For the past several years, we have had an indoor heated inground pool. (Some of you may call yours a bathtub.) This pool has been awesome and has provided endless hours of entertainment to our two boys. As we consider moving to another house, we are contemplating also getting an outside pool, but not of the bathtub type. We are over bathtub swimming pools, my friends. Our sons are also getting rather large.
"Mom? Can we go swimming?"
"Sure, but only one at a time! You're 15 now and only one pair of flippers are going to fit inside that bathtub. You can swim for five minutes and then your brother can swim for five minutes. Take turns! AND PUT ON SOME SUNSCREEN! Remember, the pool is right by the window."
That would kind of be a lame scene, right?
We don't want to put an outdoor inground pool into our new-to-us house, so we are considering buying a house with an inground pool already.
But, we are not sure.
There are many cons to an inground pool, of course. Things like cost, upkeep, water accidentally getting into our noses, swimmer's ear, ducks acting like they own the place, danger and the possibility of being thrown into it and having my hurrr all messed up at a future party.
But, there are many positives, too.
Not that I would really know. I've never had an inground pool in my backyard.
The aboveground? Well, that's something else.
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I was allllll about the aboveground back in the 1980s. My dad had some of his work friends come over and they built this pretty little deck around the outside of it. We even had the sign, "Welcome to our _ool, we like to keep the P out of it." Hee. Hee. HEE. Seriously, though, if you told me anyone had it better, I would've laughed in your face.
(Sort of like this: "HAHAHAHA!!", except it would have been in a higher pitch because my vocal cords were smaller. It would have also been aimed at your mid-torso more than your face since I was a bit shorter back then.)
My aboveground circular pool was LEGIT. Here are some things my sister, my cousin and I liked playing in it:
#1 WHIRLPOOL: My dad would jog around the outer edge of it, which would create a whirlpool. My sister, cousin and I would then get into the current, float, yell "FASTER! FASTER!!" and enjoy the fruit of my dad's labor, as we were often known to do.
#2 NAIR COMMERCIAL: This was one of our favorite things to do. We would sit on the outer edge of the pool with our backs facing the water, cross our legs, point our toes and sing, "We wear short-shorts! If you dare wear short-shorts, Nair for short-shorts!" and then one by one, fall into the water. If you didn't know better, you might think we were professional synchronized swimmers having some fun on the side of the pool.
#3 SHARK ENCOUNTERS: Okay, it's time you all know about my dream job. I want to be a tour guide when I grow up. At this point, I actually want to be a docent and give tours of historic homes downtown. I don't really have time for that sort of thing right now, but one day I sure will. Anyway, one summer we went to Sea World and walked through the "Shark Encounters" exhibit. I loved the cadence with which the tour guides spoke and was in awe at all the facts they were able to spout off. So, in our legit aboveground pool, I pretended I was the "Shark Encounters" tour guide. So. Much. Fun.
#4 TEA PARTY: This one took exceptional skill. I think most girls played tea party at the bottoms of pools. Am I wrong here? We would do our best to sit Indian style (no such thing as "criss-cross applesauce" back then, you hear me?) on the bottom of the pool long enough to drink some tea, eat some cake and laugh at a joke or two before we had to come back to the top for air. These were the days where we wish we had gills. Fish could play tea party all day long, except they'd have some trouble with sitting and using tea cups.
#5 MERMAIDS: Of course, we played mermaids, except we kept our tops on. Well, except for that one time when we went skinny dipping. We were probably 8, 7 and 4. Have you ever seen a mermaid in a bathing suit? No, ma'am, you haven't.
My sons are all about the aboveground pool now. Our neighbors have a small one they bought just for the summer and my sons think they're practically in the Bahamas when they get a chance to swim in it.
Bringing back these memories makes me realize how much fun having a pool can be, but I know that it can be a pain, too. And expensive.
But, Texas is hot, y'all. REAL hot. A pool would be so refreshing...
So, tell me, if you have a pool, do you love it? Do you use it a lot? Do you wish you didn't have one anymore?
If you don't have one and it was feasible to get one, would you want one or are you happy just using public pools, friends' pools, etc.?
I'd love to hear your perspective.
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28 comments:
I don't have a legit outside pool, but I really wish we did. The little plastic baby pool doesn't quite cut it. Plus the diva gets all mad when I climb in and all the water gushes out. :p
Oh and YES! Tea party sitting Indian style. Criss cross applesauce did not exist and frankly makes NO sense.
I say get a pool!
Hee Hee: LEGIT! :)
I would vote for pool! My cousins lived in an apartment complex with a pool when we were growing up, and that is where we spent our summer days. We thought it was so RAD! :)
We bought a house with an inground pool w/diving board. Out agent said that once we had a pool we'd never want to be without one. I thought that was sort of elitist, but now that we've been here four years, I can honestly say that I won't live without a pool. We're in Oklahoma, so our summers do get hot. My girls (10 & 8) Lucien the pool from may - September. I like that we have an instant party place for any occasion or we have a quiet, relaxing get away right outside our bedroom door. Our agent did say to buy with a pool ( as opposed to putting one in yourself) because you'll never get your money back out of it. Ps- I don't maintain it; hubby does. Once it gets open for the season, it's not bad. Opening & closing, though, is a booger.
That's a pretty fancy looking above-ground pool there! ha! Who cares about hurr, it's HOT here!!!
Hey Girl! You have to get a pool!!! I promise it is the best money you will ever spend. It is worth every dime. I was just telling Traci I think it is the best investment Danny and I have ever made. We love it!!!! I think it has actually saved us money because it keeps me out of the malls on weekends. Get it girl!!!!!! : )
Love ya! Misty : )
We have a country in ground pool, also called a creek. It's been nice, but apparently a medium-ish alligator has taken up residence in it, so no swimming in it for us this summer~
Inground plaster pools are pretty expensive to install but return barely 25% when you sell the house. With that said, pools for kids & early teens are FANTASTIC - after that just a money pit for maintenance. SO my verdict is buy a really NICE above ground pool and enjoy it while you need it. They are not as pretentious and look more temporary but WHO CARES because they work great, cost 10% of an in-ground model and you can get rid of them when you're brood is through-d! BTW, got the book and gave it my cousin's kids - THEY LOVED IT - THANKS MUCHO!! W.C.C.
I live in an apartment building, and the facilities include a pool!! WIN!
We have an above ground pool. Love it! For all the same reasons you mentioned (I've been known to play tea party with the kids). I makes my life so much easier not having to haul the kids and their gear up to the public pool. When they have friends over, they're out by the pool, not running wild through the house. Best of all, we haven't sunk all the money into it that an in-ground requires.
i'm laughing... I remember the glory of the 70's above ground pool...
When we purchased this house 7 years ago, I had a 3 yr old, a 10 months old and was pregnant. I didn't care about having a pool..I had grown up with one, no biggie. My husband wanted one.
I recieved the best advice ever from an old friend.. He said "if you EVER want to see your kids from age 8 on.. you better have a pool... otherwise they will never be home."
He was so right. I will say our pool is the best part of our house. (granted, we live in Florida so it gets a ton of use)... as as the kids have gotten older..it is the BEST BABYSITTER.... I throw them in the pool, and am free to clean the house, cook dinner, watch TV, or lay on the couch totally uninterrupted.
Do it! It is expensive and a pain in the ass and totally worth it!!
My neighbor has a pool that has yearly problems with the liner due to ground sinking.
Dude! I want a pool in our backyard SO badly but apparently since we live in the woods and our yard is all hills, my husband says it will not work. I say, whatever, can't we just jack up one side and put a lid on it?
We have one. The house came with it, even though we weren't looking for a house with a pool. But this was BK (Before Kids). Now, pool is a godsend. A very freaking expensive one. Resurfacing? New deck? Yikes. But it's Florida...you have to have a pool, right?
Now that your kids are bigger, I say go for the pool! I'd love one, but I'm teeeeeerified of the babies waddling in when I'm not around, so that'll be a no-go for the next few, eighteen, thirty years??
We had an above ground pool growing up, and it, too, was the love of my life. My sister's and I spent the whole summer swimming, and playing millions of different games, like who could swim back and forth on one breath, or who can silently sneak out during Marco Polo. I would love an above ground pool, and we actually priced them out last year. We tried to find a house that already had a pool when we were looking, but up here they aren't too common (although, at one point we were thinking of moving to Texas and what sold me was that every dang house had an inground pool!). We would get the above ground, just bc we don't have an extra like 30 grand laying around for an inground one, though that would be my dream. If I were you, I would 100% get a pool. Quite frankly, I might stop reading this blog if you choose a house without one.
We are a family of fish. I would love love love to have our own in ground pool, but I'd settle for a decent sized, deck built around it above ground.
As it is now, we either pay a hefty price every summer for the use of the neighborhood pool,which closes at 9pm (boo) and is only open until Labor Day. We all know it is balls hot still in GA after Labor Day. I don't feel I get all my monies worth and it peeves me. OR we bum off a family member who is a good 45 minutes away and who knows we are only coming over for the pool time.
sigh.
If there is water and I can get into that water. Then I am a fan of whatever it is that is manipulating the water, allowing me to get into it.
We have owned 3 different homes with inground pools, and I loved them. When the boys were young, I always knew where they were in the summer, because we had the best back yard. As teens, their friends came to our house, so I knew who they were hanging with and what they were doing. Now that I'm approaching 70 and Mr. Eva is 72, we no longer have a pool, but I still miss it! I think they are the best entertainment for a family.
No advice. But you took me back to the days of being a kid going to the pool in my neighborhood every day and playing "tea party" on the bottom of the pool with my girlfriends.
I had an inground pool growing up and LOVED it. BEST THING EVER.
My cousins had an above-ground pool and I thought it was very restrictive as you can't really dive (too shallow) and only have one level of water.
Also, I used to work for a pool company, mainly in the inground pool installation department. Just to install your basic, although good quality, smaller rectangle-shaped inground pool it'll cost a minimum of $30 000 (Canadian, 'cause I kinda live in Canada).
However, an above-ground, depending on the size and model, will range anywhere from $7 000 to $15 000. Your heating cost will be a lot less (you might not even need to have a heater in Texas if you have a good solar blanket...) and so will your operation costs.
Personally, we've disassembled our above-ground pool because I personally dislike them and find them too much trouble for the little enjoyment we get out of them (I'm an avid swimmer and if I have a swimming pool, I want to be able to do laps and have a shallow and deep end - they let you play a lot more different games too! Or else it's just a tease, an expensive tease...).
So the point of this stupid long-ass comment was to give you context to my actual advice/opinion: buy a house with an existing in-ground pool. Putting one in is waaaay too expensive (and messy...) and above-ground pools are just not my thing.
Good house hunting!
OMgggg,
I Love that bad boy of a swimming pool. I really want that...
Xx Kisses for you.
we put in our in ground pool 3 years ago. It is a lot of fun...for everyone else. For me, it is work. I am the sunscreen applier, lifeguard, swim instructor, juice go getter, pee pee taker...etc. But my kids are all under 5 so I'm sure I will enjoy it better in several more years. But go for it! We spend pretty much our whole weekend in it.
Setting up an in-ground pool can be quite expensive and tiresome. So, it is highly recommended that you buy a house with it already. It can be good for the kids, too.
My poor homeschooled kids have NO clue what criss cross applesauce (or Indian style, for that matter) is. Am I scarring them for life?
We had an above ground pool when I was a kid and I think we played all of the same games. Except my plans for a future as a tour guide were inspired by Jaws 3 and not a trip to Sea World.
Now, we've got an above ground pool that hasn't been up for the past three summers. And I'm kinda hoping it's not up this summer either because I don't have to worry about the boys slipping out past me and drowning in it. To keep my pace of mind, I'm willing to drive them to the river every other day and leave the dangers behind when we head home.
In the past I’ve had a few less than acceptable maintenance services for my pool. A few months ago, a friend suggested I try Miami Pool Tech in South FL. I did, and I’m happy to say that their services are excellent. They were professional, friendly, and very responsive to all my concerns and questions. If you’re looking for a great pool maintenance service, check them out at www.miamipooltech.com
LOL! Nice one! Well said! xoxo ^_^
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Have to be careful next time. My kids always has these vest even if they are only going to a public pool.
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