<p>Oops: [Swimmimg</a> Pool Collapse - YouTube](<a href=“Swimmimg Pool Collapse - YouTube”>Swimmimg Pool Collapse - YouTube)</p>
<p>VH - It depends upon the surrounding vegetation, weather and a bunch of other factors. Generally, I would say it is an expense and nightmare I wouldn’t wish upon anybody. In addition to cleaning costs are heating and maintenance costs.</p>
<p>Also take into consideration safety issues and additional home owner insurance costs, as well as being ineligible.</p>
<p>parent1986, it’s not always that bad! 
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<p>VH, I’d ask neighbors with pools how much they’re spending. Think about how much you’d really use it, and for what–for fitness? For cooling off in the summer? For how it looks?</p>
<p>Most people have a pool right behind their house. It looks great in the summer, but in the NE the pool is usually covered up 9 months out of 12, and it is just an ugly big black spot.</p>
<p>My neighborhood has a restriction against above-ground pools - other no no’s include chain-link fences, boats or RVs parked in driveways, concrete driveways, high stockade style fences, carports, sheds, clotheslines (believe it or not). We have a few “offending” sheds, which are not really visible from the road, but otherwise none of the other structures. All building/landscaping projects must be approved by a review board before starting. It sounds obnoxious, but no one seems to mind complying and the neighborhood does look very nice. The board can grant a waiver if the proposed construction does not deter from the surrounding landscaping. I put in a very rustic and large stone arch which is visible from the street, but the board approved it - which made me happy.</p>
<p>I love my pool. Too self conscious to be in a bathing suit in public. My pool is a source of joy and exercise. I don’t think above ground pools ate tacky, but I don’t find them esthetic ally pleasing to myself, and I didn’t think I’d like the climb the ladder deal as I aged. When an attractive deck is constructed I didn’t find it saved enough money for me to have wanted to give up the beauty of my yard, but I didn’t have rock to drill through. I couldn’t bear it smack, dab in the middle of the yard so it doesn’t look too bad in the winter.</p>
<p>My sister has a gorgeous above ground pool. It has a beautiful deck that hours around about 1/2 of it. There are very pretty plantings around it and a brick walk to the covered patio very nearby. Her patio furniture is beautiful too and she has very pretty flowers there too.</p>
<p>To be honest, I’ve seen in ground pools that were much uglier than this above ground one.</p>
<p>I live in the NE and my pool is open 8 months and closed, barely 4…attached spa,waterfall, it rivals any seen at a resort hotel…there is No cost to cleaning,most people who don’t own pools complain about costs and time, and they have NO idea. ;)</p>
<p>It is fully automated,controlled by program and a PDA device…</p>
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<p>Parent 1986, ineligible for what??</p>
<p>^^insurance. That is my experience and opinion as a pool owner for 10+ years.</p>
<p>We are very eligible for insurance with our pool. No problem. Our town insists on a five foot fence, and we have that.</p>
<p>Since I was the one who really wants to swim, and I hate to dive, I made the entire pool 3 1/2 feet. It saved some money, but more than that, it just seems a lot safer in a neighborhood. I pray a toddler never wanders here, but they couldn’t open the gate. A child could stand on tippy toes if necessary.</p>
<p>I did that for myself, too, so I could swim alone.</p>
<p>VeryHappy: Are you still working in New Jersey.</p>
<p>Ineligible for insurance? Doubtful…</p>
<p>How is a pool 3 1/2 ft deep any safer then one with a 9 ft deep end?</p>
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How much is the heating bill?</p>
<p>In months were it is not used often , we heat to need,…from late may to early sept, heat is never on, have full sun exposure…pool can be 80 degrees + just from sun</p>
<p>There are almost no above-ground pools in my town. I do know people who have in-ground pools, but that’s not very common either. I live in MA and an outdoor pool doesn’t get much use here. My friend keeps hers open from Memorial Day to Oct. 1st. She loves to swim and has been doing it for years. Sewhappy, do you want a pool for exercise–or do you just like being in the water?</p>
<p>We never had any kind of a pool except the 2/3 ft. kind. But if we did it would have been an above ground. </p>
<p>Very cheap and easy to install and even easier to get rid of. Every mid/older aged couple we know with a built-in say they wish it gone. But you can’t do that with a built in. </p>
<p>An above ground pool is a good way to fulfill a temporary need.</p>
<p>OP:</p>
<p>To answer your question…my personal opinion is to pick an oval pool as opposed to round…don’t know why, but it feels like a better (classier?) shape choice…and if you build a decking all around it, attached to the home, like others have suggested, then it sounds fabulous!</p>
<p>We had an inground pool when we lived in Fla. and I loved it. The maintenance at that time was nominal and worth every penny.</p>
<p>I think doing an above ground pool with a surrounding deck would not be tacky and it sounds really enjoyable.</p>
<p>Not true. It’s not hard to fill in a pool. I did when I bought my house because my S was just two, and I didn’t want to live with a pool with a small child and a toddler. Eight years later I put a pool in.</p>
<p>Yes, we spent a lot of extra money, and we are not wealthy (backyard has been instead of traveling really), but I couldn’t stand the anxiety. It was a few thousand to fill in the pool. I always got the best lawn in that area.</p>
<p>It can be hard to fill in a pool. It requires permits and some places have strict rules related to ground contamination. Access to the pool by large, heavy equipment is also an issue. Even if there is room for equipment, if tree roots will be run over, the trees can be damaged and the trees killed.</p>