Conversation Between jerseyjoy and IndianaJones

My wife was in mortgage lending for 30+ years. There are things to consider before getting a pool: 1) if you're getting it for your own enjoyment, and you plan to live there for quite a while - go for it, and enjoy. 2) If you're planning on getting it to "enhance the value of your home" - forget it. You'll never get the money out of it that you put into it (maintenance, chemicals, cleaning, etc.) when you sell. Honestly - a pool (cost/benefit) does NOT appreciably add value to a home (when considering the cost). 3) The Villages is especially different; there are many, many "adult pools" and there are "family pools". If you really feel the need for a pool, unless you're very concerned about privacy - there's plenty of pools here, most in very good shape, and you're already paying for them (your monthly fee). Why not take advantage of them? Those are my key points, I'm sure others have some as well, but for me (I've owned two houses with pools), I'm good with TV pools!

I've lived in Florida for 35 years, and 35 years ago (on the coast) people were screaming about a "water shortage due to everyone moving down from up north". Uh - NOPE. No more than any other area of the country. The Floridan aquifer is one of the most productive water sources in the world, and the current "concern" relates to "trimming water usage to around 6.85 billion gallons per day by 2070". Yes, water usage is going up - as the population increases, but also as the population increases, water use goes down as more agricultural land requiring irrigation is "paved over" (so it goes, with expansion). There are excellent water conservation practices in place (such as the use of reclaimed water for irrigation, practiced by TV -yes, it stinks, but it works!) and progress is being made in using reclaimed water for agriculture. Plus, we're talking about 2070 here - 53 years from now - for the problem to reach "serious levels". Too many "chicken littles" running around, IMHO.