I will never until my dying day, live under the thumb of an association. Its a magnet for pedantic busybodies.
I completely agree with you, and at the same time, that criteria can turn an already difficult search into an impossible one.
Oh, and BTW, the word "criteria" is plural. Its singular form is "criterion." Not that it takes away from your point, but consider it a tiny piece of friendly advice.
Or two full-time work-weeks worth of extra time, just spent commuting, every year. Definitely not worth it to me; in practice, the primary interaction I have with my HOA is the continued requirement to pay them.
(All else being equal, I'd much rather not have one, but I wanted a walkable commute more.)
> Oh, and BTW, the word "criteria" is plural. Its singular form is "criterion."
Not anymore: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/criterion#usage-1 . "The plural criteria has been used as a singular for over half a century." Much like "data" and "datum", it's no longer an observed distinction; "this data" and "this criteria" are entirely correct.
But in any case, I was talking about both HOAs and distance, so a more elaborate form would have been "that combination of criteria". One could also argue that an HOA is a whole collection of related problems in and of itself.
Anyway, false dichotomy? Not all housing choices within range are burdened with an association?
That depends on where you are; in some cities, the vast majority of housing developments have an HOA.