It's worth mentioning that in the majority of residential neighborhoods, either they do not have HOA enforcement or the HOA is entirely optional, in that you can pay to belong to the HOA and gain benefits like access to community centers and pools, but then have to abide by guidelines.

In these places, you can ignore HOA rules if you're not interested in joining. I've greatly enjoyed telling their offended members that no, I will trim my shrubs when I feel like it, thank you very much.

There is still going to be a lot of regulations against like, turning your house into a tavern or something, but there is a little more freedom here in most places than people talk about. But it's still pretty bad and getting worse, there are more and more "master planned" communities that turn entire countrysides into oceans of rooftops in these homogeneous people hatcheries where you have to get approval to grow flowers in your yard.