Pool season months? (Phoenix, Sun City, Sun City West: house, buying, maintenance)

[gamebird98]

As we search for our dream retirement home, one of the things my wife says is a must....A Pool.
What we are wondering was , how many months of need/use are in a typical year there? We are trying to decide if having our own personal pool (cost of chemicals/electric/maintenance) or look for a place with a community pool (no privacy/maybe unruly kids/ unknown water condition). I guess my ultimate question is.....how many months do people typically use their pools. We are not "swimmers" per say, more "loungers/raft floaters"....so, not sure if we would be pool side on the 120 degree days and may not get a whole lot of use during the "winter months". Thoughts and opinions on personal pool vs community pool.

[keninaz]

We have had a couple of pools in the past.
They are nice and we prefer privacy for many of the reasons you cited.
Most in the Valley are not heated which can really add to the expense but it limits how long you can use them too unless you like cooler water to swim in.
The expense is not that great (without heating) and it's easy to do. Just watch what kind of foliage you have around the pools (neighbor's yards too) as the cleaning of the pools can be time consuming.

[Ponderosa]

I used mine once, maybe twice this year. The water is hot and the sun is horrible in summer (July-Sep). It's not much of a refreshment. Add the hassle of changing, towels, etc. After that the water quickly cools to the point where it is not fun going in even though outside temps are still in the 90s. Pools, really, are more of a landscape feature than useful to most without young children. They make a great backyard focal point if you entertain as well. If it's just the two of you, well it sounds a lot more exciting than it actually is.

A spa is much more useful. It feels great on cold winter mornings.

[Jkgourmet]

I'll add a couple more talking pount to that decision, specific to retirement and aging.

As you age, you'll find yourselves less and less able to do some of the general chores and home maitenance. Make sure your budget can handle having a pool service weekly.

A community pool is a great way to socialize and meet others. Yes, kids can be a hassle, but there are many 55+ communities that you could (and should) consider.

Imho, when couples are buying their retirement home, one of the most important things they don't consider is how that one half of that couple will probably die, leaving the other a widow or widower. Couoles need to think about how suitable the house will be at that point (another very good reason to consider a 55+ community). Ask your wife if she would ever use the pool if she were living alone. I'll bet she says no, and that might make your decision very obvious.

[gamebird98]

Some great replies already!!!!!!!! So nice to hear others perspective on things. I love this site!!!!!

[gamebird98]

I'm guessing we wont be doing a lot of entertaining. We currently live in New York and all of our family and friends live here. Altho I'm guessing we would make a few new ones in Arizona, I don't anticipate our house to be party central.

[asufan]

Pool service is $85/month on average, maybe more for a bigger pool. My experience is different than Ponderosa's, we used our pool almost every weekend and since I run my business out of the home, I used it at lunchtime during the work week as well. Ours is designed with a seating area in the shallow end with a place to put an umbrella in, so we can sit in the shade in the water if we want to. also we put a basketball hoop on one end to make the kids happy usually we start using it in June and last week was probably the last swim day of the season.

[ABQSunseeker]

When I lived in the Phoenix area, our house had a pool and I used it heavily. Yes, it can be very expensive to maintain, even more so if you heat it. Our pool was not heated so I was able to swim in it every day from mid April to early October.
And we frequently entertained by the pool. Using the pool while having a party solves one of the big issues of a party in having activities to do!
For the rest of the year just having the pool there was a plus. Our living and dining areas looked out to the pool and it always looked so attractive in the sun as well as being lit up at night.
Though, If you are not much of a swimmer it might be smarter to use a community pool from time to time rather than have a private pool.

[Jkgourmet]

Originally Posted by gamebird98

I'm guessing we wont be doing a lot of entertaining. We currently live in New York and all of our family and friends live here. Altho I'm guessing we would make a few new ones in Arizona, I don't anticipate our house to be party central.

You SERIOUSLY need to consider 55+ communities. You and wife are going to be pretty lonely moving away from all your friends and family. The built in social structure would be a blessing for you.

[Dewey59]

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

You SERIOUSLY need to consider 55+ communities. You and wife are going to be pretty lonely moving away from all your friends and family. The built in social structure would be a blessing for you.

Agreed.

Here in Sun City West, they have both indoor and outdoor pools, so you can swim whenever you want, regardless of the outside weather. Also, the outdoor pools are heated, so you can swim year round. Best part is - someone else does the maintenance! The outdoor pool at the RH Johnson rec center is about to undergo a $4+ million renovation. As you can imagine, it should be quite extraordinary at that price! I'm thinking it will do the swimming for you!

In addition to the pools, the 55+ communities like SCW offer not just social clubs, but also hobby clubs for just about any hobby you can imagine, and considerably lower taxes. I love living here and highly recommend it to anyone.