My husband, 20 years ago, grew up with a small in-ground pool, and is dead against a pool because of the "major maintenance" required.

Me? I grew up on a farm and LOVE water and would LOVE to have a pool. My arguement is that technology has changed so much that pool maintenance is soooo much easier than it was 20 years ago.

The compromise has been that we can have an above-ground pool and he will "see how it goes" before committing to an in-ground, which I think is fair.

We have a city lot, which is 50' x 110', and based on city requirements means we can only fit a roughly 15x30' pool if squeezed, or a 12x24' pool. We are currently drawing up the plans and are not decided yet in this regard.

Questions:
- Salt water seems to be the preferred option. But is that only relevant for in-ground? We live in Canada so the pool has to be drained in October, filled in April/May. Would the additional cost to convert to salt water make sense vs. chlorine?
- Heating would not be required as the pool would face full sun almost all day. My concern is actually, with above ground, that the pool would get too hot and this would encourage bacterial growth. Would this mean additionally expensive materials/time to control this? Is there such as thing as a pool cooler that might minimize additional chemical expense to control bacterial growth?
- Am I correct that pool "technology" has changed such that it is not as "onerous" as it once was? Does anyone have any opinions on what "time" factor would be required on a weekly basis for this size of pool?

Any advice you have for me would be extremely appreciated. I will never be able to share the gorgeous pictures of an ideal oasis that many of you have since our lot simply does not afford it, but I sure do respect any opinions & advice you can share with me.

Regards,
Lora