Do you like swimming in pools or on beaches more?

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the scary thing about many beaches nowadays, is one doesn't always know what stuff has been pumped into the water.

Definitely beaches, preferably remote ones with nobody else about. I love treading on seaweed with bare feet, but then I love treading on anything with interesting textures with bare feet.

I can't really swim (despite having 'lessons') - but if given the choice I'd prefer swimming in pools because I don't have to worry about the tide or going out too far, and if I accidentally get water in my mouth it doesn't taste horribly salty. Problem is though you have everybody looking at you.
I like to wade in the sea though.

Same here thou I never swam at the beach but I have walked in the water before but that was when I was a kid. The salt water was hell on my skin eczema.

The bathrooms at my local beach are gross and have no shower. It's basically like a permanent porta potty.

Yeah, they have to close ours sometimes when there's too much sewage floating around.


Yeah, I try to stay out of those unless it's an extreme emergency >_<

I think I would prefer a porta potty, at least there's a lot less pee to walk on.

I like an infinity pool next to the beach best.
Don't like chloride, so covered public pools are a big no go!
A tropical beach with clear blue water is nice, but I don't like the sand to go everywhere, so I prefer the hotel swimming pool with beach view.

Both have pros and cons.

One time I was in the sea and I got stung on the leg by a jellyfish. I didn't want to go in the sea after that. In a swimming-pool you don't have to worry about sea creatures.

But I do love the seaside atmosphere and the 4 S's; Sun, Sand, Sea and Summer!

Although oceans are usually deeper and the waves are fun to swim in, in a swimming pool I don't have to worry about being stung by jellyfish. Or seaweed wrapping itself around my leg. Or sand into every crevice of my body. And then there's the really scary stuff like riptides or undertows. Strong, dangerous currents in the ocean really creep me out, I'm not even sure why. Maybe because you can't see them? But I can't see the wind and I'm not afraid of it. And when are warning sings posted about them at beaches I find them both fascinating and really creepy. But that's how I feel about most warning signs and labels in general.

Also the water at the beach can be freezing even in the middle of summer, at least where I live. Outdoor pools are usually at least a little warmer.

I don't know which is worse at times- the giant open sewer which is most public bodies of water nowadays, or the latent [but sanitized] pee in the YMCA swimming pool?

Lake Michigan's like that too. My friends always make fun of me because I take forever to acclimate.

I'm not fond of beaches. The water's usually too cold and the sand too hot, and I hate the texture of sand and also how it tends to get into everything. Especially in fresh water like lakes, I also have a phobia of parasites. I do like looking for aquatic life at beaches, although I know from experience that jellyfish stings are no fun - one got my dad and me across the back of our knees when I was about 4.

I suppose I don't really have a preference... either one is fine as long as there's actually enough space to swim without having to dodge other people all the time... but well, that usually is an issue in pools so I suppose I prefer water out in the nature. I haven't really swam in the ocean much; little ponds in remote locations are what I prefer. There's actually a few in my father's woods, and one of them was the place where I learned to swim. No better way to spend a beautiful summer evening than to swim in peace and privacy and then go to a sauna after a while... and then drinking some soda on the patio and talking about meaningless stuff. Sausages grilled over the sauna's heater are also a good part of the experience... now I'm wishing it was already summer.

I have sort of mixed feelings on this issue. I swam in pools a lot when I was younger and I used to love sitting cross legged on the bottom pretending I was having tea parties with sea creatures. Something about looking up through a lot of water has always been very calming for me. One of the times I was at the bottom of a pool someone jumped in and stepped on my head, knocking my front tooth out on the bottom. That was about the time the negatives of pools started outweighing the positives for me personally. Plus I've always hated chlorine.

Lakes were also really great for me as a kid. I would sit really still near the shore and wait for fishes to get used to me so the would swim next to me. Those were great times.

I swam in a salt water pool in Mexico once, and it was by far the best pool experience I've ever had, it feels way better on your skin than nasty chlorine, without being as harsh as ocean water.

It was when I took a trip to Belize that I really fell in love with the ocean. Staring over the surface and seeing nothing but water in every direction, seeing the coral reef and all the fish, even the scary sensation of looking into the darker, colder waters in the distance and wondering if there were any sharks nearby, it was everything I'd ever looked for in other bodies of water. At this point in my life, I know I'll never be an astronaut, but there was something about the weightless sensation of being under the ocean and the absolute foreignness of the environment, that made me think that this was the closest I would ever get to being in space. There's something about the vast indifference of the ocean that is immensely comforting.

I live in the middle of the country right now, but as soon as I can I'm moving to the ocean, for it has stolen my heart!

I prefer pools, especially private ones. There are typically fewer people.

I like water pods the best.