Buying a pool for the first time! Please help... Clueless!

[PoolDoc]

Ben- I checked out my neighbors pool. You were spot on, it's an 18' and in my opinion a little too big for the space.

You're probably younger than I am -- most people are, now that I'm 60 -- so this may not affect you the same way, but isn't amazing that I could tell figure that out in 1 minute using an instantly available space-photo of your back yard?

I'm old enough to remember when my parents got their first TV, an old green *heavy* thing with a 12" screen, because Daddy wanted to watch the news about the Cuban missile crisis. It stuck in my mind, because I remember realizing that he was scared, which scared me, because he was is a WWII combat infantry vet and usually didn't get scared.

I just saw a report a few days ago, that we soon may have LIVE video from space for big cities and news events! That's a lot of change in 60 years!

[BigDave]

... now we are trying to decided whether we go with the 52'' (with metal side rails) or 54'' (ALL resin.) In your opinion does the 2 in height in water actually make much of a difference? I'm only 5'3 and my fiance is on the shorter side (5'7.) We have a 3 year old and are planning to be in our home for at the very least 10 years.

I'd choose resin, not for the height but because you expect the pool to last 10 years. I'm concerned with the steel bottom rails on my pool as they are always in contact with the ground.