haven’t been able to really enjoy their pool this year because of the rain.
The kiddie pool idea sounds good. Less expense, less maintenance, but still something to dip in and cool off when you want.
July 19th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Arizona: pool = necessity.
Though, I have to tell you, I went swimming yesterday and I think my it’s hotter than our water in the house.
Weird!