Do you own a house with a pool?
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Anonymous
| We passed on our dream house in Oakton because it had a pool. It was just something we didn't want to deal with, mostly safey issues, cost of installing a proper gated fence, upkeep...kids our 2, 3 and 5...so maybe in a different phase of life...we started running numbers of cost to fill it with concrete and make a patio and finally realized we needed to walk away.... |
Anonymous
Yup. $40k is the going basic pool rate around here. We were quoted $120k for a pool/full patio/stonework/landscaping in our backyard...we laughed at the guy. |
Anonymous
Hmm. We have a pool along with almost every house in the neighborhood. DD's preschool community is much broader so many of her playdates don't have pools at home. I always make it a point to tell the other mother that we have a pool. I will ask whether she is comfortable with her child going into the pool. I am always in the water with them. I make it a point to say that I also am outside with the girls in the backyard at any time or would be fine keeping them inside if she had concerns. No one has ever had a concern. In fact, I have been very surprised at how many moms have no problem with their kid going into the pool even though their kid has only been in the water once or twice before. |
Anonymous
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So many darn kill-joys here. If you can afford it, get a pool, make sure it's fenced, teach your kids to swim and supervise the hell out of them. But then I'm one of those strange eccentric moms who believe that trampolines are cool (we have one), the odd dose of fast food will not going to turn baby into a fatty, and, once a week, teaching to jelly snakes to swim in the bath before being eaten is good for a laugh. We grew up in a lovely place with a pool and it didn't draw kids there. What did draw kids there was that my mom was always welcoming and inclusive (in a slightly matriarchal way), always had extra food for dinner for hangers-on (when we were older), listened without judging, stuck to her rules and was wonderfully empathetic. And she never tried to be our age or our friend - I mean that in the nicest possible way. Lots of my friends still visit her and my dad when they are around because my parents were so much part of the fabric of their adolescent lives.
I guess what I'm saying is that the pool is unlikely to be the attraction. It's your family that will define whether people want to be in your space. You cannot buy or create the spirit of inclusion - it's you that matter. And to the complete COW who would never let her child go on a play-date to a place with a pool. I hope she is saving for therapy as we speak. |
Anonymous
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When I was a kid we loved going to our friend's houses with pools. Even better if the parents weren't home. In high school the best parties were pool/keg parties. And these were good families with nice kids, but teenagers are stupid. We would even climb the fence and go to our friends' pools when the entire family was out of town. Fortunately nothing bad ever happened but I wouldn't want to even worry about the safety and liability issues. I think I recall reading in Freakinomics that many many more kids die in backyard pools each year than from guns.
If I lived in a hot-weather climate it might be more attractive, but the worry for me is not worth a few months a year of enjoyment. Keep in mind it costs a TON to heat the pool. I mean, a crazy amount. |
Anonymous
I wouldn't buy a house with a pool either and have heard from a realtor friend that pools reduce the property value in this area. It's one thing if you're living somewhere like FL, where you can use the pool most of the year. Up here, you only get about 3 month's use and you have the maintence and liability issues to deal with year round. Not worth it IMO. |
Anonymous
Not the person who posted this, but my guess is that the person who did is thinking that even after the daughter learns to swim, she can't be relied onto follow the rules about safe pool use even away from home. |
Anonymous
| Only 3 months use? Really? I grew up in an area where the summers were shorter than around here, and we'd go swimming May 15 to September 15, easy (4 months). With some extra days in April and September if it was sunny and in the 80s. Here, I've always wondered why community/apartment pool season was so short (Memorial Day to Labor Day), when it seems like that shuts out two dozen or more "pool days" on either side -- I always figured it was because of limited lifeguard availability and liability rules, not because people were afraid of a little cold water. |
Anonymous
| We are currently renting a house with a pool. I'm glad we are trying it out as I don't think I wAnt a pool when we purchase a house. My kids are under 5 and under and although my oldest is a good swimmer, you have to constantly be vigilant. Also the maintenance is a pain. The chemicals are expensive along with keeping the pool cleaI will be happy to join a pool club once we move. I think our kids will enjoy hanging out with friends as well as the swim team. |
Anonymous
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We belong to a pool club which is really, really great. A friend in the neighborhood has a pool
And also joins the club( double cost) because of swim team and the social aspect of a community pool. However, our pool club has a crazy waitlist which seems to happen with the bigger pools with snackbars, etc. |
Anonymous
I'm in Leesburg. We got an estimate from NVblue for a gunite pool: Dimensions of Pool: Width 20’-0” and Length 42’-0” Area: 840 sq. ft. Shape of Pool: Rectangle Depth: 3’-6” to 8’-6” The estimate included fencing around the pool, an automatic cover, salt water system.....it was just over $100K, which I thought was a bit excessive. |
Anonymous
In the DC area? |
Anonymous
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We have a pool and so multiple of our neighbors (MoCo) and we love it. Our children are 6 and 4 yrs old and both knew how to swim within the first year of owning the pool.
If you buy a house with the pool, the previous owners should already had a private fence around it. If not, the fence is required by most insurance companies. The chemicals aren't that expensive except for opening/closing the pool. We pay someone to open/close it and it cost about $500. There is obviously the cost if something breaks, but that's the case with home ownership. Most of our friends belong to a neighborhood pool and I do not envy the charge as well as packing up to/from the pool. I am able to go to the pool for an hour or half or 5 min to cool off. It's my choice and I don't have to drag the entire house with me. |
Anonymous
Ditto and my kids are the same ages. My kids go to bed so easily and sleep so well if they go swimming for an hour right before dinner. There is no way that I would have time to pack them up and go to the neighborhood pool unless I lived right across the street. The chlorine levels need to be much, much higher in public pools. You can swim everyday in your home pool without the chemicals being as harsh. We can also heat ours which would be pricey to do often but is nice as it gets cooler. |
Anonymous
| 16:58 here: We use the pool from May to late Sep/early Oct - a lot longer than 3 months. We also have a heater which is not needed in DC's hot weather. |