There is only one solution. NO ONE should join them or move in any smancy fancy condo or home that the ASSOCIATION is affiliated with.
Sad thing is the retired folks are being suckered.
What IDIOT would PAY 'an association' 500 bucks a month to be tyrannical? How politically correctly elitist yuppish have Americans turned into?
As a buyer, always ask about the homeowners' assoc!! How much a month, copy of all the restrictions, talk to current residents. We once lived in Mesa AZ... in a Pretty Police State. Couldn't allow our trash can to be seen from the street...and the Pretty Police would patrol & write tickets if they saw so much as an offending trash can lid! Life is too short to put up w/crapola like this. Just read the literature & make sure you understand what you are getting into.