Anyone live in a gated community?

DaveH

DaveH

Joined
Dec 2, 1999
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I happen to live in an urban environment which has a mix of socio-economic groups. Which is PC code for skank, scum, crazy people, retards, druggies, alcoholics, etc.

There's not too many gated communities that I know of where I am in the east. Does anyone live in one and can give me some feedback on what it's like? Thanks.
 
They are not as safe as you think ,in fact drug dealers like them to get away from the normal drug 'hoods. They may have restrictions on antennas also !!!
 
Safety is not my biggest concern, sound is, I want to get away from any and all Harley riders, ricers, drunken parties, randomly yelling drunk and crazy people etc.
 
You'll find them there too. Go around the community and ask folks who live there what they think. Also, ask the local cops about what they know of the community.
 
You need to move down here to the panhandle Dave! Don't need gates down here, everyone is packin. :D
 
Safety is not my biggest concern, sound is, I want to get away from any and all Harley riders, ricers, drunken parties, randomly yelling drunk and crazy people etc.
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I've lived in dozens of different places, with many of the same complaints.

The #1 solution is to move up-market. Mopes and meth-heads are quickly priced out of nice neighborhoods.

Here are some other factors I've noticed:

Look for neighborhoods with lots of retirees and elderly. They don't cause many problems, but there will be increased late-night emergency vehicles.

Look for neighborhoods away from schools, all-night businesses, apartments, welfare housing, or drinking establishments.

Look for neighborhoods with well-kept homes and yards. Mopes and meth-heads don't spend time on yardwork.

Cruise the neighborhoods at night and look for areas that aren't lit up like a prison yard. The fastest way to have winos hanging out in the alley all night, light it up.

Move to a rural area. Country people aren't less likely to be mopes or methers, but their inconsiderate behaviors are easier to tolerate when their house is a quarter mile away.

Look for neighborhoods where people own their homes instead of rent.

Look for a house that's not on a thru-street.

all Harley riders
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Just to nit-pick one of your points. Historically, Harley Davidson invented the first motorcycle mufflers. In modern times H-D is the only company to make a public statement ~against~ motorcycle noise. It does seem their customers have an above-average rate of being attention-whoring, inconsiderate, show-offs though. Although from a distance I bet most people can't tell a Harley motorcycle from a Honda or Yamaha...

-Bob
 
Although from a distance I bet most people can't tell a Harley motorcycle from a Honda or Yamaha...
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Hah, that ones easy, from a distance you won't hear a honda or a yamaha!

Here's the ironic thing, generally speaking my neighborhood meets many of the things you mention. The big issue is we're on a through street to a summer amusement park, a very small one, but attracts all those types of people I want to avoid.
 
Hah, that ones easy, from a distance you won't hear a honda or a yamaha!
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Not true. Most of the cruiser riders around here, regardless of brand, ride with illegal exhausts. So I suspect many of the obnoxious riders you hear are actually Big-4 customers. When outfitted with an illegal aftermarket exhaust, a Suzuki cruiser can be just as loud as a Harley, and a stock Harley can be just as quiet as a Suzuki.

Don't know if they're popular where you live, but a revved up sportbike with an illegal exhaust is also very loud.

I don't mean to minimalize your feelings against illegal exhausts and noise, but I did want to redirect the brand-bashing. Did you know that H-D no longer allows their dealers to sell or install illegal/loud exhaust systems?

The big issue is we're on a through street to a summer amusement park, a very small one, but attracts all those types of people I want to avoid.
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I can imagine. Maybe you don't need to move far, just a couple blocks off the major street? That way you won't need to "upmarket" or re-root your entire life.

I've never lived in a gated community, so I can't address that particular question. But I suspect the difference would be comparable to living on a dead-end street. I know where I live most of the noise and disturbances are ~not~ caused by my close neighbors, but people from other areas attracted to the well-lit main street and businesses that are nearby.

-Bob
 
regardless of brand, ride with illegal exhausts.
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You're right, my error to assume that a large bike that sounds like a 80 year old single cylinder John Deere tractor which runs on a steady diet of fermented cheap mexican food is a HD.

We have been discussing more rural living, we have two friends that moved an hour out of town and bought houses with 20 - 40 acres.
 
We have been discussing more rural living, we have two friends that moved an hour out of town and bought houses with 20 - 40 acres.
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I lived for two years on 240 acres in the Ozarks. It was heaven. My driveway curved around a mountain and the landforms were steep and rugged. I couldn't see any other houses, lights, or roads from my yard. My neighbors might have been unemployed, drunk, domestic abusers, but if so I never knew about it and I didn't care.

-Bob
 
Bob W said:
Look for neighborhoods with lots of retirees and elderly. They don't cause many problems, but there will be increased late-night emergency vehicles.

-Bob
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This is a timing thing. I have been growing up in an area where most everyone is old. But now I guess some of them are leaving for care homes or dieing, I don't know. Anyway there's slowly been an increase in younger families and so also late night parties, angry screaming, etc.


I love my "old" neighborhood, I was the noisy one.
 
I have worked in a lot of high dollar gated communities and I never liked them. All the LEO's I have talked to say that people move there when their punk kids get in trouble because they think it will keep them away from other punk children. So from what the LEO's tell me is that all they do is keep the little trouble makes in but not people out. I have a lot of friends who live in these and they are easy to into. There are a lot of standardized maintenance codes like 0000 and these will get you in. Also you can just call whoever is on duty for the day and tell them you are a contractor for the local telephone/CATV company and they will let you. They all have some type of fire dept. access which a lot of time is a switch locked with a small lock which is easily defeated by a small pair of bolt cutters. Most people just wait for like 5 minutes and just follow someone in when they open the gate. If someone wants in, these places don't slow them down that much. Talk to you local LEO's and see if they notice a crime difference in these places they can tell you better since I am not familiar with your region and they are. My biggest worry in these place's is not keeping people out but being able to escape these compounds if SHTF. I hope this helps.
 
DaveH said:
I happen to live in an urban environment which has a mix of socio-economic groups. Which is PC code for skank, scum, crazy people, retards, druggies, alcoholics, etc.

There's not too many gated communities that I know of where I am in the east. Does anyone live in one and can give me some feedback on what it's like? Thanks.
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My family owns some land in a gated community in Clearfield County, Pa called Treasure Lake. The name is a bit tacky for me but I love spending time there. For those familiar with the area it's just outside of DuBois. They have their own police force, albeit a small one.
 
Personally, I use www.city-data.com . It maps all sorts of facts on an area. They also have message boards for even the smallest of towns.

I also like the rants and raves forum at Craigslist.org. The people that actually live in an area will give you the straight dope on all sorts of things.
 
I live in a gated condo complex in Atlanta and it's awesome. The gate REALLY cuts down on the riff-raff. And nobody steals your parking space. Though some jerks are always letting strangers in to use the pool and such.
 
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