# Swimming pools-How far north? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 6, 2007, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swimming-pools-how-far-north/410674 "2007-07-06T00:26:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![rivulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rivulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rivulus)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swimming-pools-how-far-north/410674/41 "2007-07-09T17:41:08Z")
A good friend in the neighborhood where I grew up in Saskatoon has an in-ground pool. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2007, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swimming-pools-how-far-north/410674/42 "2007-07-09T17:58:34Z")
I’m getting an in-ground pool in a few weeks. Sure, I can only use it for maybe 3 to 4 months of the year, but most summers are quite warn here in the Ottawa area. this summer’s off to a stinker of a start though: very cool and rainy. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2007, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swimming-pools-how-far-north/410674/43 "2007-07-10T00:14:30Z")
[QUOTE=Helen’s Eidolon] Well, the OP asked about private, in-ground swimming pools. Of course there are neighborhood pools, and more above-ground pools than in-ground pools. Maybe my perspective is skewed because no one has room for a pool in downtown Montreal, but I’ve never met anyone with an in-ground pool on the island. [/QUOTE] Yes, but I’m not talking about neighbourhood pools. If you go in the suburbs, like the West Island, Laval, the north shore, almost everyone has a pool and a good proportion of those are in-ground, which you can clearly see in Google Maps. I, myself, know several people who own in-ground pools. Some of them are rich, but others are just regular middle-class folks. The reason you don’t see private pools in the more central areas is simply because there isn’t enough room to build them. I spent a good portion of my life living either in or around Montreal and I always associated the suburbian areas with pools. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2007, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swimming-pools-how-far-north/410674/44 "2007-07-10T01:07:02Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] 45th parallel? Southern pansies! 😉 Almost all of the UK is above the 50th parallel, and there are plenty of outdoor pools here. [Here’s](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=alderley+edge&sll=53.479159,-2.572346&sspn=0.046788,0.155697&ie=UTF8&ll=53.299907,-2.2327&spn=0.000734,0.002433&t=k&z=19&om=1) one near Manchester, about 53.5 degrees north. A bit further north, [here’s](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=morningside+edinburgh&sll=55.947998,-3.232791&sspn=0.005503,0.019462&ie=UTF8&ll=55.933209,-3.194272&spn=0.000688,0.002433&t=k&z=19&om=1) one in Edinburgh, Scotland, nearly 56 degrees north. [/QUOTE] But you UK guys cheat. You’re supposedly warmed unnaturally by the Gulf Stream. That’s _our_ heat you’re using! 🙂 Here, very close to the 45th parallel, outdoor pools are not common. But I live in a near-island county with 300 miles of freshwater coastline, not to mention numerous inland lakes. If I want a refreshing dip, I just walk out to my back yard and step into Lake Michigan. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2007, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swimming-pools-how-far-north/410674/45 "2007-07-10T01:41:49Z")
Out of curiosity, I checked out some real estate adds. I found: [A house in Chicoutimi.](http://duproprio.com/52049). [A condo in Val D’Or.](http://duproprio.com/recherche.php?topic=details&pid=57238&rech=a&pr=1&re=8&ty=-1&maxp=9999999&orderby=prix_asc&ong=resultat&page=1&sp=0) [A bungalow in Alma.](http://duproprio.com/recherche.php?topic=details&pid=57599&rech=a&pr=1&re=2&maxp=9999999&orderby=prix_asc&ong=resultat&page=1&sp=0) [A house in Dolbeau](http://duproprio.com/recherche.php?topic=details&pid=53994&rech=a&pr=1&re=2&maxp=9999999&orderby=prix_asc&ong=resultat&page=1&sp=9). All of these places have in-ground pools and are situated in rather northern Quebec towns. You can check their locations on this map: https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=48.821333,-72.421875&spn=7.206007,21.818848&z=6&om=1 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swimming-pools-how-far-north/410674.md?page=2)