HOA's

We had our quarterly HOA meeting the other night.  The same five to seven people attend that have been showing up for six years.  Ray and I always go, the Board members have to go (there are three of them) and then there may be one or two homeowners that show up here or there (one is a past Board member), and the other is a new homeowner in our development of 25 houses. It is a small community.  We pay $88/month in Homeowner Association Fees (this has gone up 10% twice since we moved in six years ago).  The dues cover trash removal, maintenance of the common lawn area (has a picnic table and benches around the path that no one uses regularly and a gazebo I have been in once when there was a Halloween block party) and upkeep/maintenance of the storm drainage area.  Why we have this storm pond in our neighborhood, since it is the most costly part of where our monies go, I haven't a clue.  Must have something to do with how the land is at the back of the development and reasons I, not being an engineer, have no clue.  So while I sat there listening to  where the money is being spent, hearing that flowers aren't planted because the irrigation system isn't working correctly and reviewing who wants to do what with the exterior of their homes (I am one of two Architectural Review Committee members--ARC for short), I realized that while I do care about how the homeowners keep up their grounds here in The Gables community (and in the three other communities I have lived in that have had an HOA), I am unsure as to how I will feel when I get to Panama.
While I want to see the Panamanians or even Expats paint their house a different color for the holidays and not quite complete the job because I find this humorous, do I want my neighbors to have unkempt yards?  Or to build on to the house with a porch, let's say, but not quite finish it or use the wrong materials?  Or as I read in the blog "Along the Gringo Trail" (by Clyde and Terry Coles) just have cement and stone left at the end of the property to sit until it is mixed later or never?  Do I want to live in a condo or house in a gated community?  I have read that condos are more secure, but anyone can really drive through the gates of these communities, so how secure are they really?  And why would I want to isolate myself from the locals?  Growing up we moved to the gated subdivision "Lake Montclair" in Dumfries, VA. There were no other communities like this (it was middle class, but I felt "rich"--both my parents worked outside the home). There was one area where the houses were huge (okay, I was ten so every house looked bigger than mine in this development), but none of those kids were ever tormented.  Because they were a stone's throw away from the poorest of the poor living in Dumfries. They shopped at the same grocery stores and drove the same roads. I didn't dare hang out with anyone "out there" because who knows what would happen to me.  My sister, on the other hand, was smart.  She befriended everyone, and she was left alone by all the scary middle schoolers! And also protected her little sister at the same time fortunately.
 I know I will have to relax about and gain more patience with the way it is in Panama. I guess it also depends on where I "settle".  I do know this though.  I will be happy to have that $88/month back in my pocket.