Would you rather have a pool in your backyard or a neighborhood pool?

[Alice]

I think it depends on the area of the country also. Around here swim teams are really big. Our summer revolves around swim team and it provides a huge social outlet for the whole family in addition to the exercise/sport aspect. We’ve belonged to the same pool for 9 years now and the people there have become good friends.

[melmichigan]

We belong to the local Y, they have an awesome aquatics program with a zero entry rec pool w/ lazy river and a full sized competition pool. We also belong to our city pool in the summer. A backyard pool would not be big enough to do much other than cool off in and we are all swimmers.

[bettyandbob]

In my current location about 50,000 people are covered by one HOA. That HOA provides a ton of stuff including 15 pools. Just about everyone covered by the HOA is walking distance (1 mile) to a pool. Some pools get crowded. Some don't. Some have interesting features (zero depth entry, large water park type slide, 50 meter length, regulation spring boards, hot tubs and more).

 

I walk to a pool that is a basic 6 lane, 25 meter rectangle. It's quiet. if 20 people are there at once, that qualifies as crowded for this pool. It is 200 yards from my house. I don't "pack up" to go. We grab towels and my bag that has goggles and diving rings. If it is closed for an accident or equipment problem, then there are 2 other pools within a mile of my house I can walk to. Or I can drive and be at one in less than 5 minutes. If my dc want to play at the pool with sprayers or go to the big slide, we drive. Whatever pool we go to we almost always run into someone we know.

 

My HOA has be maintaining pools here for over 40 years. They started with one pool and added others over time as neighborhoods grew. Only 3 pools have been added in the last 20 years. They do their own training of staff and have a spotless safety record. Most HOA pools are staffed by pool companies and there are not a lot of pool companies that have spotless safety records.

 

The pools are all well maintained. One time at least 10 years ago, I thought my pool was not looking good, I called the HOA office from the pool and a supervisor showed up in 15 minutes and made sure the staff got to work. I haven't felt compelled to do that since.

 

Because not everyone in the HOA uses the pool, we pay a small fee ($10)for a pass. I can also buy guest passes. I can bring as many guests as I want to the pool, so theoretically I could have a big birthday party with people who are not members. I have had small birthday parties that cost me nothing because everyone was member. The HOA also sells memberships to people who are not part of the HOA. I think the family memberships are $700. They only sell a limited amount and these memberships don't affect crowding at the little pool 200 yards from my front door.

 

I think the major thing I'm missing is not skinny dipping at midnight. That would be fun, but it would not outweigh the liability cost or the maintenance. I have heard of too many nightmares where despite fencing, etc people got into someone's backyard pool and drowned. Even if you put the most secure fence around a backyard pool, you are liable for the person who trespasses and dies. If I had a party, I'd be sick with worry the whole party (I probably hire lifeguards to work the party) Plus, how do you swim laps in a backyard pool? I like swimming laps in a 25 meter pool.

 

I haven't had the experience of paying higher dues and special assessments for crumbling facilities that are often crowded or closed. If I did, I might feel differently. I guess my HOA knows what it's doing.

[Cinder]

:spam: reported

[ralfy]

Community pool, so that it can be used for aquaculture as food prices rise. Meanwhile, backyards can be used for growing food.

[jhschool]

If I were rich I'd want my own pool.

Money to take care of the water, test, chemicals, money to pay someone to fish out the dead frogs,

the dead leaves, etc. Money to pay someone to put a tarp on when it's not being used,

an alarm in case someone falls in (connected to emergency services.) Money to buy

a decent fence to prevent kids from coming in and using the pool unsupervised. Money

for extra insurance.

 

Since I am not rich, I would rather have a neighborhood pool. Actually, we do have

a neighborhood pool, but it costs $2000 a year to be a member. So we are not members

and never swim.

 

:p

[G5052]

We don't live in an area with a HOA by choice. Too independently-minded after living like that for eight years. So no, I wouldn't want a community pool.

 

And I don't want the maintenance and expense of our own pool either. I filled in the outdoor pond when the last fish died because I was always the one to keep in going, and I'm done with that.

 

We go to the county pool because it is quiet if you hit it at the right time of day and get ice cream afterwards. FUN!

[Belacqua]

I'm not much for swimming, but if I had endless resources I think I'd like my own indoor pool. Not sure why, as the only place I've ever seen private indoor pools is in the movies, and the person swimming (alone, at night) invariably meets a gruesome end, but it still appeals. The pool, not the gruesome end.

 

All my neighbors have the same blue aboveground pool that goes up just for the summer, and they seem to enjoy them. But we live in the sticks and there's no community pool for many miles.

[JFSinIL]

Private backyard pool, no question. I grew up floating on the gentle lapping waters of our backyard pool, lazing under the palm tree Dad planted close by. I am not into sharing my quiet pool time with hoards of other people. If I want to yell and play Marco Polo with my sister I can do that, too. OK - put all that in the past tense as I am in Illinois now with no pool. But I grew up in Orange, Ca!

[LMV]

We have an inground pool. The base is inlaid stone which is amazing at least from an appearance and wear standpoint. We do have a solar/geotherm heater and thus do not need to close it fully for the winter [although we have not allowed our children to do their own polar plunges with their friends]. Our kids swim pretty much daily from April-October and we entertain by the pool a fair amount. We exploring/considering putting in an indoor lap pool in our home gym this fall. A close relative has this and my husband has really enjoyed using theirs and I would probably swim more in the winter if I didn't have to pack up to go to the health club. There are some safety issues we need to navigate and we need a final estimate before we really decide but we were a bit surprised at how reasonable the cost actually was.

 

I will also say that we have avoided purchasing homes or vacation properties which fell under any kind of HOA covenant. I have a friend who was not so fortunate and there were a few annoyances while they lived there and now that they have moved the associated HOA seems to be a deterrent for some potential buyers.