HOAs come in all kinds of flavors. We built in an older golf course community that had an HOA. Dues were a few hundred per year. They had no legal mechanism to lien your house if you didn’t comply. (Huge deal). Soft rules. No RVs or boats in driveways for more than 72 hours. No wording about open garage doors..
Basically, keep your toys in your backyard, don’t paint your house pink, mow your grass, etc.
Other, newer HOAs can lien(and ultimately foreclose) on your property for non compliance. You can tell the difference by readin* before you buy, how much the fees are. If they are high, it’s because the have a lawyer and possibly a security guard function to knock on doors.
Either way, you CHOOSE to move there.
No one is holding a gun to your head.
Most loss of freedom issues I witness: loss of access to off road areas, rope swings over a swimming hole, etc are from over population.
Too many people.