As a point of reference, I live in Florida. I have been to Thailand 15 times since 2004. My experience in Florida at our condo was the pool is great in the hottest season. Quite pleasant to sit out by the pool in the shade and hop in and out to cool off. We were right next to the intercoastal waterway and had a good breeze. But for 4 or 5 month of the year we never bothered with it. My parents, in the 20 years they lived there never ever went int the pool. What a waste of a nice resource. Now in the home I have been renting, the pool is on the North side of the house and gets little sunshine. The water gets quite cool at night and don't use the pool for probably 8 months of the year. The dog I am sure is broken and she loves the water at any time even while she shivers.
On all my trips to Thailand I found I did not use the pool that much unless it was the low season and the hot months. I often traveled there during my Birthday month (May) and jumping in the pool after the hours of travel from the USA was heaven. Taking a nap outside, warm air, a little sea breeze, some palm trees or other tropical plants in view, reading a book, or a magazine... Just a joy for the senses. No work worries. Just chilling. Some times my hotel had an OK pool. Flipper roof top pools were OK. Other times I rented by the day at a different hotel such as Mike's Orchard infinity pool over on Soi 4 is it? That was beautiful. I also used to go to a pool up off of what used to be called Soi Yume behind what was Carre 4 (now Big C). I can't think of the name, but I recall some camel insignia?
In high seasons, Oct-Feb, I did not use the hotel pools much at all, except in the years when maybe I traveled from a cold part of the USA to Thailand for vacation. Then the pool if it had some sun was OK for a swim now and then but more then than now. It sure was a nice change from a cold dry Utah winter or a pretty, but cold and snowy Vermont winter month. I get plenty of exercise just walking and wandering all over Pattaya and found out that I really did not swim that much.
Now, as I have aged and am now 64, I find the pool so good for health, take weight off the spine, stretch out, get some exercise, etc. but I really don't like the water too cold. And the chemicals and chlorine are not my favorite. My sister in Florida has a salt water pool, and that is the bomb. But they seem to break the salt water thng often and will not or can not afford to pay for a new one which they say breaks every two years or so, so they went back to chlorine basics. I have not seen many salt water types of pools in Pattaya.
I have two months off now and am house hunting in Melbourne Florida. I am at a hotel that has a nice pool and jacuzzi. It is quite warm here and the pool really is nice. On the drive down from Syracuse NY I stopped over night at a place in South Carolina that had a kickass pool. Nobody used it. Beautiful backdrop against tall pine trees. Lots of palm trees surround the pool deck. It was nice. I am sitting on purchasing my retirement home in Florida and waffling back and forth on getting one with a pool. If I really retire and spend most of my time in the home, I want a pool. It must be salt water type which I think I can convert to without too much effort if it isn't one to begin with. i would get some sort of pool heating thing installed, probably by me as an engineer hobbyist. That can keep the pool warmer for several more months at little cost and extends the swimming. Even if I dont swim too much, sitting out in the screened in lanai with some pretty plants, having the nieces and nephews come over and splash around is nice. If I travel as I had planned to last year, and semi retire to Thailand, then I won't get a house with a pool. I would have one roommate renting, or if I really do end up overseas a lot I might rent the whole house out and for simplicity and other reasons, a pool would not benefit me. The Thailand retirement plan has been on hold for well over a year now, given the situation over there, so I am going to take another contract job starting in October, keep doshing up and probably postpone any purchase decision.
Buying a house is a big outlay and I often see people spend less time mulling that over than they do while shopping for groceries and chatting back and forth with the wifie about what to buy for dinner.
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