Would you, under any circumstances whatsoever, live in a gated community?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

No. Never.

[Sensei]

I did, briefly, and I would again.

[Verily]

Probably not. There doesn't seem to me any real reason to live in one as opposed to somewhere with an active and vibrant community closer at hand. And development projects are moving away from gated communities now just as they are abandoning exurban development, so I'll probably never have the opportunity. But I couldn't rule it out entirely.

[Reluctant Republican]

Absolutely, I'd love to. But I'm a bit of a snob.

[JSojourner]

No. Never.

The very idea is repugnant to me.  I won't even live in a housing addition that tries to tell me what color Christmas lights I can display or whether I can have a garage sale or not. 

[Person Man]

No. Never.

The very idea is repugnant to me.  I won't even live in a housing addition that tries to tell me what color Christmas lights I can display or whether I can have a garage sale or not. 

I would probably live in a gated community, but I HATE homeowner's associations.

[John Dibble]

My apartment complex is gated, so yeah, I would.

[exopolitician]

I have before and im still alive. So...whats the problem?

[Colin]

My parents bought a house in one in Florida. They're quite nice. As for homeowners associations most are quite laissez-faire and let you decide what you want to do with your house. I think the only thing that was dictated by my parents homeowner's association was what type of mailbox they had to have.

[Albus Dumbledore]

Sure, why not?

[opebo]

Absolutely, I'd love to. But I'm a bit of a snob.

I hardly think the nouveau upper-middle class who buy crackerboxes behind gates warrant snobbery, but if you say so.

If you are behind your own gates, you might be worthy of a bit of social distinction, but not just because you share a gate with every other mortgaged toiler in a gim-crack development scheme.

[tik 🪀✨]

My parents bought a house in one in Florida. They're quite nice. As for homeowners associations most are quite laissez-faire and let you decide what you want to do with your house. I think the only thing that was dictated by my parents homeowner's association was what type of mailbox they had to have.

fascists

[Хahar 🤔]

If my parents made me, I obviously would. But not on my own, no.

[Alcon]

I have no problem with secured buildings/complexes.  I don't like the idea of a community specifically intended to keep foot traffic away, though.  Especially when it's more of a matter of class show-off than security, it seems "special" to me.

[DownWithTheLeft]

I have no problem with secured buildings/complexes.  I don't like the idea of a community specifically intended to keep foot traffic away, though.  Especially when it's more of a matter of class show-off than security, it seems "special" to me.

Kind of what I think too.  I would not want to live someplace that was blocked off from society

[Hash]

I did. It's called a compound. In Riyadh.

[Colin]

My parents bought a house in one in Florida. They're quite nice. As for homeowners associations most are quite laissez-faire and let you decide what you want to do with your house. I think the only thing that was dictated by my parents homeowner's association was what type of mailbox they had to have.

fascists

How did you know? I just finished polishing my jackboots a few minutes ago.

[dead0man]

You've got it all wrong, YOU don't polish your jackboots, you get a minority to do it and then pay him as little as possible.  Sheesh, you're not very good at this are you?

[TheWildCard]

Yes I would.

Regarding HoA's, they are nice when they are hands off. When they start dictating to you that you can't park in the street or in your own driveway when there are homes with two car garages in the community then there is a problem.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Wow, I never knew just how elitist this forum was.

[Alcon]

Wow, I never knew just how elitist this forum was.

This is still a different question than "would you prefer to live in a gated community?"

If a gated community was cheaper and provided nicer housing than another alternative, I still would prefer not to, but I'd live there.  It's not a litmus test, and there are some gated urban apartment/condo communities.  In "motel-style" apartment buildings, it's like having a secured building.

[bgwah]

I voted no, but others make interesting points that may mean I should have voted yes.

If I lived in certain foreign countries for whatever reasons, I suppose it's possible that I might. I suppose that many apartment and condominium buildings have a secure entrance. Does that count as a gate? It's the same idea, creating a private communal space within the development for residents only (and primarily used to get to and from their specific home). On the other hand such developments don't really block off street traffic, often have retail on the bottom, and so on, so I don't think I would consider that the same thing necessarily.

Under any circumstance, I suppose it's possible. But under any slightly realistic one, I don't think I would live in one.

[John Dibble]

Wow, I never knew just how elitist this forum was.

That's a rather elitist attitude you've got there - you act like you're better than everyone who doesn't hold your opinions quite often. So what if some of us would live in a gated community, or even prefer it, it doesn't mean we think we're better than everyone else. So how about YOU get off your high-horse and just let people live where they want without bitching at them?

[dead0man]

Wow, I never knew just how elitist this forum was.

I'm elitist because I can imagine a situation where I would live in a gated community?  Yet you'd never lower yourself down to suburbanite level, because you're better than that.  But reasonable people with an imagination, they're elitist.  See a problem here?

[Ban my account ffs!]

Probably not.  I don't think I'll ever live anywhere that a gated community is necessary or feasible... either in a city or in the country.