Pool or no pool in Dallas? (Plano, Allen: homes, neighborhoods, school district)

[MSPMom]

So my husband and I recently got back from a long weekend in Dallas where we checked out several homes and neighborhoods. The insight from people on this board was very helpful -- I felt much more prepared even though there were still some surprises.

But on to my real question. We're pretty sure we would like a pool (I love to swim and want to get my young kids in lessons very soon) but it seems like you have to sacrifice your entire backyard in most cases. Is this worth it? I want my kids to have some space to run around and it looks like that will either be the front yard or a nearby local park if we get a pool. Any thoughts from those who have one or made the decision to skip one? And what are your feelings on safety fences? We keep a very close eye on the little ones but it still makes me nervous.

We have a few months to find a home, but there are so many options in the Metroplex that it's a bit overwhelming. We still like North Dallas and Lake Highlands and we're hoping to find something that's big enough and updated enough to fit our needs. May need to expand the budget a bit. Lakewood was really pretty, but the homes in our price range were too small. The search continues...

[KantLockeMeIn]

Make sure you can control the sun in some manner. In the spring and fall if you can get direct exposure to the sun, you can extend your season significantly. Or put a solar panel on the roof in good exposure.

But if the pool is sitting in full sun all day in July and August, your water temp will be 90+ degrees and won't be very refreshing. It's somewhat of a catch-22. My sister has a pool and is thinking of building a pergola near it to provide shade, and putting a removable mesh covering on the top and back of it during July and August to shade 1/2 of the pool.... and removing it during the other months.

[DebinD]

We skipped it -we wanted our dog and kids to have the space. When our kids are Older we may consider it -but it seems as if every other day, here in the summer, you hear about a kid that drowns -we decided it wasn't worth the risk when they are young.

[5stones]

with young childern a safety fence is a MUST. (2 young childern recently drowned in the families backyard pool...very sad)

We too noticed that it was either pool or yard...we were lucky to find a place with .33 acre so we can have a pool and still a bit of yard.
Summer... it's hot, the kids would use a pool more than a yard to play in.
In this area you do have a long pool season...last Oct it was in the 90's!

We ended up without a pool...but plan on installing one next spring.

[jstar08]

The further out of the city you go the bigger the yards and the cheaper the house. Also unless you plan to put your kids in private schools the areas you mentioned are not a place you will want to move. Dallas schools are horrible!

[austinnetx]

No one regrets getting a pool.

A fountain also helps to keep the water temp down.

A corner lot often gives you more options.

[MSPMom]

I hadn't considered the shade issue, but I'll definitely factor that in. Given the extreme heat in Dallas, I think we'll probably still opt for a pool and make sure we install a very good safety fence.

We've decided on private schools for our kids so the school district is not as big of an issue, though I understand from many on the board that there are some great schools in LH, Lakewood and parts of North Dallas.

Thanks again for the feedback.

[MSPMom]

Originally Posted by jstar08

The further out of the city you go the bigger the yards and the cheaper the house. Also unless you plan to put your kids in private schools the areas you mentioned are not a place you will want to move. Dallas schools are horrible!

We visited Allen, Plano, etc and the homes were bigger and slightly cheaper, but the yards were often the same or smaller as the ones we saw closer to the city. Which is why I quicky eliminated the burbs. I didn't feel like I was getting more space or a pretty neighborhood for a relatively small price difference and a long commute...

[Lakewooder]

Originally Posted by jstar08

The further out of the city you go the bigger the yards and the cheaper the house. Also unless you plan to put your kids in private schools the areas you mentioned are not a place you will want to move. Dallas schools are horrible!

Please go into more detail on the 220 schools in DISD.

[tycobb2522]

Originally Posted by MSPMom

...We've decided on private schools for our kids so the school district is not as big of an issue...
Thanks again for the feedback.

Having decided on Dallas, you definitely made the right choice.